Today we live in a world of reboots, remakes and reimaginings of classic shows or movies that we love. The power of nostalgia is strong. Let’s be honest, most of the new versions of the old things we loved from our childhood are not great. But every so often one comes along that stands above the rest. And the 2017 DuckTales reboot is one of them. Continuing the tales and adventures of Uncle Scrooge along with Huey, Dewey, Louie and their friend Webby, what could have been another bad reboot of our childhood ending up being one of the best Disney cartoons to come along in quite a while, keeping with the original heart and adding many new amazing layers to an already great mix.
Now in its second season, DuckTales continues to make waves among the fans and Disney community. This year at SDCC 2019 the panel was going to be about where the show will be heading in its third season and how many other great nostalgias they can throw at the fans. As a fan, they can throw a lot.
On the panel was the creators Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones along with cast Paget Brewster (Della Duck) Kate Micucci (Webby) Bobby Moynihan (Louie) Ben Schwartz (Dewey) and special guest Lin-Manuel Miranda who plays the voice of Gizmoduck. For about 40 mins the panelists waxed nostalgically about how much the show meant for all of them growing up and just how important the Disney Afternoons were for a whole generation of kids in the 90s.
Ok kids… in 1990s The Disney Afternoon was a two-hour block every day that would show four Disney shows back-to-back. Every couple of seasons they would add and subtract a show, but this is where all kids got to watch: DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Gummy Bears, Goof Troop and others. This was a cartoon line up worth running home for. And more or less from 1990-1997 this was where kids could go every day to get their Disney fill.
Since relaunching DuckTales, all the fans could wonder about is: is this the beginning of restarting the Disney Afternoons shows again? I mean, with Disney+ coming who can say. But entering their third season the DuckTales creators left us with some awesome things to come. The panelists revealed an ensemble poster for the show’s upcoming lineup for future seasons, which is basically a resurrected ‘90s Disney Afternoon. Characters on the poster include Daisy Duck (who did not appear in the original), Goofy, Gadget, Chip, Dale, and Monterey Jack from Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. There is also a grown-up Kit and Molly from TaleSpin, Gosalyn Mallard from Darkwing Duck, and a whole lot more.
As a fan this is all I wanted. And from the reaction in the room, it was all everybody else wanted too. There is life to these old characters. When given time and respect reboots can be just as good as their originators.
