It’s Wednesday. Hump Day. So it’s normal to feel that “life is like a hurricane.” You feel like you’ve been dodging “race cars, lasers, aeroplanes” — it’s a “duck blur,” am I right?
You can certainly be forgiven for feeling that way today, with the news that Disney has announced an all-new DuckTales series for Disney XD in 2017. The official “Oh My Disney” blog dropped the bombshell, along with the artwork above (which is certainly classic but looks new to me) and a few welcome character details:
The new series will star the same beloved characters as the old: Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Launchpad McQuack, Donald Duck, Duckworth, Gyro Gearloose, Flintheart Glomgold, Magica DeSpell, Poe, Ma Beagle, the Beagle Boys, Mrs. Beakley, and Webbigail Vanderquack.
Hopefully this will be a continuation and not a reboot. I’m thinking Disney has taken their sweet time with this and will do it right — they know how beloved the original still is, and there are still many unadapted Carl Barks and Don Rosa comics to provide a wealth of new adventures without stepping on what’s come before.
Casting information hasn’t been released, so it’s too early to say if all our favorites will sound the way they did a couple years back when Capcom revived its Nintendo Entertainment System adaptation as DuckTales Remastered. But Alan Young, the voice of Uncle Scrooge, is 95 now, so that could go either way. There’s also no word on whether the new series will be a CG affair or traditionally animated like the original, but with recent Disney hits such as Phineas & Ferb and Gravity Falls going the more traditional approach, there’s a good chance fans of the classic 1987-1990 cartoon will be pleased. Webbed digits crossed!
Related: 20 DuckTales episodes that never get old
Speaking of the original DuckTales, buried in today’s announcement is word that episodes from the original show are available to cable subscribers in the “Disney Replay” section of an app called WATCH Disney Channel. Most of the series is available on three DVD volumes (often for as little as $10 per set at Walmart, for example), but the final 25 episodes have been in release limbo for years. Here’s hoping that changes soon!