Mickey and Friends: Who's missing?
Posted by Huw,
This article has been contributed by SearchlightRG:
Folks may know that I’m a fan of a number of LEGO properties, licenced and otherwise. Bionicle, The Lord of the Rings, Ninjago, and Star Wars are all on that list. But another franchise near and dear to my heart is Disney’s Mickey and Friends. It should thus come as no surprise that I’m a fan of the various figures we’ve had of Mickey, Minnie, Oswald, Goofy, and the various Ducks and Chipmunks.
However, as a result of my enthusiasm, I am keenly aware that LEGO hasn’t yet tackled all the characters in this colourful cast-not by a long shot. As such, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the most notable current absences. Virtually all of these characters would warrant new head moulds, at the very least.
Pete
Yes, believe it or not, Pete is considered the oldest Walt Disney character, predating even Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Introduced in Walt Disney’s Alice Comedies, some of his earliest works, Pete has been causing trouble from the very beginning. Unlike with Oswald, Walt was apparently able to hang onto Pete, though Pete’s appearance did alter rather drastically after he was reimagined as Mickey’s nemesis in Steamboat Willie. Over the decades, Pete has – like many Mickey and Friends regulars – undergone a number of additional design changes. He is also rather a stand-out from the usual crowd, being both taller than the likes of Mickey or Donald while also being considerably broader than Goofy.
Pete’s dimensions may be a part of why he’s been omitted from LEGO form to date. He’s certainly a powerfully built character, but also considerably more rotund than the likes of the Hulk or other Superheroes characters who have been depicted as Bigfigs. He might thus require an entire set of new moulds, as opposed to simply a new moulded head.
Francine “Fanny” Cottontail
Note: this image is actually of Minnie Mouse as a rabbit from The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse short “Disappearing Act.”
The next character under consideration is almost as old as Pete, but rather more obscure. Francine “Fanny” Cottontail is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’s original love interest, dating all the way back to a cameo appearance as his wife in the pilot short “Poor Papa” from 1927. After Oswald was retooled somewhat, Fanny became something of a prototype for characters like Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck. In particular, as a rabbit she largely resembled a female version of Oswald himself.
As time went on, Fanny underwent some changes in appearance and personality, ending up as a rather sultry female lead. Then, for reasons unknown, she was entirely dropped from Oswald’s supporting cast. Presumably lost to Disney alongside Oswald, Fanny eventually found her way back to her creator’s company at the same time as the Lucky Rabbit. Considered but ultimately rejected for inclusion in the Epic Mickey series of games, Fanny finally reappeared in the game Disney Speedstorm as a support character for her old boyfriend.
In the admittedly unlikely event that Fanny were to appear in LEGO form, I feel like it wouldn’t be too difficult for LEGO to pull off. Oswald’s head mould could likely be reused for Fanny, perhaps with slight modification. Then it would simply be a matter of possibly creating some new prints for her various parts.
Ortensia Whiskers
From Oswald’s original love interest, we move on to his current one. Ortensia Whiskers is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, being a cat, she departs from the old cartoon trope of having a female love interest be essentially identical in design to her male counterpart except for a feminine touch or two. Secondly, though the character has been around since the 1920s, her name actually originated in the present century. Whereas the Oswald shorts changed her name several times, originally dubbing her Sadie, the creators of Epic Mickey had other ideas. Apparently they figured that even if Ortensia didn’t share Oswald’s animal species inspiration, as with other Mickey and Friends couples, they should at least share a first initial.
Epic Mickey was Ortensia’s first, and most prominent, appearance since her return to Disney alongside Oswald. However, she has been fortunate to also be included in several other projects. These include Disney park appearances, with Ortensia even being the subject of an original song during a fan event. Ortensia also appeared in “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit”, a new short paying homage to the cartoons in which she and Oswald originally appeared. Lastly, she too has appeared as a character in Disney Speedstorm but, unlike Fanny, is featured as a full-fledged playable racer.
We would likely get Minnie’s skirt piece in a new colour for Ortensia. In Epic Mickey pink is apparently Ortensia’s signature colour. However, given that Minnie often sports this colour, Ortensia has also been seen in green.
Clarabelle Cow
Finally, moving onto characters created under the Walt Disney Studios banner, we come to Clarabelle Cow. Clarabelle’s a bit of an oddity, as in her first appearances she was designed as a non-anthropomorphic cow. Eventually, she was redesigned into an upright, more “humanoid” look, while retaining characteristics like her tail and occasionally an udder. Ultimately, Clarabelle settled into her modern look, in which only her head gives away her bovine inspiration.
Like Ortensia, Clarabelle also likes to date guys that don’t resemble male versions of her own design. And in Clarabelle’s case, it really is guys. Notably, on those occasions where Disney hasn’t felt up to generating a completely new romantic interest for Goofy, Clarabelle is their apparent go-to for providing him with a date. Occasions of this include Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Horace Horsecollar
When a particular plot doesn’t call for Clarabelle to be paired with Goofy, she at times can be found instead as the love interest of Horace Horsecollar. Like Clarabelle, Horace started out as a non-anthropomorphic horse before being added to the upright, hand-possessing cast of Mickey and Friends. Even so, he’s almost always to be found sporting his namesake accessory, which is typically used to hitch real horses to ploughs for farm work. It’s also fairly common for Horace to spot a hat, most often a bowler.
Horace hasn’t been quite so prolific in appearances as his off-and-on girlfriend, though he started out as a fairly common companion of Mickey’s. Unfortunately for Horace, after Goofy came onto the scene, the ditzy dog seemingly stole the hearts of fans and animators alike. Since returning to voiced appearances in the 90s, Horace has even been voiced by Bill Farmer, who is also the long-running performer for Goofy. Of course, it’s pretty common for Mickey and Friends actors to play double-or triple, or quadruple-duty.
A Horace minifigure would doubtless produce some interesting challenges. One has to wonder whether his head mould would include Horace’s bowler, or whether LEGO might attempt to make it work with the current bowler hat piece. Horace’s collar would also be tricky to reproduce, and I don’t think mere printing would really do it justice.
Morty and Ferdie
Like Donald, Mickey has a set of multiples for nephews by the names of Morty and Ferdie. The pair debuted in comics in 1932, and that’s where the majority of their appearances have taken place. They have had some sporadic appearances in animation and even video games over the years, however. That’s more than can be said for their mother, Mickey’s sister. Still, Donald’s sister finally got an animated appearance a few years ago, so maybe there’s hope?
Morty and Ferdie traditionally sport an old-fashioned type of hat called a whoopee cap. It vaguely resembles a hat with a fabric ring around it resembling a crown. You may be familiar with it if you’re a fan of Jughead from the Archie Comics or Goober Pyle from The Andy Griffith Show.
Mortimer Mouse
The next mouse on our list shares a name, but little else, with the previous entry. According to one bit of Disney lore, Walt Disney at one point intended to name Mickey Mortimer. If that’s true, another creator seems to have decided that it was fitting to give the name to one of Mickey’s nephews. However, the same story also indicates that it was Walt Disney’s wife who objected to the name Mortimer. That part of the story may have inspired this other Mortimer, who’s more like the anti-Mickey.
Mortimer first appeared in the 1936 short “Mickey’s Rival”, which presented him as an old boyfriend of Minnie’s. He soon demonstrated why he was bad boyfriend material, and didn’t show up in animation again for more than sixty years. Since then Mortimer has been a recurring presence in various Mickey Mouse animated series, and also appeared in several video games. His role in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse special “Super Adventure” also spawned a meme trend not too long ago.
Mortimer’s features are something of a caricature of Mickey’s, no doubt to emphasise just how different the two of them are from each other. With his narrow, elongated snout, Mortimer honestly gives off some rat vibes.
Jose Carioca
Though these days he’s known for being part of the Donald Duck-led trio of the Three Caballeros, Jose Carioca actually debuted in the film Saludos Amigos in 1942, two years before the film that established him as part of the aforementioned trio of birds. Following these two films, Jose went on to appear in one segment of the Melody Time anthology film. He has made various other animation, comic, and even video game appearances over the decades, either with or without one or both of his fellow Caballeros.
Panchito Pistoles
The final member of the Three Caballeros, Panchito debuted in the group’s namesake film in 1944. Perhaps due in part to this later introduction, Panchito’s appearances haven’t been quite as prolific as Jose’s. Where Jose has appeared apart from Panchito and even Donald, Panchito has rarely if ever been seen apart from his two friends. He is also the only Caballero not to appear as a playable character in video games.
April, May, and June
Moving from associates of Donald to those of Daisy, we meet her nieces. Yes, if you weren’t aware, Daisy has a set of triplet nieces just like Donald has a set of triplet nephews. Their names are April, May, and June, and like a number of Mickey and Friends relatives, they originated in the comics. Daisy’s nieces came along in 1953, over a decade after Huey, Dewey, and Louie. The two sets of triplets often serve as foils for each other.
Though largely exclusive to comics, Daisy’s nieces have had a presence in and an influence on Disney Duck animation. Aside from appearing in the House of Mouse and The Legend of the Three Caballeros animated series, the trio have inspired other Duck girl characters. Most notable among these is Webby Vanderquack, a starring character in both the original DuckTales series and its 2017 reboot. The latter series also featured a rather interesting take on April, May, and June, but it’s best discovered by experiencing the series for yourself.
Millie and Melody
Like many of her Mickey and Friends co-stars, Minnie Mouse has been depicted as having a younger relative or two who occasionally pops by in the comics. However, unlike most of her friends, the history of Minnie’s nieces has been somewhat inconsistent. They have gone by different names such as Melody, Melinda, Pammy, and Tammy. Another depiction features nieces named Tiny and Lily, teenagers with a rather distinctive design from the usual depictions.
Millie and Melody are the incarnations that corporate Disney seems to favour, particularly in recent years. The pair made their apparent animated debut in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Since then, they have also appeared in the spin-off series Minnie’s Bow-Toons and in Mickey and the Roadster Racers/Mickey Mouse Mixed Up Adventures.
Max Goof
Our final considered character has the distinction of being the son of one of the Mickey and Friends crew, rather than a niece or nephew. Goofy’s son first appeared in a series of Goofy shorts from the 60s, in which he was a red-headed fellow known only as Junior. Disney later reimagined him in the 90s as the black-haired, or black-furred, Max Goof. This version debuted in Goof Troop, and went on to feature in A Goofy Movie, a trio of direct-to-video films, and the House of Mouse animated series.
Well, there you have it. Not every Mickey and Friends-affiliated character by any means, but definitely a few that could be considered conspicuous for their absence. Here’s hoping Disney and LEGO decide to revisit these guys in the future.
Who have I missed that you'd like to see in LEGO form?
48 likes
50 comments on this article
WE NEED A MAX GOOF SET
Maybe a CMF series of these among others??
I always found it puzzling why Walt was so averse to showing "normal" families with parents and kids but rather resorted to aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews mostly. Grandma Duck being a notable exception.
Funny seeing the original names here, because we as kids grew up with the German names of course, which in most cases are very different, as one might imagine.
As in
Scrooge McDuck - Dagobert Duck
Huey, Dewey and Louie - Tick, Trick und Track
(The three nieces of Daisy I have never seen or heard of before - I only knew of Webby Vanderquack aka Nicky in German - from DuckTales)
Pete - Kater Carlo
Morty and Ferdie - Mack und Muck
Gyro Gearloose - Daniel Düsentrieb
Gladstone Gander - Gustav Gans
Flintheart Glomgold - Mac Moneysac
Magica De Spell - Gundel Gaukeley
Figures from a Goofy Movie please. A Max and Roxanne would be amazing. Powerline also.
I miss Clarabelle and Horace, at least.
I do feel that if they wanted to do Pete he’d have to be a brick built character, because I don’t think any accessory you could add to a minifig (the Na’Vi legs or Bombur’s belly, for instance) would really capture just how much he dwarfs the other characters
@AustinPowers said:
"I always found it puzzling why Walt was so averse to showing "normal" families with parents and kids but rather resorted to aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews mostly. Grandma Duck being a notable exception.
Funny seeing the original names here, because we as kids grew up with the German names of course, which in most cases are very different, as one might imagine.
As in
Scrooge McDuck - Dagobert Duck
Huey, Dewey and Louie - Tick, Trick und Track
(The three nieces of Daisy I have never seen or heard of before - I only knew of Webby Vanderquack aka Nicky in German - from DuckTales)
Pete - Kater Carlo
Morty and Ferdie - Mack und Muck
Gyro Gearloose - Daniel Düsentrieb
Gladstone Gander - Gustav Gans
Flintheart Glomgold - Mac Moneysac
Magica De Spell - Gundel Gaukeley"
I agree we need more Ducktales sets/figs!
The Phantom Blot??
@AustinPowers by not being "normal" families everyone isn't bound to duties and similair.
And the story of Gladstone and Donald chasing daisy is neverending.
@AustinPowers said:
"I always found it puzzling why Walt was so averse to showing "normal" families with parents and kids but rather resorted to aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews mostly. Grandma Duck being a notable exception.
Funny seeing the original names here, because we as kids grew up with the German names of course, which in most cases are very different, as one might imagine.
As in
Scrooge McDuck - Dagobert Duck
Huey, Dewey and Louie - Tick, Trick und Track
(The three nieces of Daisy I have never seen or heard of before - I only knew of Webby Vanderquack aka Nicky in German - from DuckTales)
Pete - Kater Carlo
Morty and Ferdie - Mack und Muck
Gyro Gearloose - Daniel Düsentrieb
Gladstone Gander - Gustav Gans
Flintheart Glomgold - Mac Moneysac
Magica De Spell - Gundel Gaukeley"
In Dutch:
Scrooge McDuck - Dagobert Duck!
Huey, Dewey and Louie - Kwik, Kwek en Kwak
Webby Vanderquack - Lizzy
Pete - Boris Boef
Morty and Ferdie - Morty en Ferdie
Gyro Gearloose - Willie Wortel
Gladstone Gander - Guus Geluk
Flintheart Glomgold - Govert Goudglans
Magica De Spell - Zwarte Magica
And one more that really deserves a set/figure:
Launchpad McQuack - Turbo McKwek
Screw all of these characters. Give us Darkwing Duck!
@watcher21 said:
"The Phantom Blot??
@AustinPowers by not being "normal" families everyone isn't bound to duties and similair.
And the story of Gladstone and Donald chasing daisy is neverending."
Yes, but it also makes for quite eerie settings. I mean, Donald lives with his nephews. Where are their parents. Also why are Donald's and Daisy's parents never mentioned, yet Grandma Duck?
We have a book at my mother's house, I think from the Seventies, that tries to make sense of the entire Duck family tree. I think I have to re-read it sometime.
@WizardOfOss : interesting that all the names are very different in German and Dutch, yet Dagobert is the same.
As for Launchpad, he's called Quack der Bruchpilot - for obvious reasons.
Another issue with Pete is that important details like his species aren't consistent across his major appearances.
@AustinPowers said:
"I always found it puzzling why Walt was so averse to showing "normal" families with parents and kids but rather resorted to aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews mostly. Grandma Duck being a notable exception."
He wasn't the only one! It's a pretty common phenomenon. The most famous non-Disney-created example I can think of offhand is Kermit the Frog and his nephew Robin.
As for why, it's just more convenient for the writers. If Donald Duck has three sons, most people are going to assume he's their biological father, and not only does that imply that Donald Duck has had sex but it also raises questions. Is Daisy their mother? If so, that inescapably changes the nature of Donald and Daisy's relationship, and if not, that raises the question of who *is* and why Donald's not with her anymore and how Daisy feels about *that*. And then once you finally get past all that, what if you want to do a Donald Duck cartoon that doesn't involve the kids? Who's taking care of them? In the case of characters like the classic Disney cast where it tends to be ambiguous exactly what stage of life they're in, giving them kids also has the disadvantage of nailing the details down a bit by imposing a minimum age on the parent. Giving Donald nephews instead neatly sidesteps all of this in favor of "eh, he has a brother or sister somewhere."
@PurpleDave said:
"Screw all of these characters. Give us Darkwing Duck!"
Laten we lekker link gaan doen!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2HnWSvLkxQ
@AustinPowers said:
" @watcher21 said:
"The Phantom Blot??
@AustinPowers by not being "normal" families everyone isn't bound to duties and similair.
And the story of Gladstone and Donald chasing daisy is neverending."
Yes, but it also makes for quite eerie settings. I mean, Donald lives with his nephews. Where are their parents. Also why are Donald's and Daisy's parents never mentioned, yet Grandma Duck?
We have a book at my mother's house, I think from the Seventies, that tries to make sense of the entire Duck family tree. I think I have to re-read it sometime. "
They were ahead of their time with how many families are situated these days.
Unacceptable omission of the Aracuan Bird.
@AustinPowers said:
" @WizardOfOss : interesting that all the names are very different in German and Dutch, yet Dagobert is the same.
As for Launchpad, he's called Quack der Bruchpilot - for obvious reasons. "
Yeah, the one that surprised me most was Gyro Gearloose, even with both the English and German name I got him wrong, and at first thought he might be Turbo McKwek.
I would love to see Max Goof in a future collectible minifigure sereis! Or if we're spitballing, a Magica De Spell figure could be a lot of fun too!
@Andrusi said:
"If Donald Duck has three sons, most people are going to assume he's their biological father, and not only does that imply that Donald Duck has had sex but it also raises questions."
Still, he is a bit of a pervert though.....I mean, he's always bare naked down below.......well, except for when he goes swimming, then's he's suddenly wearing a swimsuit! A duck in a swimsuit! A dutch comedian (Harrie Jekkers) even made a 2 hour show about that......
I believe we are missing the eminent scientist Professor Ludwig Von Drake!
@WizardOfOss said:
" @Andrusi said:
"If Donald Duck has three sons, most people are going to assume he's their biological father, and not only does that imply that Donald Duck has had sex but it also raises questions."
Still, he is a bit of a pervert though.....I mean, he's always bare naked down below.......well, except for when he goes swimming, then's he's suddenly wearing a swimsuit! A duck in a swimsuit! A dutch comedian (Harrie Jekkers) even made a 2 hour show about that......"
He isn't alone in his perverseness. There is a Chip and Dale cartoon with Donald where one of them pokes their head out of a tree and exclaims, "It's a duck! With a big fanny!" Very age appropriate language in the US, but not in the UK.
@monkyby87 said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @watcher21 said:
"The Phantom Blot??
@AustinPowers by not being "normal" families everyone isn't bound to duties and similair.
And the story of Gladstone and Donald chasing daisy is neverending."
Yes, but it also makes for quite eerie settings. I mean, Donald lives with his nephews. Where are their parents. Also why are Donald's and Daisy's parents never mentioned, yet Grandma Duck?
We have a book at my mother's house, I think from the Seventies, that tries to make sense of the entire Duck family tree. I think I have to re-read it sometime. "
They were ahead of their time with how many families are situated these days. "
It was an evolving family
https://scrooge-mcduck.fandom.com/wiki/Don_Rosa%27s_Duck_Family_Tree
I am not much of a Disney-fan, I don’t know Mickey and Friends. Honestly, I found both Mickey and Donald very annoying, even as a little kid. I did enjoy Ducktales. And Goof Troop was fun at times, but the best show to me by far was Darkwing Duck. So I’d advocate for Launchpad McQuack (Turbo McKwek in Dutch), Drake Mallard (Willem Woerd) and Gosalyn (Kwekkelientje).
Pluto! My favourite one.
We need this but with Simpsons characters instead.
@AustinPowers said:
" @watcher21 said:
"The Phantom Blot??
@AustinPowers by not being "normal" families everyone isn't bound to duties and similair.
And the story of Gladstone and Donald chasing daisy is neverending."
Yes, but it also makes for quite eerie settings. I mean, Donald lives with his nephews. Where are their parents. Also why are Donald's and Daisy's parents never mentioned, yet Grandma Duck?
We have a book at my mother's house, I think from the Seventies, that tries to make sense of the entire Duck family tree. I think I have to re-read it sometime. "
I would very much recommend you watch the Ducktales reboot. What you're really asking is "What ever happened to Della Duck?".
@PurpleDave said:
"Screw all of these characters. Give us Darkwing Duck!"
Said reboot even gives you want you asked for, though not necessarily what you want.
Just watch the damned reboot. It's an experience. It took me a little while to get used to the art-style, but I'll take the reboot over the 1987 run any damned day of the week. I will do objectively awful things to each and every one of you if it means getting a Lego-theme based on the Ducktales reboot out of it.
well... we need the Disney Superheroes!
Paperinik (Duck Avenger, Donald Duck), Super Goof (Goofy), Red Bat (Morcego Vermelho, Fethry Duck), Paperinika (Daisy Duck), Red Wasp (an originale character), Green Bat (Morcego Verde, Josè Carioca)
Max is the most blatant omission, and with A Goofy Movie's nostalgia always seeming to grow; him, Goofy in one of his movie outfits, Roxanne and Powerline would be easy shoe-ins for some sort of set or CMF wave including elements of that film.
Several of the characters on this list are pretty much duck-exclusive, and minor ducks at that. The Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck "universes" are usually kept distinct, except in stories that are going out of their way to try and unify disparate Disney character traditions. For some reason, I've always found those stories gimmicky.
So if you're focusing on Mickey Mouse, your list needs to include Chief O'Hara, Eega Beeva, the Phantom Blot, and Super Goof.
The Duck character ensemble has many other more important entries who've been passed over.
Of course, neither Lego nor Disney cares about these character continuities as a product, and frankly neither do I. Modern Disney is nothing but a hissing, and a reproach, and a byword to me. As it stands now, we'll never see any of the L'il Bad Wold/Br'er Rabbit characters anywhere again (let alone in Lego). Under today's Disney Regime, we'll never see Don Rosa's Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck in print again in our lifetimes. We'll never see the complete works of Carl Barks in print until the stories finally enter the public domain, and that will only happen when I'm somewhere from retirement age to dead, and then only if a publisher has the guts to print them without regard to any other punishments Disney may devise.
In short, the last money I ever aim to give Disney is buying the last few copies of the now-incomplete Carl Barks Library. Otherwise, I wish the company a speedy bankruptcy. I'll celebrate it by curling up with my stockpiled copies of the numerous books they've banned, and reading some great stories by some great authors who had the supreme misfortune of tying their original art to the intellectual property of the most soulless of corporations.
@AllenSmith said:
"In short, the last money I ever aim to give Disney is buying the last few copies of the now-incomplete Carl Barks Library. Otherwise, I wish the company a speedy bankruptcy. I'll celebrate it by curling up with my stockpiled copies of the numerous books they've banned, and reading some great stories by some great authors who had the supreme misfortune of tying their original art to the intellectual property of the most soulless of corporations."
Sir, this is a Wendy's drive through.
@Andrusi said:
"Another issue with Pete is that important details like his species aren't consistent across his major appearances.
@AustinPowers said:
"I always found it puzzling why Walt was so averse to showing "normal" families with parents and kids but rather resorted to aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews mostly. Grandma Duck being a notable exception."
He wasn't the only one! It's a pretty common phenomenon. The most famous non-Disney-created example I can think of offhand is Kermit the Frog and his nephew Robin.
As for why, it's just more convenient for the writers. If Donald Duck has three sons, most people are going to assume he's their biological father, and not only does that imply that Donald Duck has had sex but it also raises questions. Is Daisy their mother? If so, that inescapably changes the nature of Donald and Daisy's relationship, and if not, that raises the question of who *is* and why Donald's not with her anymore and how Daisy feels about *that*. And then once you finally get past all that, what if you want to do a Donald Duck cartoon that doesn't involve the kids? Who's taking care of them? In the case of characters like the classic Disney cast where it tends to be ambiguous exactly what stage of life they're in, giving them kids also has the disadvantage of nailing the details down a bit by imposing a minimum age on the parent. Giving Donald nephews instead neatly sidesteps all of this in favor of "eh, he has a brother or sister somewhere.""
It gets more complicated than that. A committed, but informal relationship, is preferable for a comedy, as it constantly leaves open the question of whether or not they will break up (yes), make up (most likely), or eventually get married (probably not until the series wraps). But then you generally preclude the possibility of kids. Nieces and nephews not only allows you to introduce them without social complications, but you don’t even have to age them up, or cover the pregnancy. And in the case of the Duck Clan, as the link posted earlier shows, the comic books established a rather large chunk of the family tree, only a small portion of which was used in either DuckTales show. For that matter, I’m not sure how many of them have ever appeared in animation, but I would guess it’s less than 50%.
@RUL:
Pluto already exists. Not under the minifig category, but twice as an Animal, Dog:
4166, 4167, 10776, 10777, 10941.
@Crux:
I did watch DuckTales. Both versions, in original broadcast. And I liked the second one better, and not just because they slipped in a bit of Darkwing. However, I heard rumors that it was being used as a backdoor pilot for a full Darkwing reboot, and I’m still pissed that this did not come to pass.
And yet we never see Pluto and Hades in the same scene. Haha, whaaat?
LEGO, I have never purchased a Mickey universe set, but if you make a Goofy Movie set I will give you all the money.
@Crux said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @watcher21 said:
"The Phantom Blot??
@AustinPowers by not being "normal" families everyone isn't bound to duties and similair.
And the story of Gladstone and Donald chasing daisy is neverending."
Yes, but it also makes for quite eerie settings. I mean, Donald lives with his nephews. Where are their parents. Also why are Donald's and Daisy's parents never mentioned, yet Grandma Duck?
We have a book at my mother's house, I think from the Seventies, that tries to make sense of the entire Duck family tree. I think I have to re-read it sometime. "
I would very much recommend you watch the Ducktales reboot. What you're really asking is "What ever happened to Della Duck?".
@PurpleDave said:
"Screw all of these characters. Give us Darkwing Duck!"
Said reboot even gives you want you asked for, though not necessarily what you want.
Just watch the damned reboot. It's an experience. It took me a little while to get used to the art-style, but I'll take the reboot over the 1987 run any damned day of the week. I will do objectively awful things to each and every one of you if it means getting a Lego-theme based on the Ducktales reboot out of it."
I did watch some episodes of the reboot and decided that it's not for me. I hate the animation style, and the pacing is just too hectic for my liking. Same as with Star Trek Lower Decks. Sure it has some good episodes, but overall it's not my taste.
I prefer the older simpler shows, that still can be a lot of fun, like the original Duck Tales, Disney's Gummybears, Dr. Snuggles, The Flintstones, Jetsons, or the Golden Age era of the Simpsons.
@AustinPowers said:
" @Crux said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @watcher21 said:
"The Phantom Blot??
@AustinPowers by not being "normal" families everyone isn't bound to duties and similair.
And the story of Gladstone and Donald chasing daisy is neverending."
Yes, but it also makes for quite eerie settings. I mean, Donald lives with his nephews. Where are their parents. Also why are Donald's and Daisy's parents never mentioned, yet Grandma Duck?
We have a book at my mother's house, I think from the Seventies, that tries to make sense of the entire Duck family tree. I think I have to re-read it sometime. "
I would very much recommend you watch the Ducktales reboot. What you're really asking is "What ever happened to Della Duck?".
@PurpleDave said:
"Screw all of these characters. Give us Darkwing Duck!"
Said reboot even gives you want you asked for, though not necessarily what you want.
Just watch the damned reboot. It's an experience. It took me a little while to get used to the art-style, but I'll take the reboot over the 1987 run any damned day of the week. I will do objectively awful things to each and every one of you if it means getting a Lego-theme based on the Ducktales reboot out of it."
I did watch some episodes of the reboot and decided that it's not for me. I hate the animation style, and the pacing is just too hectic for my liking. Same as with Star Trek Lower Decks. Sure it has some good episodes, but overall it's not my taste.
I prefer the older simpler shows, that still can be a lot of fun, like the original Duck Tales, Disney's Gummybears, Dr. Snuggles, The Flintstones, Jetsons, or the Golden Age era of the Simpsons. "
The planet Moon declares WAR.
@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @AllenSmith said:
"In short, the last money I ever aim to give Disney is buying the last few copies of the now-incomplete Carl Barks Library. Otherwise, I wish the company a speedy bankruptcy. I'll celebrate it by curling up with my stockpiled copies of the numerous books they've banned, and reading some great stories by some great authors who had the supreme misfortune of tying their original art to the intellectual property of the most soulless of corporations."
Sir, this is a Wendy's drive through. "
As a fellow American, you likely have no idea what I'm talking about, despite many of the characters in this article directly pertaining to it. So here's the cliff notes version: in the 1930s/40s, Walt Disney ran an animation studio that people loved to leave due to the working environment, and also licensed his characters to publishing houses to make him even more lucre. The publishers in turn attracted cartoonists, some of whom were Disney Animation refugees, paid them peanuts, and used their work to market the best-selling magazines in the world. Disney comics were once wildly popular in America, and remain so in Europe. A large volume of work sprang up. One might have expected it to be uninspiring due to the conditions, but instead a few creators turned out to be the finest comic artists ever, anywhere. Their work is of the absolute highest narrative and visual quality, and bore only superficial visual resemblance to Walt Disney's material. But because Disney owned that visual resemblance, Disney comic creators have been paid almost nothing, despite achieving near superstar status in parts of the world that care. Disney has treated both art and artist like dirt, first by ignoring its comic legacy in its native country (except Ducktales, which was a mutilation), and now in the final insult, recently banning publication of a significant swath of its material worldwide. This has included suppressing parts of the most important original-language reprint of works of the creator of Scrooge McDuck—a multi-decade collection that was going to be complete when originally conceived, and now can't be. This is an incredibly bitter pill for Disney Comic fans to swallow, especially considering the publication is, and pretty much always has been, completely independent of Disney.
Meanwhile, Disney's only angle with making Lego minifigures of its comic properties is to soak a few more ill-gotten gains out of something it manifestly despises. You'll pardon if I am less than enthusiastic.
Several Disney comic artists deserve to be treated as part of America's most significant creators, just as Charles Shultz and Bill Watterson do. Forget the cheesy Lego merch. Their art deserves to be seen, published, and studied in its own right. I'd suggest books for you to buy to experience it, but alas—some of them have been suppressed by Disney.
I wonder if Pete could utilize the new pieces from Lego Wario. His stubby legs and arms would work pretty well!
A Goofy Movie was one of the most defining films of my childhood. My dad, sister and I would watch it on repeat. In many ways my dad reminded me of Goofy. I would love a set with Max, Goofy and Powerline on stage doing the perfect cast.
@AustinPowers:
I did also watch Gummi Bears, Rescue Rangers, and TaleSpin (speaking of which, we have a prospective new member who has designed both the Sea Duck and the Triple Terror, and could really use some minifigs of Baloo, Kit, and Don Carnage). Part of why I prefer the DuckTales reboot is that the nephews are unique characters instead of just one character in three outfits.
@AllenSmith said:
" @xboxtravis7992 said:
" @AllenSmith said:
"In short, the last money I ever aim to give Disney is buying the last few copies of the now-incomplete Carl Barks Library. Otherwise, I wish the company a speedy bankruptcy. I'll celebrate it by curling up with my stockpiled copies of the numerous books they've banned, and reading some great stories by some great authors who had the supreme misfortune of tying their original art to the intellectual property of the most soulless of corporations."
Sir, this is a Wendy's drive through. "
As a fellow American, you likely have no idea what I'm talking about, despite many of the characters in this article directly pertaining to it. So here's the cliff notes version: in the 1930s/40s, Walt Disney ran an animation studio that people loved to leave due to the working environment, and also licensed his characters to publishing houses to make him even more lucre. The publishers in turn attracted cartoonists, some of whom were Disney Animation refugees, paid them peanuts, and used their work to market the best-selling magazines in the world. Disney comics were once wildly popular in America, and remain so in Europe. A large volume of work sprang up. One might have expected it to be uninspiring due to the conditions, but instead a few creators turned out to be the finest comic artists ever, anywhere. Their work is of the absolute highest narrative and visual quality, and bore only superficial visual resemblance to Walt Disney's material. But because Disney owned that visual resemblance, Disney comic creators have been paid almost nothing, despite achieving near superstar status in parts of the world that care. Disney has treated both art and artist like dirt, first by ignoring its comic legacy in its native country (except Ducktales, which was a mutilation), and now in the final insult, recently banning publication of a significant swath of its material worldwide. This has included suppressing parts of the most important original-language reprint of works of the creator of Scrooge McDuck—a multi-decade collection that was going to be complete when originally conceived, and now can't be. This is an incredibly bitter pill for Disney Comic fans to swallow, especially considering the publication is, and pretty much always has been, completely independent of Disney.
Meanwhile, Disney's only angle with making Lego minifigures of its comic properties is to soak a few more ill-gotten gains out of something it manifestly despises. You'll pardon if I am less than enthusiastic.
Several Disney comic artists deserve to be treated as part of America's most significant creators, just as Charles Shultz and Bill Watterson do. Forget the cheesy Lego merch. Their art deserves to be seen, published, and studied in its own right. I'd suggest books for you to buy to experience it, but alas—some of them have been suppressed by Disney."
Sir do you want a Frosty or not
@RUL said:
"Pluto! My favourite one."
Yes! Pluto! Though please make it the Naoki Urasawa one!
@PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers :
Part of why I prefer the DuckTales reboot is that the nephews are unique characters instead of just one character in three outfits."
Aren't they in the original too? They are even voiced by three different actors, who each sound quite different from one another.
@AllenSmith : I am happy to live in Europe where we have an entire universe of Duckburg centered comics, mainly by Italian and Scandinavian Disney artists, which are mostly unknown in the US. Hundreds of editions (600 currently, to be precise, plus another couple hundred special editions) of the 250 page cult classic LTB (Lustiges Taschenbuch), or the 100 page Donald Duck comic book series that has been ongoing - like the LTB series - for more than half a century. Or the weekly Micky Maus magazine, Micky Vision, or all the spin-off series like Goofy magazine, Tick Trick und Track or Die Panzerknacker (known in the US as the Beagle Boys). Plus of course all the awesome Carl Barks and Don Rosa comics you alluded to.
@AustinPowers said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers :
Part of why I prefer the DuckTales reboot is that the nephews are unique characters instead of just one character in three outfits."
Aren't they in the original too? They are even voiced by three different actors, who each sound quite different from one another. "
In the first DuckTales, Russi Taylor voiced all _four_ of the kids (Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby). HDL also all wore identical outfits, other than the color-coding. In the reboot, Huey is brainy, Dewey is a daredevil, Louie is a slacker, and all three wear different clothing styles (besides being red/blue/green color-coded). If you were watching a German-language dub, then it's possible they did something more to differentiate the nephews, but in the original US version, they're basically just the same character wearing different colors.
I would like to see José Carioca as a minifigure or a brick-built parrot. I remember seeing the film Saludos Amigos in a history class at high school, where the professor pointed José Carioca as an example of the Good Neighbor Policy from the US during WWII.
@PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers :
Part of why I prefer the DuckTales reboot is that the nephews are unique characters instead of just one character in three outfits."
Aren't they in the original too? They are even voiced by three different actors, who each sound quite different from one another. "
In the first DuckTales, Russi Taylor voiced all _four_ of the kids (Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby). HDL also all wore identical outfits, other than the color-coding. In the reboot, Huey is brainy, Dewey is a daredevil, Louie is a slacker, and all three wear different clothing styles (besides being red/blue/green color-coded). If you were watching a German-language dub, then it's possible they did something more to differentiate the nephews, but in the original US version, they're basically just the same character wearing different colors."
Dewey exemplifies "tougher than the toughies", Huey exemplifies "smarter than the smarties". Louie exemplifies "sharper than the sharpies", like his mother before him. All the nephews now stand on their own feet, where they used to just be Huey-with-different-hats. They don't have all that much in common anymore, except for a weird fascination with shows about footrests. Sure, why not?
And I guess we don't talk about Phooey.
@PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers :
Part of why I prefer the DuckTales reboot is that the nephews are unique characters instead of just one character in three outfits."
Aren't they in the original too? They are even voiced by three different actors, who each sound quite different from one another. "
In the first DuckTales, Russi Taylor voiced all _four_ of the kids (Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby). HDL also all wore identical outfits, other than the color-coding. In the reboot, Huey is brainy, Dewey is a daredevil, Louie is a slacker, and all three wear different clothing styles (besides being red/blue/green color-coded). If you were watching a German-language dub, then it's possible they did something more to differentiate the nephews, but in the original US version, they're basically just the same character wearing different colors."
In the German version they are voiced by three different actors and have slightly different characters, but not by much. But this actually fits their characters as portrayed in the comics I mentioned. So I really liked the way they were in the original since that is how I know them from the comics. Them being so different in the reboot just feels odd to me and adds to the things I dislike about that version.
Though my main gripes with the new one are the pacing and above all the visual style which I find hideous. Looks so cheap versus the beautiful hand-drawn animation style of the original, which felt like a small screen version of the Disney animated classics.
@Crux:
Five minutes after I read that, I realized I’d said the quotes in a familiar Scottish accent.
@AustinPowers:
But as originally envisioned, the triplets _were_ supposed to be nigh indistinguishable. To tell them apart, they even matched the names to the colors. Huey is red, because that’s the brightest hue. Dewey is blue because blue is the color of water. And Louie is green, because he’s the only one left.
As for the animation style, yeah, it’s a bit of a shift from a company that’s famous for consistency, but it helps to distinguish the new from the old. And given that I’ve started seeing critiques about how Pixar’s animation style has become stagnant, when so much of their output is original stories with original characters, I don’t know that the reboot would have been as successful if people couldn’t easily tell it apart from the original.
@PurpleDave: some might argue that a reboot was not necessary at all and they could simply have invented something new. To us old folks this new version doesn't evoke the feeling we associate with the name DuckTales. Some things are best left in the past where they belong. See Independence Day 2, Ghostbusters 2016, or all the Terminator movies after T2.
@AustinPowers said:
" @PurpleDave : some might argue that a reboot was not necessary at all and they could simply have invented something new. To us old folks this new version doesn't evoke the feeling we associate with the name DuckTales. Some things are best left in the past where they belong. See Independence Day 2, Ghostbusters 2016, or all the Terminator movies after T2. "
This is what I initially thought. I grew up with the original, and I thought the art-style was just better, more evocative. I didn't think this newfangled show could hold a candle to the original. It was weird! It was... more angular!
It also has a massive amount of love FOR the original. It keeps reverentially referencing its predecessor, without being deriviative. It's its own thing, but it knows where its roots are (and for that matter, where the roots of other 1980's Disney-properties are). It's written for a new audience, but it does deliver winks and nods and precision-strikes to the gut of its older audiences, including the handful of freaks who used to play the Ducktales game for the NES. Hello! I am one such freak. I deeply appreciate the use of the Moon Theme, especially how it's used for [Spoiler Character], who is a whole damned MOOD.
I'll just go ahead and say it: the writing is leagues ahead of that of the original. These are plotlines and arcs that Carl Barks would've been proud to write. I slept on this show when it came out, I'm just glad I caught it when I did. It's got more heart. It's just a better show.
After binging all three seasons, I thought it would be a treat to rewatch the original, but - ehhhhhh. It just didn't really work for me anymore. Instead, I fired up Ducktales for NES and played the hell out of the Moon Stage. Now I can even sing along to that theme. Thank you, reboot!
@Crux said:
"It also has a massive amount of love FOR the original. It keeps reverentially referencing its predecessor, without being deriviative. It's its own thing, but it knows where its roots are (and for that matter, where the roots of other 1980's Disney-properties are)."
I have no idea if they touched on Goof Troop, since that’s where I stopped watching those shows, but I’m pretty sure the reboot referenced Gummi Bears, Rescue Rangers, and TaleSpin, in addition to working Darkwing in as a major plot line.