Disney’s new world for ‘DuckTales’

Disney Channel’s newest show “DuckTales” will have its season two premiere on Sat., Oct. 20.

The season’s first episode “The Most Dangerous Game…Night” takes the ducks to new stakes in the show. The show opens with an Indiana Jones-inspired setting; the nephews, Webbigail, and Scrooge McDuck must dodge a plethora of flying daggers in order to obtain the treasure. Louie’s reluctance and inability to swiftly move through the daggers like the rest of his family sets the audience up for what later becomes the overarching theme of the episode.

As a reboot of the late-80s animated series, Disney Channel’s new “DuckTales” offers a newly framed look into beloved and well-known characters. New animation techniques and styling, a creative team of storytellers and advanced technology has given the show’s team the option of taking a world that has already been created and makes it their own

“We approach the story as modern creators. We’re trying to tell a story in a climate that’s much different than the 80’s. We take the core of what’s there and then build upon that,” said Matt Youngberg, the show’s executive producer.

Writers, actors and animators all work together in order to take on this modern approach. They have to develop something creative that doesn’t leave behind the core features that the characters have accumulated over the years.

“We drew inspiration from the Goofy movie. It’s a movie that took a Fab Five character [Goofy] and really humanized him, and found the core of this seemingly silly character,” said Francisco Angones, the show’s co-producer and story editor.

Characters like Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and even Huey, Dewey and Louie are all well-known to Disney fans. The show has given them a depth that hasn’t been seen before — all through new storytelling.

“We can always introduce new characters and new stakes. Those new things will have an effect on how our characters relate to each other and to the world,” said Youngberg.

As a story editor, Angones is able to lead the team of writers into creating a new world that old and new fans haven’t seen before.

“In season 2 with Della being on the moon, we have a story that hasn’t really been told in the 80-plus years of Donald, Scrooge and the nephews,” said Angones.

The voice actors on the show are also given the challenge of taking these iconic characters and finding a way to make them their own. With newly introduced plotlines, characters and worlds, those who voice these characters have been successful at doing so.

“I’ve found myself in Huey. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m playing Huey or me. It’s about identifying the moments that are true to my own experience,” said Danny Pudi, the voice of Huey.

The process of producing each episode requires intense collaboration from everyone involved in the process. Writers produce the final script, which then the actors record; artists behind the animation of the show work hard to create roughly sketched storyboards, work with length and sound editing, and finalize the character art. All of this is a year-long process that has each team working on several episodes at a time.

This Disney reboot is not only perfect for the newest generation of children, but also for all of those who once loved the original. It has become a great way to see a different side of the characters that almost everyone loves and also introduce kids to characters that have been adored by many for years.

“When I watch with my daughter, I think we’re both watching for different reasons, but it appeals to us both. The show has levels, like treasure hunts and really great jokes, but also appeals to this sort of nostalgia,” said Pudi.

The show now brings fans an exciting new season two and even has begun a season three. Season one gave a great introduction to new and old characters and season two only further develops this newly established world of “DuckTales”.