Before Disney realised there was a huge audience for OAV animation, the company released a few theatrical features ( "Movietoons") that, while not up to the "Disney" level of quality, were enjoyable nevertheless. One such film was Ducktales:The Movie. Had Ducktales been released today, it would probably have been a direct-to-video production and thus spared some of the harsh criticism initially leveled at it.
As with the Ducktales TV show, the feature film draws its primary inspiration not from Disney's short subjects but from the classic Disney *Uncle Scrooge* comic books. Written largely by Carl Barks, the characters of Donald Duck and his nephews were placed in "Duckburg" - a place which can only be described as a parallel reality in which ducks are people. Barks expanded the core Disney characters by including some of his own, including Uncle Scrooge and Gyro Gearloose. Years later, these characters found their way out of the comic books and into Disney animation via television.
The Ducktales series compensated for its less-than-fluid animation with good stories, clean humor, and adorable characters. It was ideal family entertainment; children could understand the stories and laugh at the characters while their parents appreciated the nonviolence of the series and remembered reading the original comics. The animation, while not of feature film quality, was far superior to that of most competing programs, and the voice acting was nothing if not superb. Alan Ladd, the voice of Uncle Scrooge, was arguably the finest in a fine ensemble cast. And, for once, Disney reigned in its instincts to merchandise the daylights out of its property - minor miracle considering that decades of Disney comic books could have been reissued to cash in. Ducktales was a great example of Disney doing everything the right way.
The film is a cheerful adventure along the same lines. Never knee-slappingly funny, the film is a pleasant way to spend time with your family and safe enough for your kids to watch unsupervised. The plot includes a magic lamp complete with a wish-granting genie, an evil shapeshifting sorceror named Merlock, the ever-mysterious Junior Woodchuck Guide, and much of the charm of the *Uncle Scrooge* comics. No one will ever argue that Ducktales: The Movie is a classic alongside Pinocchio or Dumbo. However, it's far more entertaining than many of Disney's features (including Robin Hood, Fun and Fancy Free and Pete's Dragon) and far less pretentious and truer to the spirit of Walt Disney than The Hunchback or Notre Dame or Pocahantas. The only complaints that could be raised are by die-hard fans of Carl Barks' vision, for Ducktales forgoes Barks' small town pleasures for a grander, splashier style.
Animation fans will note that Alan Burnett (later of Batman and Superman) wrote the screenplay and that the film was entirely animated in Europe, a first for Disney.
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