46 Fun Facts About DuckTales

DuckTales was based on comic books about Scrooge McDuck created by which artist?

Barks introduced Scrooge in a 1947 story and said the character was partly inspired by John D. Rockefeller.

How many episodes did the original DuckTales run for?

Season one alone had 65, the 'magic number' needed to run five days a week for thirteen weeks.

Why does Donald Duck leave Huey, Dewey and Louie with Scrooge at the start of the original series?

Donald then appears only in occasional cameos, partly because Disney barred its TV studio from using its Golden Age stars.

What prized possession are villains, especially Magica De Spell, forever trying to steal from Scrooge?

In the 2017 reboot Magica spends years imprisoned inside it, and Scrooge is said to have come to America after inventing shoe-shining machines.

Who voiced Scrooge McDuck in the original series and for more than 40 years overall?

Alan Young, Wilbur on Mister Ed, first voiced Scrooge on a 1974 record and kept the role through Mickey's Christmas Carol and the Kingdom Hearts games until his death in 2016.

Which voice actress played all three of Huey, Dewey and Louie, plus Webby, in the 1987 series?

Russi Taylor voiced all four kids; she was also the voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 until her death in 2019 and played Martin Prince and the twins Sherri and Terri on The Simpsons.

What is the name of Scrooge's accident-prone pilot?

His motto is 'If it has wings, I can crash it', and he later became a main character on a caped spin-off set in St. Canard.

Which superhero identity does Scrooge's accountant Fenton Crackshell secretly adopt?

He was introduced in season two alongside 'caveduck' Bubba and his pet triceratops Tootsie.

In DuckTales, which kilt-wearing villain schemes to replace Scrooge McDuck as the 'richest duck in the world'?

Flintheart Glomgold is Scottish and wears a kilt in the TV version, unlike the comics; in the reboot he and Scrooge bet their companies on who will be richest by year's end.

In DuckTales, which character heads the gang of masked robbers who target Scrooge's money bin, springing them from jail?

Ma Beagle, the Beagle Boys' mother, springs her sons from jail for her schemes yet always avoids being caught; June Foray voiced both her and Magica De Spell.

Magica De Spell is Italian in the comics, but what accent was she given in the cartoon?

June Foray gave Magica a thick Eastern European accent in the 1987 show, calling everyone 'dahlink' much like her Natasha Fatale from Rocky and Bullwinkle; the comics make her a Neapolitan sorceress.

What is the name of the city where DuckTales is set?

After season one the show largely stopped globe-trotting and kept its adventures closer to home.

DuckTales was Disney's first cartoon produced for what?

DuckTales was Disney's first cartoon made for weekday syndication, sold station by station rather than to a network; its success paved the way for Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin and the Disney Afternoon block.

The series premiered in 1987 with which television movie, later split into a five-part serial?

'The Treasure of the Golden Suns' aired on 18 September 1987 as a two-hour movie and was later cut into five episodes; season two consisted only of two more serials, 'Time Is Money' and 'Super DuckTales'.

Who wrote the DuckTales theme song?

Mark Mueller, a pop songwriter with no cartoon credits at the time, wrote both the DuckTales theme and the Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers theme; Jeff Pescetto sang the DuckTales recording.

Which pop group did Disney first hire to sing the theme before choosing Jeff Pescetto?

Disney first had The Jets, the Minneapolis family group behind 'Crush on You', record the song, then went with demo singer Jeff Pescetto; The Jets later sang the Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers theme instead.

The full-length version of the theme has a guitar solo played with what effect to mimic duck noises?

Vanity Fair called the theme 'History's Catchiest Single Minute of Music' when the reboot arrived.

Composer Ron Jones said he scored the show seriously, like which film, rather than as a kids' show?

Ron Jones has said he scored DuckTales like Raiders of the Lost Ark rather than a cartoon, writing full adventure cues; he went on to score Star Trek: The Next Generation and Family Guy.

Which Back to the Future actor voiced the sorcerer Merlock in the DuckTales movie?

Christopher Lloyd, Doc Brown in Back to the Future, voiced the sorcerer Merlock, with Rip Taylor as the Genie and Richard Libertini as the thieving henchman Dijon.

How many wishes does the Genie grant each of the four children in the movie?

They waste them on a baby elephant and a giant ice cream sundae, and Webby's last wish brings all her toys to life.

Which 1951 Donald short was paired with the DuckTales movie in theatres?

A comic-book adaptation with a cover identical to the poster came out at the same time.

Which company developed the acclaimed 1989 NES game based on the show?

It sold over a million copies on both NES and Game Boy, becoming the company's best-selling title on each.

In Capcom's NES game DuckTales, Scrooge attacks enemies from above by bouncing on his cane like what?

A pogo stick is the model for Scrooge's cane bounce; key staff from the Mega Man series made the game, including character designer Keiji Inafune.

Which of these is one of the five levels in the NES DuckTales game?

The others are the African Mines, the Amazon, the Himalayas and Transylvania, and the Moon's music is a fan favourite.

Which option was cut from the NES game for being too out of character for its miserly hero?

Crosses on the Transylvania coffins were also replaced with 'RIP', and hamburgers became ice cream power-ups.

Which studio made DuckTales: Remastered, the 2013 HD remake of the NES game?

The original voices of Scrooge and Launchpad returned for it.

Which Doctor Who star voices the richest duck in the world in the 2017 reboot?

David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, voices Scrooge in his native Scots accent; the original voice cast was replaced entirely, to Launchpad actor Terry McGovern's public dismay.

Which new character, Donald's twin sister and the boys' mother, did the 2017 reboot introduce?

Her disappearance drives season one, and she returns from the Moon in season two just as the Moonlanders plot an invasion.

Which Community actor voices Huey in the reboot?

Danny Pudi, Abed on Community, plays Huey, with Ben Schwartz as Dewey and Bobby Moynihan as Louie; the cast announced itself in 2016 by singing the theme a cappella.

Which Hamilton creator voices Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera in the reboot?

The character was made Latino because of his heritage and because the showrunners wanted more positive Latino superheroes.

Who voices Webby Vanderquack in the 2017 series?

Paget Brewster is Della and Toks Olagundoye is Mrs. Beakley; Tony Anselmo returned as Donald.

What is the title of the 2017 reboot's 44-minute pilot episode?

'Woo-oo!', named for the theme's signature cry, premiered at midnight on Disney XD on August 12, 2017, and was looped for the following 24 hours before the series proper began in September.

Which criminal organisation hunts the McDucks in the reboot's third season?

F.O.W.L., the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny, led by Bradford Buzzard, wants to end adventuring for good; the family meanwhile chases artifacts from the journal of explorer Isabella Finch.

Which Disney Afternoon hero got a 44-minute crossover episode in the reboot's final season?

Darkwing Duck got the double-length 'Let's Get Dangerous!' in 2020; Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin's Kit Cloudkicker, the Wuzzles and Goofy also turned up in the final season.

How many seasons did the 2017 reboot run before its 67-minute finale in March 2021?

It began on Disney XD, moved to Disney Channel for season two, then returned to Disney XD.

Why did Donald Duck barely appear in the original 1987 series?

The restriction was lifted shortly after the original show ended, which is why the reboot could give Donald a big role.

Which Japanese studio, later famous for Akira, animated many early episodes of the original DuckTales?

Tokyo Movie Shinsha, whose feature unit made Akira in 1988, animated the pilot and many first-season episodes; Wang Film Productions and Cuckoo's Nest Studio in Taiwan handled most later ones.

Which of these characters was created for the TV series rather than taken from the comics?

Mrs. Beakley, Webby, Doofus Drake and the butler Duckworth were also new creations for the show.

Carl Barks gave Scrooge McDuck his first named appearance in a 1947 Four Color comic; what was the story called?

Christmas on Bear Mountain introduced Scrooge as a bearded, misanthropic recluse who cursed 'that silly season when everybody loves everybody else'.

Scrooge McDuck takes his name from the miser in an 1843 holiday novella by which author?

Charles Dickens created Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and the same actor voiced both Scrooges in Mickey's Christmas Carol.

Where did IGN rank DuckTales in its 2009 list of the 100 best animated TV shows?

IGN placed DuckTales 18th on its 2009 ranking of the top 100 animated TV series, a list topped by The Simpsons.

In the 2017 reboot, Launchpad initially works for Scrooge in what job before becoming his pilot?

Launchpad starts out as Scrooge's limo driver in the pilot, crashing the car before he ever gets to fly; his plane in the reboot is the Sunchaser.

Which former SNL cast member voices Launchpad McQuack in the 2017 DuckTales reboot?

Bobby Moynihan and Ben Schwartz are in the show too, as Louie and Dewey, while Paget Brewster voices the boys' mother Della.

In both DuckTales series, which nephew wears red?

Huey wears red, Dewey blue and Louie green, a colour code the 1987 show fixed after decades of random comic-book colours; the 2017 reboot kept it and gave each nephew a distinct personality.

In 1991 DuckTales became the first American cartoon shown after the Cold War in which region?

It aired on Sunday mornings in a block called Walt Disney Presents alongside Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, with Darkwing Duck added a year later.

In Hungary, people born in the early-to-mid 1980s are called the 'DuckTales generation' because of what?

The 1993 news of József Antall's death interrupted the cartoon and became that generation's first encounter with politics.