Week 4: Uncle Scrooge (and scattered thoughts on the Disney universe)


The Uncle Scrooge comic series as well as other works by Carl Barks are really interesting expansions on the Mickey Mouse universe. This world is comprised by mainly ducks and dogs, with the occasional mouse and, in Peg Leg Pete’s instance, at least one cat. Uncle Scrooge, while he has some morality, can also be devious and is very stingy with his money, so it’s curious to see a morally grey character be the lead in a series. We’re supposed to want Scrooge McDuck to succeed against Flintheart Golmgold or Magica De Spell because he’s slightly more “good” than they are. When Donald is around him, he’s usually the straight man instead of being easily irritable or prone to bad luck. I’ve only seen a little bit of the new reboot of DuckTales on Disney XD and minimal knowledge of the eighties version, but it looks like as time goes on the triplets each get their own personalities and are more easily distinguishable. Scrooge makes money not to spend it, but to collect it and show it off. He is most proud of the first dime he ever earned, which Magica De Spell wants more than anything because she believes it can somehow unlock the secrets to all of Scrooge’s riches for herself. Thankfully, a lot of these concerns can be dismissed through suspension of disbelief. It’s really fun to see how petty Scrooge is, especially with Golmgold: They look really similar in the comics and I’m almost surprised that they’re not best friends, which I think they would be if they weren’t so caught up in themselves. I think I prefer his design in the latest version of DuckTales, since his stoutness contrasts a lot more with McDuck. It’s really funny to hear that Magica De Spell was intentionally supposed to be a little “sexy”, but while her body is slightly more curvaceous, her original design still looks like Donald Duck in a wig. Personally, I do not find Donald Duck to be very sensual, but to each their own I guess. The biggest real issue is the racist stereotyping, but unfortunately that was a staple of the period. The rest of the comic is really fun and it’s neat to learn about some more niche Disney lore.

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