In case you missed it, the much anticipated reboot of the Ducktales series made its debut on August 12th on Disney XD in the US. Disney is so confident about the series that it aired the premiere all day for 24 hours on the network, then have it up on streaming services like Amazon Prime, all the way to being easily available on Youtube. Seriously, Disney REALLY wants you to pay attention to Ducktales. As you may or may not have already known, Ducktales is a reboot of the original series of the same name back in the 80s, itself a loose adaptation of the Duck Universe comics written by Carl Barks and later by Don Rosa.
The series premiere begins with Donald and his nephews pretty much behaving as they are best known for in the classic short films. When Donald has to go to a job interview and the boys getting rid of their babysitter, Donald reluctantly takes Huey, Dewey, and Louie under the care of his uncle, Scrooge McDuck. However, Donald and Scrooge have an estranged relationship that isn't explained as to why, though it's been noted they haven't had any contact with each other in 10 years.
As the richest duck in the world, Scrooge appears very cold towards his nephews and the latter do question what became of him as Scrooge was famous as an adventurer during his younger years. Nevertheless, the boys' attraction to trouble led them to dangerous situations that sparked the fire back inside Scrooge, which motivates him to bring them along on a expedition to find the Lost City of Atlantis and its treasures. Donald would unknowingly join them as his job application has him work as a sailor for Scrooge's rival, Flintheart Glomgold, who is also after Atlantis.
First off, I am very happy that Donald has a more active role in this series as opposed to the original Ducktales where he is a guest character. I mentioned it before that it's because of Donald, who is my all-time favorite Disney character that I was drawn into Ducktales, eventually warming up to Uncle Scrooge as the protagonist. Donald's larger role in the reboot is much needed indeed as he hasn't had a series with him in a major role since the failed Quack Pack series. Yes, there's the Mickey Mouse shorts, but he is mostly a supporting character there.
Storywise, as expected of Ducktales, it has a more adventure-based narrative. But it also has a bit of drama thrown in with Scrooge and Donald having a very tense relationship. As Don Rosa's "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" was said to be a required reading for all the staffers involved with the reboot, I'm very interested if this new Ducktales will contain the same amount of drama and seriousness as in the comic book. While Gravity Falls and the Goofy movies have similar themes at some points, the scale is smaller when compared to the Duck Universe comics. I'd give a huge respect to Disney if they did made the reboot give just as much an emotional impact as would the comics.
That's not to say Ducktales shouldn't have any light-heartedness. I do welcome the shenanigans it brings. While there isn't anything in the first two episodes that would make you laugh (I mean, Disney is NOT known for their comedy, but that's another story), it did gave me a few chuckles. My favorite is Huey giving Launchpad instructions and Launchpad follows through instantaneously even though he is taking orders from a kid whom he just met.
The 1-hour premiere reveals that Ducktales will have plenty of lore that's waiting to be discovered. Observant viewers will notice the show gives many references to previous Disney shows like Darkwing Duck and Goof Troop, among others. Of course, these could be just mere Easter Eggs, or it is possible that Ducktales is intended to create an animated, interconnected Disney universe, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The biggest lore that got many viewers interested in is with regards to Scrooge's past. In the reboot, Donald was Scrooge's companion when he was still an adventurer. But it turns out Scrooge has a 2nd companion - Della Duck, Donald's sister and the mother of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Since then, there has been a lot of fanart and maybe a few fan fictions as well of Donald and Della together, painting them as incredibly close. You could say that the fans' interpretations of Donald and Della are similar to that of Dipper and Mabel in Gravity Falls.
In the comics, Donald became the legal guardian of the boys when Della met a tragic fate. It's unknown at this point if the reboot will follow through with that story, or just say Della went missing for several years. Regardless, the fate of Della Duck serves as the catalyst for the breakdown in relations between Scrooge and Donald, the latter becoming the nephews' legal guardian, explains his over-protectiveness to the boys, and the latter's troublesome behavior towards their uncle.
From what I've heard, a number of people who worked on the reboot have also worked on the Italian Disney comics. The Italian Disney comics are well known for further expanding the stories of the Disney characters and placing them in a number of genres and tones that are very popular. It does explain why the art style and animation of the Ducktales reboot seems a bit more in-tune with the comics.
Some people complained about the voices of the characters being not as good as the classic ones, especially that of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, who are given much older voices even though they're supposed to be pre-teens. Honestly, after watching the first few minutes, I was already accustomed to their voices. What's surprising to me is that although Huey, Dewey, and Louie are played by three different voice actors, I still couldn't tell them apart from their voices because they all sound quite similar to one another.
Mrs. Beakley is another surprise. She's supposed to be an elderly housekeeper at the McDuck manor except she's far more than that. While we don't know exactly how old she is other than she is Webby's grandmother, the best way I could describe Beakley is she is Ducktale's counterpart to Brock Samson of the Venture Bros. with a cool British accent. Best guess is Beakley is a retired Secret Service agent whom Scrooge hired as housekeeper and secretary, much to Beakley's chagrin with regards to the latter.
As for David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck, he fits the role perfectly. This is mainly because Scrooge is supposed to be Scottish and Tennant is a native Scotsman himself. So the two blend so seamlessly you actually believe Scrooge is a native Scotsman.
Out of all the voices in the series, the biggest surprise is Donald. Tony Anselmo has been playing the character for years. But Donald's voice wasn't meant to be used when talking seriously, and it's always used as a gag. If you've seen the classic Donald Duck shorts, you know his voice is part of that gag. Imagine Donald as Michael Stevens from VSauce and explaining serious science subject, and it would sound awkward with that voice of his.
But Anselmo has somehow managed to get that part of Donald's voice to work. When Donald speaks to the boys, he speaks as a parent. And when he shows his disdain towards Scrooge, he legitimately shows it - all while in the classic Donald voice. When you hear it, it doesn't sound awkward at all, but more like Donald's voice just comes out naturally you wouldn't even think about it. Now I want to hear Anselmo doing Donald's voice in the Paperinik and Double Duck stories as those place Donald in an even more serious role than he is in Ducktales.
And to all the aspiring voice actors out there, take Anselmo's role as Donald in Ducktales as study material. If you could do Donald's voice while engaging in a normal conversation, or reading Shakespeare while maintaining character and not sounding too awkward, you'd be hired.
All-in-all, I am very very impressed with the Ducktales reboot and is definitely THE Disney show I will be devotiing my full attention to when the series returns in September. It does justice to both the original series and the comics and Donald Duck is given his proper due that fans and critics truly appreciate. I do recommend you check it out if you haven't so already. The first two episodes of the Ducktales reboot is easily available almost everywhere, even on Youtube, while the series will return with weekly episodes coming this September on Disney XD in the US.
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