Perhaps I'm psychic, but I accidentally called the release of the new DuckTales trailer
in my upcoming episode of Secret Screening that I'm still in the process of editing.
Although I didn't get the timing quite right, I'd me remiss if I didn't take a moment
to investigate the trailer, reveal its mystery hidden right in front of our very eyes, and
take a stab at theorizing where that mystery might lead.
So let's start things off by talking about the art style of the new series.
It stands in contrast with the hand-painted cells and backgrounds of the original series,
and - aft first glance - looks unpolished, However, this is by design.
The reason why the background colors bleed over and don't quite match up with the harsh
outlines is because they're evoking the look and feel of an old printed comic book.
You see, comic books aren't printed from top to bottom like common inkjet printers,
they're printed in mass by creating rollers that press colors down one at a time.
It's delicate work, and if something is slightly misaligned, you end up with colors
that don't exactly match up.
But why is DuckTales harkening back to the look and feel of old comic books?
Even their new logo has a halftone over it.
Halftone being the little black dots you see in the yellow of the font.
Another trick of comic printing is to use halftone to evoke shading without using more
ink or too many colors.
This art style was used because Matt Youngberg is clearly establishing a stronger link to
the true history of DuckTales.
Namely the Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck comics written and illustrated by Carl Barks.
I'll be talking in greater detail about Barks - and his comics - in an upcoming video,
but for now, just know that this artistic choice by Youngberg is a loving homage and
credit to this amazing man.
A choice that still allows the 2017 series to remember the past while freshly standing
apart from the classic episodes.
Good on you, Matt.
This was the perfect choice.
Next, let's analyze what's new and different about DuckTales.
We start things off with an establishing shot of Scrooge's Money Bin, which has been relocated
from a hill on the outskirts of Duckburg, to a small island of jagged rocks in Duckburg
harbor.
A sensible move for the sake of security.
It seems there's only one way on or off the island.
A long bridge protected by no less than three gates.
But it also visually belies how paranoid and removed from society Scrooge has become.
His money bin has always been a stronghold, but now it looks and feels more like a personal
prison of his own design.
We next see a brief glimpse inside of McDuck manor, which also hints at some big things
from Scrooge's past.
On the wall we see portraits of him throughout his life, including a picture of a kilt wearing
duck that may be Young Scrooge before he immigrated, or it may be Scrooge's father who gave him
his lifelong credo: "Work smarter, not harder".
Above that picture is likely a painting of Castle McDuck, a well known location from
one of the best episodes of the original series!
What's important about this shot is that it showcases a massive portrait of Scrooge
in the Klondike, as you can tell by the huge sack of gold nuggets, pickaxe, and frontiersman
jacket.
Fans of the original comics and cartoon show already know the importance of Scrooge's
time in the Klondike, but the fact that scrooge has commissioned such a massive portrait,
and hung it in such a place of prominence in his mansion, shows how the betrayal and
lessons he learned during his time there still weigh heavy on his heart and mind.
Next we get a hint of Webbigal Vanderquack's new role in the show.
Her room seems to be filled with news clippings of monster sightings pinned to a board like
conspiracy theories.
She's overjoyed to meet the triplets, which means she's been following their stories.
This makes her part paranormal hunter, part historian, and part fanatic.
And the best part is, that despite being over the moon to meet the boys, she's still bold
enough to laugh in their faces and course correct them when they dismiss and discredit
their Uncle Donald.
From there we see clips from four distinctly different adventures.
A fight with a ghost in a booby trapped temple of some sort, a battle with a chinese dragon,
an undersea treasure hunt, and an escape by plane - which may be interconnected to a larger
story arc.
These shots show the family working together, just like they always have.
Solving problems and getting into scrapes.
However, the most interesting part about the trailer, is the mystery it sets up.
When the triplets are passed off to Scrooge, in their boisterousness they reveal that Scrooge
has basically disappeared from society - meaning - that Scrooge was previously a famous man.
He used to be a big deal.
Likely he was notorious for his globetrotting adventures.
And something happened to him to make him abruptly stop and turn his back on his friends,
family, and society.
Retreating behind the walls of McDuck Manor and his Money Bin.
As we see elsewhere in the trailer, this disappearance was not due to slowing down, aging ailments,
or a loss of cleverness.
Something happened to Scrooge that made him give up, and as we can see from this specifically
torn newspaper, that reason is an important mystery specifically hidden from the audience.
It's far too early to reliably predict how this mystery will unfold.
Whatever the reason, it must have been serious.
Serious enough for Scrooge to fortify himself and his money away from the world.
A tragic loss would be enough to elicit this reaction, but I doubt this would stem from
his time in the Klondike.
That was when he was a young man, and Scrooge dropped off the face of the Earth relatively
recently and at the height of his popularity.
My theory is, he might have had an assistant or someone close to him that he tragically
lost, thereby stealing his thrill and passion of adventures
It might have also stemmed from a colossal failure.
We see that his money bin is a bit low.
Perhaps a misstep or a botched treasure hunt cost him a small fortune - one that left him
only the third or fourth richest duck in the world?
For an egotist like Scrooge, that kind of loss would be devastating to how he defines
himself.
Or perhaps it hits even closer to home.
What if Scrooge was secretly close to Huey, Dewey, and Louie's parents, and their disappearance
and removal from the story is connected to why Scrooge gave up adventuring, and why he
was compelled to gruffly take in the three boys he hardly knows.
Those are my ideas, but what do you think?
Sound off in the comments below with your theories and be sure to tell me what you thought
of the trailer!
We still have roughly half a year before the new episodes start, and I'm so excited for
what they might bring.
Especially since Disney announced that the series has already been picked up for a second
season!
Thanks for watching, and until next time, be sure to share, like, and subscribe.
Because you'll always have a ticket for my next Secret Screening.
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