During our recent Geek Panel discussion of politics in science fiction, we nominated our dream sci-fi/fantasy cabinet. I suggested Scrooge McDuck for Secretary of the Treasury. Seems like a good fit, right? I mean, the guy knows how to save a dime. His entire fortune came from one single dime, as a matter of fact. Nowadays, he’s got so much cash, he swims in the stuff.
To my surprise, the rest of the panel shot down my suggestion. Not because they objected to my choice of Mr. McDuck, but because they didn’t think DuckTales counted as science fiction. Umm, excuse me?
I made my case as strongly as I could in the Hangout, but I vowed to elaborate on the Forum. Before I begin, I want to define my terms. DuckTales is a cartoon that takes place in the so called “duck universe,” featuring anthropomorphized animals, mainly fowl (ducks, pelicans, chickens, etc.), but also dogs, pigs, and others. Techincally, I suppose, this would make it a fantasy or some type of fairy tale. However, in almost all respects, the duck universe is identical to our own and operates on the same rules. History, society, technology, and culture close mirror that of late 20th century America. Cities like Duckburg and St. Canard have real-world parallels in San Francisco and New York City, respectively.
However, a key difference exists that makes the duck universe a science fiction universe, unlike our own. In the duck universe, the impossible is possible. Time travel, aliens, and robots all exist in the duck universe, much as they do in most science fiction universes - the Whoniverse, for example. Many of Scrooge McDuck’s adventures revolve around typical sci-fi plot devices, even paying homage to some well known ones. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here we go:
Ten Reasons Why Scrooge McDuck and DuckTales are Science Fiction
10. It’s in the theme song: [i]“We might solve a mystery, or rewrite history.”[/i]
Depicted in the opening montage are:
[ul]
[li]A laser gun[/li][li]A force field of some kind[/li][li]Time travel[/li][li]A dragon[/li][li]A mummy[/li][li]Robots[/li][li]Space travel[/li][li]Alien life[/li][/ul]
9. Duckburg is in a parallel dimension.
Holiday in Duckburg (1989); painting by Carl Barks
The similarities between the duck universe and our own are too striking to ignore. Many real-world locations exist in the duck universe and duck history shares many of the same historical figures as our own, or at least a close approximation of them. The obvious conclusion is that the duck universe is parallel to our own, and one in which evolution took a different path while the rest of the planet developed to be quite similar to our own.
8. Scrooge & Co. regularly use science fiction technology.
Because Scrooge posseses incredible wealth, he is able to outfit himself and his entourage (typically consisting of his dim-witted pilot, Launchpad McQuack, and his precocious nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie) with the latest in cutting-edge tech, usually provided by the misguided genius of Gyro Gearloose. This technology allows Scrooge & Co. to journey into outer space (“Where No Duck Has Gone Before”) and to the Middle Ages (“Sir Gyro de Gearloose”), for example.
Gyro also created a robot butler named Armstrong for Scrooge, who later decided he would rather work for himself. The episode “Armstrong” is like I, Robot, Battlestar Galactica, Bicentennial Man, and Terminator all rolled into one.
7. GizmoDuck.
Gearloose’s greatest creation is the suit of robotic armor that turns Scrooge’s mild-mannered accountant Fenton Crackshell into the crime-fighter GizmoDuck. By uttering the phrase “blathering blatherskite,” Crackshell can summon the armor and become:
Uh, yeah, pretty cool, huh? GizmoDuck becomes a mainstay of the duck universe and even crosses over into Darkwing Duck, a spin-off of sorts from DuckTales. Although they’re both heroes, Darkwing and GizmoDuck have an antagonistic rivalry. Which brings me to:
6. DuckTales shares its universe with Darkwing Duck.
Darkwing Duck is set in St. Canard, another city in the duck universe, and tells the story of Drake Mallard a.k.a. Darkwing Duck. Darkwing is a Batman-type superhero - he has no superpowers, but instead relies on his abilities, gadgets, and friends to save the day. He has a jet, the Thunderquack, designed and piloted by Launchpad McQuack (who joins him as his sidekick), shaped like a giant duck’s head.
Darkwing Duck features even more sci-fi elements, such as super-powered villians like MegaVolt and Bushroot. The show also featured rival spy organizations S.H.U.S.H. and F.O.W.L., the former led by J. Gander Hooter, who frequently recruited Darkwing for missions. F.O.W.L. was introduced in the DuckTales episode “Double-O-Duck.”
Because they share the same universe, the science fiction elements of Darkwing Duck also apply to DuckTales.
5. The Money Bin might as well be the TARDIS.
They certainly do travel though time enough. Seriously, Scrooge and the gang do a lot of time travel. I mean, they get around, from dinosaur times to the near-feature where Scrooge’s rival Magica DeSpell is charge. For a while the cast included, Bubba, a young caveduck adopted by Scrooge after he stowed away in Gyro’s Time Machine along with Tootsie, his pet Triceratops.
4. Scrooge mined for gold on the Moon, just because he felt like it.
In many ways, Scrooge McDuck posseses all the traits of an supervillian - the vast wealth, the minions, the wild schemes, and the tricked-out liar - he just isn’t evil. However, he still went to great lengths to attain more wealth, included trying to mine for gold on the moon in the comic “The Loony Lunar Gold Rush” (1975). I suspect Newt Gingrich (and Ron Paul) would approve of this plan.
3. Scrooge McDuck inspired Indiana Jones.
I can’t leave out the DuckTales movie, The Treasure of the Lost Lamp. In the movie, Scrooge, Launchpad, Huey, Dewey, and Louie hare off to the Middle East in search of the treasure of Collie Baba. However,because of booby traps, all Scrooge is able to aquire is an old lamp. Luckily, there’s a genie in it! Blah, blah, blah, and for his third wish, Scrooge frees the genie! That’s right, the 1992 Disney movie Aladdin steals the ending of the DuckTales movie!
But that’s not all. The film is heavily influenced by Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was, in turn, inspired by SCROOGE MCDUCK COMICS. For example, the booby-trapped idol which triggered a rolling boulder was inspired by the Scrooge comic “The Seven Cities of Cibola” (Uncle Scrooge #7, 1954). Still skeptical? Here’s a breakdown, shot for shot.
2. Scrooge McDuck inspired Inception.
In the Scrooge McDuck comic book, Scrooge’s enemies, the Beagle Boys, used a shared dreaming machine to invade Scrooge’s dreams in order to steal his loot. “WHAT THE FRAK?” you say? Don’t take my word for it:
So one of the greatest science fiction movies of the past decade had its plot ripped straight from the pages of a SCROOGE MCDUCK COMIC. The comic was called “Dream of the Lifetime” and it caused a whole hoopla when Inception came out, because how many dream heist stories are there, anyways? Christopher Nolan denied the connection, of course, but here’s a scene-by-scene breakdown of the comic book versus the movie. You be the judge.
TO BE CONCLUDED…
