Remember DuckTales? We do — the Disney cartoon ran for four seasons and 100 episodes back in the late 1980s, following the adventures of penny-pinching magnate Scrooge McDuck and his three great-nephews, Huey, Louie, and Dewey. More than two years ago, we reported that Disney was planning a series reboot to arrive in 2017, and lo and behold, DuckTales is back.
The series premiered this weekend on Disney XD, but don’t worry if you missed it, because Disney has posted the pilot — yes, the full episode — on YouTube for anyone to watch. If that news makes you feel like diving into a massive sea of gold doubloons, you’re not alone.
The new DuckTales shares a basic premise with the original, but there are a few key differences this time around which (we think) will improve upon the already-successful formula. The OG Scrooge McDuck was voiced by the late, great Alan Young, a legendary personality once called “the Charlie Chaplin of television.” Young is irreplaceable, of course, but nabbing David Tennant (Doctor Who) to voice the thrifty, Scottish avian is a pretty great get.
Donald is back in the pilot — and still quite difficult to understand — and the kids have been updated a bit, too. In the original series, Huey, Louie, and Dewey were essentially clones, present only as foils for Scrooge’s misadventures. In the reboot, they each have distinct personalities — Huey is the charming troublemaker, while Dewey is a bit more reticent, and Louie inherited the greed bug from his great-uncle.
A new, crisp animation style is also in play here, which gives the show a solid makeover while still bringing back fond memories of ’80s DuckTales. The level of detail here is incredible, with lots of little callbacks to episodes from the original series. Of interest to fans: Four years ago, WayForward remade the DuckTales video game.
The McDucks might not be the only classic cartoon trio getting a reboot, either; reports earlier this year suggest that Warner Brothers’ Animaniacs could be making a comeback after nearly 20 years. The misadventures of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot were typically geared toward a slightly older audience than DuckTales, but we would still be hyped to see their return.