All-New DuckTales (TV series)

All-New DuckTales is an American animated television series, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and distributed by Buena Vista Television. It’s the sequel to the original 1987 series. The cartoon series premiered on ABC on September 10, 1994. It ran for a total of 65 episodes for over 5 seasons, with its final episode broadcast on December 5, 1998.

Based upon “Uncle Scrooge” and other Duck universe created by Carl Barks, the story follows Scrooge McDuck, his 3 teenage grandnephews (Huey, Dewey and Louie) and close friends of the group on various adventures, many of which either involve seeking out treasure or thwarting the efforts of villains seeking to steal Scrooge’s fortune.

The sequel series was a ratings success, receiving a franchise of merchandise, including video games and comic books. This TV show is being notable for the first Disney TV series to get a sequel treatment.

The series features the voices of Neil Patrick Harris (“Doogie Howser, M.D.”) as Huey, Kirk Cameron (“Growing Pains”) as Dewey, Wil Wheaton (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) as Louie and Alyssa Milano (“Who’s the Boss?”) as Webby.

Premise
Huey, Dewey and Louie resides with their uncle Scrooge McDuck. Working for Mr. McDuck is Mrs. Beakley, who is Webby’s maternal grandmother. Although reluctant to do so, Scrooge finds them to be resourceful and intelligent, and soon warms to having a family at his manor, despite still pursuing efforts to increase his wealth.

Alongside these characters, other stories also feature appearances by Moby Duck, Fethry Duck, Gladstone Gander, Duckworth the butler and Gyro Gearloose, as well as guest appearances by Donald Duck, Joe Carioca and Panchito Pistoles.

Most stories used in the TV show revolve around one of three common themes – the first focuses on the group’s efforts to thwart attempts by various villains to steal Scrooge’s fortune and take over the world; the second focuses on a race for treasure; the third focuses on the nephews and Webby’s days in high school. Although some stories are original or based on Barks’ comic book series, others are pastiches on classic stories or legends, including characters based on either fictional or historical people. The series is well noted for its many references to popular culture, including James Bond and Indiana Jones.

Production
With the success of “DuckTales” and “Darkwing Duck”, Walt Disney Television Animation on a sequel series in 1993, with the intention of having it ready for a 1994 debut, and its episodes airing within an 8-10 a.m. placement, on a Saturday morning when more children would be watching television. Seeking to create a Disney cartoon with high-quality animation, similar to other 1990s cartoons which had much higher budgets, Disney outsourced some of the animation workload to AKOM, having previously used other Korean production companies on such cartoon shows as “Tiny Toon Adventures” and “X-Men.”

Legacy
The sequel proved even more immediate success for Disney. In addition, “All-New DuckTales” also spawned a franchise of merchandising, including toys, video games and comic books.

Cast

 * Neil Patrick Harris as Huey Duck
 * Kirk Cameron as Dewey Duck
 * Wil Wheaton as Louie Duck
 * Alyssa Milano as Webby Vanderquack
 * Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck
 * Joan Gerber as Mrs. Beakley
 * Chuck McCann as Duckworth / Burger Beagle / Bouncer Beagle
 * Richard Gautier as Moby Duck
 * Barry Gordon as Gyro Gearloose
 * Charlie Adler as Fethry Duck
 * Rob Paulsen as Gladstone Gander
 * Pat Fraley as Bigtime Beagle
 * Frank Welker as Baggy Beagle
 * Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck