Ducktales V3

I loved being a dad back in the 1980s. Life after school was immensely pleasurable and easy to do. I got the kids home (I worked at home, and still do) so that was my job. Got the snacks ready. The turned on the television and took a little break with the kids. After all, we all deserved it.

The familiar music came on, we saw the duck tails wiggling as they strode along, and we were all off on our latest adventure with Uncle Scrooge and the boys. Man, those were the days. Back then there was nothing like DUCKTALES on television. It was Disney's first foray into the animated television market with a series like that, and it became a model for a lot of other Disney products as well as other cartoon companies.

The show ran from 1987 to 1990 and lasted 100 episodes. Besides Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie, the series also gave us other stalwarts from Carl Barker's iconic comics such as Gyro Gearloose, Goldie O'Gilt, Flintheart Glomgold, Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys, Magica DeSpell, and Black Pete.

New characters were also added as the television series progressed. Uncle Scrooge's adopted grandniece Webbigail "Webby" Vanderquack, Launchpad McQuack, Mrs. Beakley, and Duckworth.

There was magic in those shows. In one episode, Uncle Scrooge and the boys could be off on an Indiana Jones-style adventure and in a science fiction story in the next. The barometer for their adventures swung from mythology-based ("The Golden Fleecing") to literature-based ("Duck In The Iron Mask") to movie-based with a twist ("Duck to the Future") to history-based ("The Uncrashable Hindentanic").

For thirty minutes, the kids and I would sit totally mesmerized by the story and our favorite characters. There was real drama, suspense, and laughs to die for. And Huey, Dewey, and Louie always triumphed over the bad guys even though Uncle Scrooge didn't always get the treasure.

The Season 3 DVD release is chockfull of goodness. Thankfully, I have a 10-year-old who hasn't seen them and can sit down with him and enjoy the episodes all over again. He's still living his childhood, but I use him as the excuse to relive mine.

There are 24 episodes in this latest release, but that includes two five-part serials that were originally broadcast over a week of showing to keep everybody in suspense. And, yes, it worked.

This series is absolutely one of the best Disney or anyone else has ever conceived of or produced. If this is your first time through the cartoons, my congratulations because you've got hours of entertainment ahead of you. And if you, like me, love this show, make excuses to put yourself back in front of the television and get ready for some real entertainment and a return to greatness.

I'm happy Disney has been releasing the old shows I used to watch as a kid. This review is for the DVD set and not the show. This set has three discs in slim cases with 8 episodes on each for a total of 24 episodes. There are no special features, just some sneak peaks of movies and the episodes have english and french subtitles.

The audio sounded great and the music is really good but the picture was somewhat deteriorated from what I've watched. There are noticeable white specks and lines that quickly appear and disappear through the course of an episode. I guess they didn't keep the original copies in a safe place. It makes the show look older than it actually is.

Still overall it is a great show that I would rate five stars and if you have young kids in elementary school I would definitely recommend buying this show for them to watch. It is much better than most of the stuff on TV for kids today. I also recommend DuckTales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp.

Here's a list of the episodes:
Duck to the future
Jungle Duck
Lauchpad's First Crash
Dime Enough for Luck
Duck in the Iron Mask
The Uncrashable Hindentanic
The Status Seeker
Nothing to Fear
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. McDuck
Once Upon a Dime
Spies in there Eyes
All Ducks on Deck
Ducky Horror Picture Show
'Til Nephews do us Part
Time Is Money Part One
Time Is Money Part Two
Time Is Money Part Three
Time Is Money Part Four
Time Is Money Part Five
Super DuckTales Part One
Super DuckTales Part Two
Super DuckTales Part Three
Super DuckTales Part Four
Super DuckTales Part Five

Ducktales is one of the legendary shows that had aired since the late 80s and into the Disney Afternoon cartoon block. It is a shame there has not been one volume released with any extras or restored video and audio. But us Ducktales fans we'll take what we can get I guess is how Disney sees it. In the least they could have released Volume 4 and completed the series for the fans. They released each a volume starting in 2005, 2006, 2007 and then suddenly stopped when one volume was left. I thought they might have wanted to give the last volume a little royal treatment with good extras but sadly it's been 2 years since any release and it looks like they just went onto other things but certainly not better things when it comes to this show. Everyone should write into Disney Consumer division or send an email to let them know you want to see a volume 4. There are shows like Gargoyles as well as other Disney afternoon shows like Gummibears which also are waiting to be finished up and shows like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid show which haven't even got one volume off the ground yet. If Disney has too much on their plate why don't they sublicense the show out to a studio who will release it like MillCreek, Shout Factory!. Think of the fans, get someone in the Disney DVD division who actually had love and care for these older but GREAT shows.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 26 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars