I live near the beach in Venice, Florida. Before the age of Coronavirus sheltering in place, I was working on making sculptures out of seashells, rocks, and other stuff I found at the ocean. Luckily, I stockpiled materials, because now the beaches are closed, and I have a lot of free time to make some really elaborate sculptures. These include characters from Disney's DuckTales. Specifically, I've been referencing the 2017 DuckTales reboot, which I think is actually way better than the original 1987 TV series. One of the most recent episodes of DuckTales brought back Gene the Genie from the 1990 film, DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. Oh my, that movie had some issues. Thankfully, the reboot of DuckTales was definitely aware of these issues.
My main beef with the DuckTales movie is that it was a bit of a bait and switch. I actually saw it in the movie theaters in August of 1990. The beginning of the movie, up until the characters enter the pyramid, is really beautifully done. I believe that this animation was done by Walt Disney Animation England/UK. This was the same Disney unit that worked on Roger Rabbit. Roger Rabbit's animation was directed by famous animator Richard Williams. I'll get to Richard Williams again in just a minute.
After the characters enter the pyramid, there is a noticeable shift in the production quality in the movie. I believe the rest of the film was animated by Walt Disney Animation France. And it wasn't the same level of greatness, in my opinion.
The DuckTales movie wasn't bad, but I thought it could be a lot better than it was. It was released as a "Disney Movietoon" which clearly was supposed to be a thing, but the problems with the film seemed to end the label.
We'll start with D'Jinn, a character based on the 1990 film's character, Dijon. Dijon was a cowardly stereotype thief in the DuckTales movie. Dijon could be seen by many as offensive. However, I think Dijon has the best animation in the DuckTales movie. And I think he is endearing. Reboot DuckTales D'Jinn is an updated, badass version of Dijon. D'Jinn even inherited some of the costuming style of his movie villain master, Merlock.
What's interesting to me is that both Dijon and D'Jinn remind me a lot of a character called the Thief from the decades-long-in-production Richard Williams animated movie, The Thief in the Cobbler. Dijon has the Thief's goofiness, while D'Jinn has slightly cunning looking eyes, very similar to the Thief.
The Genie from the 1990 movie was voiced by Rip Torn. At the end of the DuckTales Movie, the Genie turned into a real "boy", finishing a film that played very much like a test run for 1992's Aladdin. Gene the Genie appeared to take up residence with Scrooge McDuck and family, but he was never seen again in the original series. Dijon, however, did appear in the final episodes of that version of DuckTales.
Updated 2020 Gene the Genie was voiced by Jaleel White (Urkel of Family Matters fame). This Genie is a much more interesting character, in my opinion, than the somewhat annoying Genie in the film.
This Gene the Genie is made of shells and rocks, except for the ear rings, which are tiny metal rings often used for key chains or medals.
GizmoDuck (voiced by the late Hamilton Camp) made his debut in March of 1989 as a very long special on NBC called Super DuckTales.
GizmoDuck debuted before the DuckTales movie hit theaters, but curiously was never mentioned in the 1990 movie. GizmoDuck would later appear in 1991's Darkwing Duck. GizmoDuck became an early addition to the 2017 version of DuckTales, voiced by Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda.
As of this writing, one of the latest characters to get the reboot treatment on DuckTales is villain rooster Steelbeak from Darkwing Duck.
In Darkwing Duck, Steelbeak was voiced by veteran animation actor, Rob Paulsen. In the new DuckTales, Steelbeak is voiced by actor Jason Mantzoukas (from Brooklyn Nine-Nine). This version of Steelbeak is portrayed as an "evil Launchpad" foe for Launchpad .
One of the biggest twists of the 2017 DuckTales reboot was the introduction of Darkwing Duck. Fans were initially disappointed that the character seemed to exist only as a TV show within the DuckTales universe.
I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the sand in your swimsuit. I am the craft project you take on while under quarantine. I am Darkwing Duck!
The introduction of Darkwing Duck (voiced again by Jim Cummings) as an actor named Jim Starling playing a TV character named Darkwing Duck was a big, giant tease to the audience. Jim Starling turned out to become the villain Negaduck, while a new actor character named Drake Mallard (played by Chris Diamantopoulos) had been brought in to play a reboot Darkwing Duck. Then, with the encouragement of Launchpad, he became the new Darkwing.
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