13 Reasons Disney’s DuckTales Reboot Is Simply Quacktastic

It goes without saying that Disney’s DuckTales is steeped in deep nostalgia, and is an iconic classic we all grew to love and adore. The animation first launched 30 years ago and aired more than 100 episodes, all of which were produced between 1987 and 1990.

For anyone who may have missed the original series (and by missed we mean too YOUNG to remember *wink*), DuckTales followed the adventures - or should we say misadventures - of Donald Duck’s extended family and friends, including the tycoon Scrooge McDuck and his adorable nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. The series' popularity led to a full length feature film and a wildly successful video game.

With the animation holding a very special place in Disney TV’s animation history, it certainly struck a chord with fans, so it didn’t take Launchpad McQuack to figure that bringing back the hit TV series and giving it some good ole’ 21st Century TLC would have both the kids and the adults who grew up with the show back on the edge of their seats.

The new series, led by Annie Award-Nominated Matt Youngberg (Ben 10: Omniverse) and Emmy Award-nominated Fransico Angones (Disney XD's Emmy Award-nominated Wander Over Yonder) sees Disney unite several different comics to breathe life into more Donald-tastic adventures. Disney is pulling out all the stops in honour of the big premiere and the new version of the hit animated series certainly has a cast worth quacking about, including David Tennant, Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz and Bobby Moynihan. The high profile cast along with the unique storytelling and artistic showmanship has fundamentally set an incredibly high bar for the highly anticipated reboot and we CANNOT wait!

Ahead of the launch of the brand new television series, MTV International went behind the scenes on an exclusive visit to the Disney Animation Studios in Los Angeles, California for an exciting production studio tour.

Here are 13 reasons why Disney’s DuckTales Reboot is your new obsession:

1 – It’s so darn pwetty…

The hand crafted character designs and animations are simply gorgeous, combining the old comic book style graphics with a modern yet simplistic cartoon design. It may not look like the ’90s DuckTales we may have remembered, but it’s definitely still DuckTales.

The handcrafted feel gives us all the nostalgic feels, and well and truly reminds us of the original TV series legacy. It truly does marry the past with the present and we LOVE it!

2 – There are LOTS of new adventures…

The new series is going to give us a much greater insight into the lives of the characters, as it explores their past and their lives beyond the treasure-hunts and adventures.

3  – A new generation of fans…

The success of the DuckTales relaunch lies in its new audience. Most of the people that grew up with DuckTales in their lives are now adults. What do adults tend to have when they grow up? The answer... children! 

4 – It’s got a seriously quacking voice cast…

Disney certainly haven’t disappointed us in the voice department, with so many hilarious humans joining the all new cast.

The main cast includes the likes of David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck, Beck Bennett as Launchpad, and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Gizmoduck, with Danny Pudi and Ben Schwartz also joining the star-studded lineup.

5 – The series will have a story arc…

In an exclusive interview with Francisco Agones, the Co-Producer and Story Editor explained how the storyline evolves throughout the series.

“When you join our show there’s a reason that Huey, Dewey, and Louie don’t know that Scrooge is their uncle. There’s a reason Scrooge and Donald haven’t talked for a long time. We wanted to present the (Duck) kids as surrogates for the audience. We wanted to present what it was like to find out what your place is in this family and learn about all this crazy history. By virtue of that, naturally there are these longer story questions."

6 – The classic theme song that makes our heart soar is BACK…

Yes, that theme song which is still in our heads after 27 years off the air returns! The new intro has been re-recorded with a chorus for a different sound and is still no less addictive.

7 – C stands for Comedy…

When we say the new series is laugh out loud funny, we’re not ducking about. Witty dialogue accompanied by sudden plot changes makes the show pure gold with a sense of humour that will have Grandma chuckling.

8 – THERE’S MERCH…

You can now rock some srsly stylish ‘DuckTales’ merchandise over at http://disney.co.uk. You know you want it… and so do your friends.

9 – There will be new villains…

Speaking exclusively to executive producer Matt Youngberg, he explained: “DuckTales has all of these rival wealthy billionaire types that are industrialists, and they always, always upstage one another. In addition to Glomgold, who is our kind of our go-go 80’s billionaire. Then we also have a new character we’re really excited to introduce called Mark Beaks, and he is our tech billionaire who cares more about buzz than bucks.”

10 – Ducktor who?

TWO former Doctor Who stars are just some of the new voices joining the all star lineup. Catherine Tate will be joining David Tennant as the voice of Magica De Spell, arch-nemesis to Tennant’s Scrooge McDuck. Ducking awesome, right?

11 – There’s a big mystery to be solved…

Although DuckTales will still follow a similar adventure format to that of the original animation, the new television series wil also experiment with a season-long mystery storyline, with the first big ‘whodunit’ involving a decade-old family secret that will finally explain why Scrooge and Donald stopped spelunking with one another.

12 – One big family…

The family dynamic is something that will truly appeal to everyone, as Youngberg explained: “Every family that I know has in-jokes and secrets and alliances and rivalries. Figuring out those conflicts helped bring the comedy to the show, because when you put Launchpad and Dewey together, that relationship and the fun you can have between them is going to be different than when you put Launchpad and Webby together.”

13 – There are easter eggs…

It’s pretty clear the animation has a wonderful and impressive legacy, right? So it was only fitting to bring back everything we LOVE about Disney, right? Matt Youngberg explained: “We really want to bring in a lot of things we loved as kids from Disney. If you’re a big fan of the old series and the old Disney afternoon, I think you’ll be a big fan of what we’re doing on the show.” Eeeeeek!

Fransisco Angones added: “If you’re paying attention, there are a couple of places that were mentioned in this particular episode that Scrooge has business holdings in that were not put there by accident.”

You can catch DuckTales ‘Woo-oo!’ special on Saturday 4th November at 9.30am on Disney Channel.