50 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.

Which Mister Ed star voiced Scrooge McDuck in the original series and for more than 40 years overall?

He first voiced Scrooge on a 1974 record and also played him in Mickey's Christmas Carol and the Kingdom Hearts games.

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

In 1990 she began voicing recurring characters on The Simpsons, and she was also the long-time voice of Minnie Mouse.

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.

Which villain wants to replace Scrooge as the 'richest duck in the world'?

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

Who leads the show's gang of masked robbers, springing them from jail for her schemes?

June Foray voiced both her and Magica De Spell, whose brother Poe has been turned into a raven.

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

She calls everyone 'darling', which gives her away when she disguises herself as Mrs. Beakley.

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?

Its success paved the way for Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers and TaleSpin and the two-hour Disney Afternoon block.

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

Season two consisted only of two more specials, Time Is Money and Super DuckTales, which introduced Fenton's armoured alter ego.

Who wrote the DuckTales theme song?

He also wrote the Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers theme, and was paid a little over $1,000 for the DuckTales tune.

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

Pescetto went on to sing the themes for Rescue Rangers, the caped spin-off and The Disney Afternoon itself.

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?

His cue library began with the episode 'Armstrong', and Intrada finally released a two-CD selection of his score in 2026.

DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp is loosely based on which Arabian Nights tale?

Scrooge hunts the treasure of the thief Collie Baba, and Webby is allowed to keep a worthless-looking old lamp.

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

Rip Taylor voiced the Genie, and Scrooge's veteran voice actor said he would 'sit there in awe' watching the two newcomers work.

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.

How did the 1990 DuckTales movie fare at the box office?

Disney scrapped several planned sequels; it was the first Disney-distributed animated film not made by Walt Disney Feature Animation.

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 the NES game, Scrooge bounces around on his cane like what?

Key staff from the Mega Man series made it, 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?

He is a Scot playing Disney's most famous Scot; the original voice cast was replaced entirely, to Terry McGovern's 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?

Ben Schwartz is Dewey and Bobby Moynihan is Louie, and the cast announced themselves 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?

It premiered at midnight on Disney XD on August 12, 2017 and was repeated for the next 24 hours straight.

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

The family is chasing artifacts from the journal of legendary explorer Isabella Finch while the villains try to end adventuring for good.

Which caped Disney Afternoon hero got a 44-minute reboot episode, 'Let's Get Dangerous!'?

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 the first season of the original DuckTales?

Wang Film Productions and Cuckoo's Nest Studio in Taiwan handled most later episodes.

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.

In which comic story did Scrooge McDuck make his first named appearance in 1947?

He began as a bearded, misanthropic recluse who cursed 'that silly season when everybody loves everybody else'.

Scrooge McDuck is named after a character created by which author?

Ebenezer Scrooge of A Christmas Carol lent his name; 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?

Chip 'n Dale, TaleSpin's Kit Cloudkicker, the Wuzzles and Goofy also turned up in the final season.

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

His signature plane in the reboot is the Sunchaser, and Beck Bennett voices him.

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 season two of the reboot, Della escapes from where before reuniting with her family?

The Moonlanders she leaves behind, led by General Lunaris, are secretly planning to invade Earth.

In the reboot's third season, whose journal of lost artifacts guides the McDucks' quest?

The villains of F.O.W.L. race them for the same relics, hoping to rid the world of adventuring altogether.

How many episodes made up the original show's first season, the 'magic number' for syndication?

That is enough for five episodes a week over thirteen weeks; three more seasons followed, ending in a seven-episode run in late 1990.

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.