It quickly became popular from a combination of entertaining plots, a catchy theme song, and the introduction of characters such as Scrooge McDuck to many young fans. The show aired from 1987 to 1990. Despite its popularity, however, many fans found themselves unsure when the reboot was announced. Many cartoon reboots that were currently airing had become notorious for barely resembling their original (often extremely popular) shows and were instead lowest common denominator cartoons meant for younger audiences. In addition, popular Disney cartoon Gravity Falls had just had its ending announced, causing many to believe that DuckTales v2.0 was only being created to fill the void that Gravity Falls left behind. However, upon the release of the first episode, DuckTales quickly gained a fanbase of both old and new viewers, all eager to see the tales of the Duck family once again. The show ended on what many fans would call an extremely high note and a reputation that this was how to correctly reboot a show. But just why was it viewed so highly? Let’s break it down. Spoilers below!

The Story

All three of DuckTales’ seasons have an overarching story, as well as smaller arcs throughout the episodes. Season one’s story deals with Dewey trying to learn just what happened to his mother, Della Duck, as well as Magica DeSpell trying to reclaim her stolen power from Scrooge. Season two deals with Della’s return and how the family adapts to it, as well as an invasion from the moon. Finally, season three pits the family against evil spy organization F.O.W.L in a race to find the missing mysteries of Isabella Finch. All three of the arcs feel like they get the right amount of time in the spotlight without feeling too overwhelming. In addition, the episodes that are more distant from the main plots still have great stories on their own. While a few episodes were rather lackluster, there is not a single episode of the show I would openly say is bad. 

The Characters

A common warning given to those writing stories is that “A story is only as good as its characters.” Thankfully, DuckTales delivers with a fantastic cast of characters to match its story. Some characters, such as Scrooge and Donald, are left mostly the same as their previous incarnations. However, many characters were given brand new personalities, usually for the better. In most past Disney canons that use them, Huey, Dewey and Louie are all basically the same character with a few minor differences. Here, they all have vastly different personalities, with Huey being the cautious planner who is quick to get nervous if he can’t plan things out, Dewey being the adventurous show off who always wants to be the center of attention, and Louie being the sly conman who can easily talk himself out of trouble. The new characters all are great as well, with some of my personal favorites being Lena, Penumbra, and, while not a completely new character, Della Duck. The villains are also great, with many of them being both humorous and threatening. 

The Crossovers

One of the most well-known things about DuckTales is the many crossovers with past Disney Afternoon shows. They started out rather minor, with Darkwing Duck serving as Launchpad’s favorite show, before blossoming into major episodes in their own rights, with the aforementioned Darkwing Duck actually becoming real on the show and bringing in many of its main characters. Along with that, other shows used include Goof Troop, Chip N’ Dale, Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin to even The Wuzzles and Gargoyles. All of these characters were used both lovingly and faithfully, making any fan of the block both happy and nostalgic. 

Much like the show it was believed to be replacing, DuckTales leaves Disney with a legacy. A legacy that will only continue, as the creators have already confirmed a podcast set in the universe, titled This Duckburg Life, is set for release sometime soon. In addition, a reboot of Darkwing Duck has also been confirmed to be in the works and set for release on Disney+, although it is unknown if that will be set in the same universe as this.