By KAITLYN HENSON
Staff Writer
One of the things that bring us Disney nostalgia is the feeling of adventure, the feeling of excitement, and the feeling of belonging. For those familiar with the 1987 Ducktales cartoon, you might be surprised to hear about the 2017 reboot of the franchise, and how spectacular it really is.
Ducktales 2017 was developed by Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones and was produced by Disney Television Animation. It first premiered on Disney XD and gained a lot of praise for its appreciation for the original material and the new alterations this new version had to offer. Youngberg and Angones have stated they grew up with the original cartoon from the ’80s and wanted to adapt it to the younger generations who might not be familiar with it.
The story takes place in Duckberg, following the life of Scrooge McDuck and his multi-million dollar business. After Donald Duck reunites with Scrooge after not speaking for 10 years, he asks the uncle to watch over his own three nephews: Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Throughout the episodes, Scrooge McDuck regains his love of adventure and brings the boys on these journeys discovering treasure, artifacts, and mythological beasts. They are often joined by their pilot Launchpad McQuack, Scrooge’s housekeeper Mrs. Beakley, and her granddaughter Webby.
Throughout the first year of the pandemic, my brother insisted that I try out watching Ducktales, so I eventually gave it a try. I never expected how much I missed watching these kinds of shows, as I became obsessed with rewatching episodes over and over again. I was impressed with the animation and the way the show rewrote the characters into more complex versions of themselves and made all of them feel three-dimensional and relatable. It also gave me a strong feeling of nostalgia seeing characters like Donald Duck, Huey Dewey and Louie, Daisy, Scrooge, and even Goofy himself – characters that I and so many others grew up with watching over the years. Watching Ducktales made me feel like a kid again, and it really helped me through the tough times the pandemic brought during 2020.
I also have to point out the amazing intro of the show that WILL get stuck in your head guaranteed. The animation is insanely good, making the characters feel alive and a part of this incredible world. The villains for each season felt very compelling and interesting. I especially loved Magica De Spell from season 1, how empowering she was, and how she was brought back in later seasons. She became one of my favorite villains in the whole series. I also really really love the arc of the triplet’s mom – Della Duck – and her disappearance. It felt like a truly real part of Ducktales because it’s a question that many fans of the Disney characters have been asking for a while, and it’s amazing how the creators of this reboot were able to answer that and so much more. I can’t even fathom how much Ducktales gets things right.
My favorite character in the entire show however has to be Dewey (the blue triplet). He’s the middle child of the three but has so much personality and energy to him it makes me smile every time he’s on-screen. He acts so much like a really hyper kid who always wants to grab people’s attention and it’s one of the reasons why I love him a lot. Some people might find him annoying, but I find him to be really endearing and funny.
Overall, Ducktales is an incredible show that is often pushed under the rug for it being a reboot of a popular series when that’s far from the truth. This version of Ducktales really pulls at your heartstrings and makes you laugh, cry, smile, and so much more. All the characters are amazing and each season becomes better and better. I would highly recommend watching Ducktales with your friends or family, especially if you grew up with these characters as a kid, and to just experience the feeling of adventure and being a little kid again. This show really helped me get through the pandemic, and it truly has a special place in my heart because of that. If you love shows like Gravity Falls, Phineas, and Ferb, or Tangled: The Series, you would definitely love Ducktales 2017 as well.