Any nineties kid could tell you about DuckTales, and practically everybody knows the theme song. Whether you’re familiar with the cartoon, or if you just know it in passing, DuckTales has remained one of the most iconic Disne🤡y series in television. The show is making quite👍 the impact on viewers even thirty years later.
The series quickly became popular after its worldwide release, winning the hearts of many people. Hungary actually has a word for that particular generation, called the Ducktales Gener🍬ation. In fact, the show has become so popular that Disney has even started up a reboot of the series. Whether Disney intended to or not, it made a big impact with this TV series about anthropomorphized ducks having some pretty crazy adventures.
So, what is it about DuckTales that got so many people’s attention𝄹? Why did this series resonate with so many of the 90s generation? Maybe it was🔥 the idea of an old, miserly duck going on crazy treasure hunts. Maybe it was the fun family bond we saw between Scrooge and his nephews. Or maybe it was because the animation was actually really good quality, especially for animated television. Whatever the reason, this show definitely made waves in the television world.
But how much do you know about DuckTales? This show has quiteꦅ the rich history in Disney, and with that history comes some pretty interesting elements going on behind the scenes. There’s a lot about the show you likely don’t know.
So here are 20 surprising facts you may not know about DuckTales. Think we missed a few interesting facts? ෴Be sure to let us know!
20 These Four Hav🉐e Something In Common
We know that the triplets in DuckTales are all pretty much interchangeable. The only way that you can tell the three apart is by their clothing: Huey always wears red, Dewey wears blue, and Louie wears gre💙en. The triplets have similar personalities and they’re all even voiced by the same voice actor.
What you may not also know is that the triplets also share the same voice actor with Webby Vanderquac෴k, Mrs. Beakley’s granddaughter. Russi Taylor is the voice of the younger ducks. If that name sounds familiar, there’s a good reason. Russi is also the voice of Minnie Mouse. Talk🦄 about some awesome connections! I wonder what it would be like if Minnie ever met the triplets. That would make for a pretty interesting crossover.
19 An Interesting Origin Story �🐲�
Darkwing Duck was a rather popular TV series that co-starred the popular Launchpad McQuack. It was a great series that had a James Bond, Batman feel to it, with an awesome vigilante and crazy scenarios. But what you may not know is that Darkwing Duck was actually inspired by DuckTales. More specifically, it was𒆙 inspired by an episode in the show.
There’s an episode in DuckTales called “Double O’ Duck,” Where Launchpad gets involved in quite the adventure. The whole episode has this James Bond, super spy feel. It was from this episode that the creators got the idea for Darkwing Duck. In fact, the series was originally going to be called Double O’ Duck. That’s pretty crazy that we never would’ve gotten our dark mallard hero if it hadn’t been for DuckTales!
18 ♊ So... Where Am I? ꩵ
Now we know quite a bit about Duckberg and that life can be pretty crazy there, but as far as geography goes, we actually don’t know much about where Duckberg is. Dependಌing on the medium, Duckberg has been placed in several different locations. People can’t seem to agree on where this place actually is.
What we do know from the comic books is that Duckberg is in Calisota, a fictional state in the United States. But where that state is exactly in the U.S. isn’t really known. Various maps have shown it to be on the West Coast, near P💯ittsburg, and even by Virginia. I guess it doesn’t really matter since it’s a fictional town, but it’d be nice to ✃have some sort of geographical reference. Some of us like a little accuracy!
17 A Beaut💞iful Inspirat🌟ion
Magica de Spell is likely one of the most popular villains on Ducktales, probably because she’s a pretty significant threat. She’s 💧a powerful witch that often clashes with Scrooge, and is als🍎o known for her dark charm and appeal. But did you know who inspired her design? The source may surprise you.
Carl Bark🅺s said that he took inspiration for Magica from two Italian actresses, Gina Lollobrigida and Sophie Loren, and also from Morticia Addams. The idea for the design was he wanted to create a witch who was not only not ugly, but actually good looking. And looking at Magica, I can definitely see the Morticia Addams inspiration (plus Morticia is just fabulous). But calling a duck attractive seems a little weird to me. . .
16 Russia’s First (American)🦋 Cartoon 🦹
DuckTales not only gained popularity in the US but worldwide as well. It’s been broadcast everywhere from France to Mexico, and it’s been translated to several different languages. But there’s one area that aired that may actually surprise you. In 1991, DuckTales aired in the former Soviet Union, and it’s the f𒉰irst American cartoon to air in Russia.
It’s not surprising that no American animation had aired before in Russia, given the tenuous relationship between the two countries. But once the Cold War was over, relations began to improve, at least to the point where DuckTales was allowed to air. It’s pretty interesting that the first animated American show to ever air in the former Soviet Union is one about a very rich duck going on adventures with ♎his nephews.
15 ꧙ Inspiratio꧙n Goes Both Ways
You likely knew that the DuckTales show was loosely based on the Uncle Scrooge comics. And you may have also known that DuckTales took some inspiration from Indiana Jones with the music and the logo. But did you know that the original comics inspired Indiana Jones?
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg both said that it was the adventures of Scrooge McDuck in the Uncle Scrooge comics that inspired them to create Indiana Jones. If you look at all of them, there are a lot of similarities between Jones and Scroog𒆙e. Even their personalities are quite a♏ bit alike, although Jones is much less concerned about money. If it hadn’t been for Carl Barks, the creator of the comics, we wouldn’t have our favorite explorer with a whip.
14 🦹 He’s Not As Scottish As You Think
Remember Gl༒omgold, one of Scrooge’s big nemesis, also known as the second richest duck in the world? You likely remember him having an even thicker Scottish accent than Scrooge McDuck. In the series, Glomgold was a native of Scotland, just like Scrooge was. It made their rivalry 🌳rather entertaining (two Scottish ducks yelling at each other is pretty funny). But did you know that in the comics, Glomgold wasn’t actually Scottish?
Glomgold was originally a European from South Africa. His nationality was changed in the TV series due to tensions and political turmoil going on in South Africa at the time. The creators also felt that giving him a Scottish origin would give him a great connection to Scrooge, making their 🤡rivalry more real. It’s quite the change though.
13 You Can Hear It Four Different Way🍸s 🎐
If you haven’t heard of the DuckTales theme song, you’ve been living under a rock. It’s been known as one of the catchiest cartoon theme songs in existence; it only takes a few beats before you’re humming along and singing “Woo-oo!” The song has become rather iconic, so much that even the reboot of the series kept it. But did you know that there’s more tha🃏n one version of the song?
There are actually four different versions. There’s the theme we’re familiar with that has one verse the chorus, a bridge, and the final chorus. The Disney afternoon version is a little bit shorܫter, and there’s a version on read-along cassette tapes that include an instrumental section. And finally, there’s a full-length version that includes a guitar solo, an additional verse, and a fadeout ending.
12 ꧂ 𝐆 A Pretty Short TV Life
Considering how popular the show became and how it’s now regarded as one of the best and most well-known cartoon series, it’s a bit surprising that it didn’t have that many seasons. In fact, DuckTales only had four seasons, and ran from 1987 to 1990. But it di🌼d have 100 episodes, which is nothing to sneeze at. The number of episodes varies greatly in the seasons with the first season having a whopping 65 episodes.
After the movie DuckTales: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp didn’t make as much a🦂s Disney had hoped it would, the show was soon canceled after that. Which is a pity since I think people still would’ve watched more. That’s probably why the reboot has gained a lot of attention. We’ll just have to see how well this reboot does🐻.
11 ꦫ I’m Seeing A Connection
The DuckTales video game became one of Capcom’s greatest successes. In fact, they recently did a remastered version of the game that you can get. But does the original game look a little familiar to you? If you look at the structure and design of the game you may notice some similarities to another popular game at the time: Mega Man. And th🐼ere’s a reason why these two games look a bit🍸 alike.
It turns out that the main team that worked on the DuckTales video game were also part of the team that worked on Mega Man. Now I would love to see a crossover between those two worlds. I can just imagine how much the nephews would freak 🌳out over Mega Man. Make it happen, Disney and Capcom!