In this series, Know Disney?, blogger Kendall Foreman introduces readers to aspects of the Walt Disney Company, its films, history, and parks, which perhaps are heretofore unknown to the reader.
Disney’s classic cartoon, DuckTales, which premiered in 1987 and ended in 1990, has come back in a big way. All the original episodes have been released to DVD and are also available for free via the WATCH Disney Channel app on Apple TV. The 1989 NES DuckTales video game has been remade as DuckTales – Remastered for WiiU, PlayStation 3 and XBox 360. (Note: As a bonus, on the XBox 360 version, players who complete a special achievement earn a Scrooge McDuck t-shirt for their avatar.) The Oh My Disney blog even recreated the theme song using real live ducks. Now, Disney has announced that a new Duck Tales will be coming to Disney XD in 2017.
The revisit will include the characters that millions grew up watching on The Disney Afternoon. Fans of DuckTales, like me, remember its cast of animated characters: Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webbigail “Webby” Vanderquack, Duckworth, Launchpad McQuack, Gyro Gearloose, Mrs. Betina Beakley, Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys, Magica DeSpell, and many others. They captivated viewers, young and old, with their whirlwind, globe-crossing adventures. When Marc Buhaj, Senior Vice President, Programming, and General Manager, Disney XD made the announcement, he assured everyone that the “new series will bring that same energy and adventurous spirit to a new generation.”
By watching episodes of the new DuckTales cartoon series, a new generation will be introduced to Scrooge McDuck and his life in Duckburg. At the same time, innumerable longtime fans will have the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the elder Scotsman and all the characters they came to know. Scores of original viewers also followed the DuckTales via comic books published from 1990 to 1991. What many do not know is that the animated TV series and subsequent comic books were not where the story of Scrooge McDuck began. Disney legend, Carl Barks—known by many as the “Good Duck Artist”—introduced Scrooge McDuck in the 1947 comic book “Christmas on Bear Mountain”. By 1952, Uncle Scrooge had become so popular with readers that he received his own comic book series with copies selling for 10 cents each. Some of the Uncle Scrooge comics, such as The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan, directly inspired original DuckTales episodes of the same name.
In 2017, a third generation of children will have the joyous opportunity to “solve a mystery, or rewrite history” with “DuckTales woo oo”!
(Image ©Disney)
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Kendall began visiting Walt Disney World in 1991 with her family and has continued to visit the resort with her husband. As a child, she and her family filled vacations with challenges such as “How many times can we ride Splash Mountain during SpectroMagic and the fireworks?” (Answer: 7) Now, after marrying a converted Disney skeptic, she and her husband enjoy challenges such as “How many hours can we eat nonstop at the Food & Wine Festival?” (Answer: 4)
