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The DuckTales and Transformers Connection
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Zobovor
May 24, 2013, 1:00:35 AM5/24/13
to
Okay, so after falling in love all over again with the incomparable
music of Ron Jones, I had to own some DuckTales episodes on DVD. You
can get the first season for ten bucks at Walmart right now, which
seems pretty reasonable (though it's missing the five-part pilot
episode, which is apparently on the season two set).
Every episode I've watched so far was animated by Toyko Movie Shinsha,
and it reminds me why I was so captivated by this show. These guys
were from Japan and they animated the Disney characters better than
the Disney animation studios. The characters have a fluidity and
grace when they're doing even mediocre things, like walking or
bouncing down a flight of stairs. Of course we know they can animate
shapeshifting robots from outer space like nobody's business, but it
demonstrates a real range of artistic talent to be able to
consistently stay on-model with a bunch of anthropomorphic ducks. And
I haven't caught a single animation mistake, which in itself is pretty
amazing because I have a very critical eye when it comes to cartoons
(I've read somewhere that sometimes the numbers on the Beagle Boys'
placards are wrong, but really, who pays attention to that?).
The show was produced in 1987 (back when Tony Anselmo was still the
new, "wrong" voice for Donald Duck) so it's got plenty of the same
voice actors who worked on Transformers. A rare treat was to get to
listen to Roger C. Carmel performing an Arabian sultan in the episode
"Master of the Djinni," recorded later than his role as Cyclonus in G1
and possibly his last animation role before he died. (For a real
kick, do a YouTube search for "Naugles commercial" and you get to
listen to Cyclonus selling tacos!)
It just blows me away that the voice actor for the supremely awesome
Dr. Mindbender of G.I. Joe fame also played the role of Doofus,
perhaps the one cartoon character I hate more than any other. (Except
maybe Corporal Capeman.)
I was surprised to find that Arlene Banas (the voice of Carly in G1)
gets an uncredited role as Shewebbezade (sort of like Sheherezade,
only with webbed feet, because this is a show about ducks) in the same
episode. (What's really funny is that the same plot for this episode
ended up getting recycled into the DuckTales movie, only with terrible
animation and a senseless plot.)
In related news, they're doing a video game called "DuckTales
Remastered" which is essentially the old NES game from 1989 with
updated graphics. Capcom has confirmed that every single one of the
principal actors on the show will be reprising their character roles
for the new version of the game (including Alan Young as Scrooge
McDuck, who is 94 years old, fer cryin' out loud!). I am so stoked
about this.
Zob
music of Ron Jones, I had to own some DuckTales episodes on DVD. You
can get the first season for ten bucks at Walmart right now, which
seems pretty reasonable (though it's missing the five-part pilot
episode, which is apparently on the season two set).
Every episode I've watched so far was animated by Toyko Movie Shinsha,
and it reminds me why I was so captivated by this show. These guys
were from Japan and they animated the Disney characters better than
the Disney animation studios. The characters have a fluidity and
grace when they're doing even mediocre things, like walking or
bouncing down a flight of stairs. Of course we know they can animate
shapeshifting robots from outer space like nobody's business, but it
demonstrates a real range of artistic talent to be able to
consistently stay on-model with a bunch of anthropomorphic ducks. And
I haven't caught a single animation mistake, which in itself is pretty
amazing because I have a very critical eye when it comes to cartoons
(I've read somewhere that sometimes the numbers on the Beagle Boys'
placards are wrong, but really, who pays attention to that?).
The show was produced in 1987 (back when Tony Anselmo was still the
new, "wrong" voice for Donald Duck) so it's got plenty of the same
voice actors who worked on Transformers. A rare treat was to get to
listen to Roger C. Carmel performing an Arabian sultan in the episode
"Master of the Djinni," recorded later than his role as Cyclonus in G1
and possibly his last animation role before he died. (For a real
kick, do a YouTube search for "Naugles commercial" and you get to
listen to Cyclonus selling tacos!)
It just blows me away that the voice actor for the supremely awesome
Dr. Mindbender of G.I. Joe fame also played the role of Doofus,
perhaps the one cartoon character I hate more than any other. (Except
maybe Corporal Capeman.)
I was surprised to find that Arlene Banas (the voice of Carly in G1)
gets an uncredited role as Shewebbezade (sort of like Sheherezade,
only with webbed feet, because this is a show about ducks) in the same
episode. (What's really funny is that the same plot for this episode
ended up getting recycled into the DuckTales movie, only with terrible
animation and a senseless plot.)
In related news, they're doing a video game called "DuckTales
Remastered" which is essentially the old NES game from 1989 with
updated graphics. Capcom has confirmed that every single one of the
principal actors on the show will be reprising their character roles
for the new version of the game (including Alan Young as Scrooge
McDuck, who is 94 years old, fer cryin' out loud!). I am so stoked
about this.
Zob
Travoltron
May 24, 2013, 1:07:37 AM5/24/13
to
On 5/23/2013 10:00 PM, Zobovor wrote:
> Every episode I've watched so far was animated by Toyko Movie Shinsha,
> and it reminds me why I was so captivated by this show.
At some point towards the end someone else (Wang Cuckoo's Nest, I think)
> Every episode I've watched so far was animated by Toyko Movie Shinsha,
> and it reminds me why I was so captivated by this show.
starts doing episodes. After the first season, TMS is no longer
involved and it's entirely the lousy studio.
I wish Disney would put the entire TV series on DVD, or better yet, Blu-ray.
Chad Rushing
May 24, 2013, 4:41:18 AM5/24/13
to
On May 24, 12:07 am, Travoltron <travolt...@defender.uni> wrote:
>
> I wish Disney would put the entire TV series on DVD, or better yet, Blu-ray.
I thought they had already done that. There were at least two seasons
>
> I wish Disney would put the entire TV series on DVD, or better yet, Blu-ray.
of DuckTales released for sure, maybe three.
- Chad
Travoltron
May 24, 2013, 1:53:38 PM5/24/13
to
On 5/24/2013 1:41 AM, Chad Rushing wrote:
> I thought they had already done that. There were at least two seasons
> of DuckTales released for sure, maybe three.
They only have the first season + the two mini-series that introduce
> I thought they had already done that. There were at least two seasons
> of DuckTales released for sure, maybe three.
Bubba Duck and Gizmoduck.
William A. Rendfeld
May 24, 2013, 8:13:21 PM5/24/13
to
On Friday, May 24, 2013 1:07:37 AM UTC-4, Travoltron wrote:
> I wish Disney would put the entire TV series on DVD, or better yet, Blu-ray.
I wish Disney would put out every television series they have the rights to on DVD. Alas...
> I wish Disney would put the entire TV series on DVD, or better yet, Blu-ray.
Zobovor
May 24, 2013, 8:53:55 PM5/24/13
to
On May 24, 11:53 am, Travoltron <travolt...@defender.uni> wrote:
> They only have the first season + the two mini-series that introduce
> Bubba Duck and Gizmoduck.
It looks like there have been three volumes released thus far, but
> They only have the first season + the two mini-series that introduce
> Bubba Duck and Gizmoduck.
there are still 25 episodes yet to be released on DVD of the full 100-
episode run. (They stopped with the introduction of Bubba and
GizmoDuck but haven't released any after that point.) After I bought
Volume 1 at Walmart I went online to see if they had more and found
these:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Disney-s-Ducktales-Vol.-2/5172049
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ducktales-Vol.-3-Full-Frame/7694568
Zob
Zobovor
May 24, 2013, 9:25:35 PM5/24/13
to
On May 23, 11:07 pm, Travoltron <travolt...@defender.uni> wrote:
> At some point towards the end someone else (Wang Cuckoo's Nest, I think)
> starts doing episodes. After the first season, TMS is no longer
> involved and it's entirely the lousy studio.
Yeah, I know the show eventually took a nosedive in quality. The
> At some point towards the end someone else (Wang Cuckoo's Nest, I think)
> starts doing episodes. After the first season, TMS is no longer
> involved and it's entirely the lousy studio.
early episodes are still great, though.
Seriously, the voice acting is so much fun to listen to. I think I
latched onto DuckTales in 1987-88 after there were no new Transformes
episodes but before I got heavily invested in Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, so there was, like, a year that it was my favorite show.
Peter Cullen does a voice characterization in nearly every one of the
episodes from Volume 1 that I've watched so far. He's really got a
much more dynamic range than we usually get from him in Transformers.
Usually he's a police chief or one of the Beagle Boys or something,
and he also played the admiral on Donald Duck's aircraft carrier ("I
just love it when things go kablooey!"). He also played Armstrong
(the robot) in the episode of the same name. (Naturally, the episodes
with robots are among my favorites. I loved that there was continuity
between the first one and the second one. And "Robot Robbers" with
people riding around in the heads of the giant machines reminded me of
Tranzor Z.)
Frank Welker gets regular screen time as Bigtime Beagle, the gang
leader, doing a voice characterization a lot like Rumble/Frenzy.
Nowadays he's such a big deal that he gets to be very selective about
what roles he performs, but back in the 1980's he still had to work
for a living like most of these folks, so he wasn't above doing a
regular role on an episodic series, something that you see a lot less
from him now. (He was also eventually cast as Bubba Duck, but we can
forgive him for that.)
I know that a lot of other 1980's actors worked on the show at various
points (Alan Oppenheimer, Rob Paulsen, Peter Reneday) and one of the
great things about the Disney shows from this era was that only the
actors who worked on a specific episode were credited (well, except
for poor Arlene Banas, I guess), instead of just a generic cast
listing for the entire season. This helped me with my research
tremendously back in the day, before the miracle we call the Internet,
because if I heard a voice I recognized from somewhere else, it was a
simple enough task to cross-reference the voice actors and I could
usually narrow it down easily enough. (It bugs me so much that some
of my early guesses are still being trotted around the Internet like
they were facts. It just goes to show you that sometimes people read
stuff online and just instantly assume it's true. Sigh.)
Zob
Velvet Glove
May 27, 2013, 10:29:12 PM5/27/13
to
I seem to recall reading somewhere that the budget/time allowance for Duck Tales was unparalleled for a Saturday morning cartoon at the time. For whatever reason, Disney decided it was worth investing time money and effort to make a genuine, quality kid's animation.
It's one of the shows I've always wanted to go back and watch, but I've never had the nerve in case it didn't live up to my recollection. One day, I'll bite the bullet and show it to my children. I do remember absolutely adoring it at the age of ten.
Velvet Glove (Great characters and quotable dialogue... What's not to love?)
It's one of the shows I've always wanted to go back and watch, but I've never had the nerve in case it didn't live up to my recollection. One day, I'll bite the bullet and show it to my children. I do remember absolutely adoring it at the age of ten.
Velvet Glove (Great characters and quotable dialogue... What's not to love?)
Travoltron
May 28, 2013, 12:35:57 AM5/28/13
to
On 5/27/2013 7:29 PM, Velvet Glove wrote:
> It's one of the shows I've always wanted to go back and watch,
> but I've never had the nerve in case it didn't live up to my recollection.
The first season (Remember the glory days of 65-episode seasons?) was
> It's one of the shows I've always wanted to go back and watch,
> but I've never had the nerve in case it didn't live up to my recollection.
brilliant. You might as well skip everything after that, though. And
given that those episodes aren't on DVD, skipping them becomes quite easy.
Gustavo Wombat
May 28, 2013, 1:03:11 AM5/28/13
to
Velvet Glove <goo...@kernowgirl.co.uk> wrote:.
Gustavo! (Ok, fine, I never watched it, and I have a fever that might be
influencing my idea of funny. Welcome back)
>
> Velvet Glove (Great characters and quotable dialogue... What's not to love?)
The horrific anti-Semitism.
> Velvet Glove (Great characters and quotable dialogue... What's not to love?)
Gustavo! (Ok, fine, I never watched it, and I have a fever that might be
influencing my idea of funny. Welcome back)
Travoltron
May 28, 2013, 1:26:35 PM5/28/13
to
On 5/27/2013 10:03 PM, Gustavo Wombat wrote:
> The horrific anti-Semitism.
Eh... the "Disney was an anti-Semite" thing has never really been proven.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/why-walt-disney-is-a-jew-hating-hitler-loving-racist-37185.html
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-walt-disney-image-problem-76157.html
> The horrific anti-Semitism.
Eh... the "Disney was an anti-Semite" thing has never really been proven.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/why-walt-disney-is-a-jew-hating-hitler-loving-racist-37185.html
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-walt-disney-image-problem-76157.html
Velvet Glove
May 28, 2013, 9:31:54 PM5/28/13
to
On Tuesday, May 28, 2013 1:26:35 PM UTC-4, Travoltron wrote:
>
> Eh... the "Disney was an anti-Semite" thing has never really been proven.
Not to mention, Disney was rather dead during the production of Duck Tales. Plus I think Gustavo made it pretty clear that he wasn't actually making any accusations when he stated he'd never seen the show. (OK, this is the internet, so as a rule of thumb, I do expect people to make accusations without any knowledge of what they're talking about--but not in this instance).
>
> Eh... the "Disney was an anti-Semite" thing has never really been proven.
Velvet Glove (now that I think about it, I should be offended by Duck Tales' anti-Scots sentiment. Is it a coincidence that the recurring scottish character is miserly? I think not!)
G.B. Blackrock
May 30, 2013, 12:40:58 PM5/30/13
to
On Monday, May 27, 2013 7:29:12 PM UTC-7, Velvet Glove wrote:
> I seem to recall reading somewhere that the budget/time allowance for Duck Tales was unparalleled for a Saturday morning cartoon at the time. For whatever reason, Disney decided it was worth investing time money and effort to make a genuine, quality kid's animation.
Actually, DuckTales wasn't geared for Saturday mornings, but for weekday afternoons. (I imagine that the expected budget per episode on weekday shows was even less, which means your guess regarding a high budget for DuckTales could still well be correct and meaningful)
> I seem to recall reading somewhere that the budget/time allowance for Duck Tales was unparalleled for a Saturday morning cartoon at the time. For whatever reason, Disney decided it was worth investing time money and effort to make a genuine, quality kid's animation.
My two cents,
G.B. Blackrock
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
May 30, 2013, 9:33:03 PM5/30/13
to
On May 30, 11:40 am, "G.B. Blackrock" <nicodemusleg...@gmail.com>
wrote:
I miss afternoon after-school cartoons. When I was growing up I had to
stay after school until 6 or so, and then in 5th grade I finally got
to watch em, and now as an adult, what's on? Jerry Springer. I can
feel my brain melting with his every word. I miss Gargoyles and
Darkwing Duck and the likes.
wrote:
stay after school until 6 or so, and then in 5th grade I finally got
to watch em, and now as an adult, what's on? Jerry Springer. I can
feel my brain melting with his every word. I miss Gargoyles and
Darkwing Duck and the likes.
Onslaught Six
Jun 5, 2013, 6:08:57 PM6/5/13
to
On Thursday, May 30, 2013 9:33:03 PM UTC-4, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:
> I miss afternoon after-school cartoons. When I was growing up I had to
> stay after school until 6 or so, and then in 5th grade I finally got
> to watch em, and now as an adult, what's on? Jerry Springer. I can
> feel my brain melting with his every word. I miss Gargoyles and
> Darkwing Duck and the likes.
With today's 24 hour children's networks, it's hard to see a need for it.
> I miss afternoon after-school cartoons. When I was growing up I had to
> stay after school until 6 or so, and then in 5th grade I finally got
> to watch em, and now as an adult, what's on? Jerry Springer. I can
> feel my brain melting with his every word. I miss Gargoyles and
> Darkwing Duck and the likes.
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Jun 6, 2013, 11:33:36 AM6/6/13
to
CN originals, Edd, Edd, Eddy, Dexter's Lab, and stuff that was purile
crap compared to Gargoyles. I wanted story-driven tales that would
occasionally have over-arching plots.
G.B. Blackrock
Jun 6, 2013, 12:02:40 PM6/6/13
to
Just sayin'
G.B. Blackrock
Velvet Glove
Jun 6, 2013, 8:37:38 PM6/6/13
to
Velvet Glove (handily, the apple TV remote is simple enough that my son's got the hang of it already)
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Jun 6, 2013, 8:51:53 PM6/6/13
to
On Jun 6, 11:02 am, "G.B. Blackrock" <nicodemusleg...@gmail.com>
wrote:
My kids are cats, but they also don't have Cable.
wrote:
Zobovor
Jun 7, 2013, 8:46:17 PM6/7/13
to
On Jun 6, 6:51 pm, "Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People."
<Ob1ken...@att.net> wrote:
> My kids are cats, but they also don't have cable.
That's too bad. They might get a kick out of watching My Cat From
Hell on Animal Planet.
Back to DuckTales for a moment, I just finished screening an episode
called "Down and Out in Duckburg" that included Phillip Clarke (Dead
End), Aron Kincaid (Sky Lynx), Rob Paulsen (Air Raid), and Steve Bulin
(Strafe) as guest stars. Aron Kincaid steals the show as a fox named
Fritter O'Way who steals Scrooge McDuck's fortune. You very rarely
get to hear his full vocal range on the show because Sky Lynx is so
utterly composed, so his DuckTales performance is a lot of fun.
Zob
<Ob1ken...@att.net> wrote:
> My kids are cats, but they also don't have cable.
That's too bad. They might get a kick out of watching My Cat From
Hell on Animal Planet.
Back to DuckTales for a moment, I just finished screening an episode
called "Down and Out in Duckburg" that included Phillip Clarke (Dead
End), Aron Kincaid (Sky Lynx), Rob Paulsen (Air Raid), and Steve Bulin
(Strafe) as guest stars. Aron Kincaid steals the show as a fox named
Fritter O'Way who steals Scrooge McDuck's fortune. You very rarely
get to hear his full vocal range on the show because Sky Lynx is so
utterly composed, so his DuckTales performance is a lot of fun.
Zob
Velvet Glove
Jun 7, 2013, 9:18:49 PM6/7/13
to
Velvet Glove (my kids are going to watch Duck Tales and like it!)
Velvet Glove
Jun 7, 2013, 9:22:22 PM6/7/13
to
And then I remember I'm a grown woman capable of doing my own research. Three minutes later, I can tell you that Amazon Instant Video (which I think is for Prime members?) has Duck Tales season one available for streaming.
Velvet Glove (I know what I'm doing with the kids tomorrow!)
Velvet Glove (I know what I'm doing with the kids tomorrow!)
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