The Unbreakable Bin

Gyro Gearloose invents an unbreakable kind of glass for Scrooge's spectacles. Scrooge lets Gyro put it all over the money bin and then fires Gizmoduck as his security guard, because he doesn't need a guard anymore. Soon, everybody else is using the unbreakable glass and no one else needs a guard either.

Fenton is still Scrooge's accountant, but he is so underpaid by his stingy boss that he feels he needs an extra job to support himself and his mother.

Meanwhile, Scrooge takes the nephews on a cruise, and they find a bird whose scream is the only thing that can burst the unbreakable glass. Unfortunately, Magica DeSpell also finds out, and she wants to break the glass of the money bin to get Scrooge's lucky dime. She kidnaps the birds and flies with them to Duckburg.

Gizmoduck has been a traffic signal and has started a food business, but Scrooge rehires him as a security guard. Magica and all the grown up birds are stopped, but a little newly hatched baby bird screams and all the glass in Duckburg breaks.

Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewie, Louie, Fenton Crackshell/Gizmoduck, Gyro Gearloose, Beagle Boys, Magica de Spell

With that catchy theme song, Disney made its first entry into daily syndicated animation. DuckTales chronicled the adventures of Scrooge McDuck, the richest duck in the world, in his constant attempts to get even richer.

Many of the characters, including Scrooge McDuck, the Beagle Boys and Gyro Gearloose, didn't come from Disney's theatrical cartoons, but from comic books written and illustrated by Carl Barks and others. And that cast of characters was deep:

• Grand-nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, left in the old Scot's care by their "Unca Donald"
• Bumblingly heroic Launchpad McQuack ("Any crash you can walk away from is a good one"), hired by Scrooge to pilot in and out of danger
• Doofus, the nerdy Junior Woodchucks member who idolized Launchpad
• Scrooge's maid Mrs. Beakly and her precocious granddaughter Webbigail ("Webby")
• Unflappable butler Drake
• Inventor Gyro Gearloose, whose imperfect creations often caused more trouble than they were worth
• Flintheart Glomgold, the second richest duck in the world and Scrooge's arch-rival
• Sorceress Magica De Spell, who used her powers in futile attempts to steal Scrooge's "lucky dime,"
• And the dastardly Beagle Brothers (Burger, Baggy, Babyface, Bigtime, and Bouncer), a criminal family headed by Ma Beagle.

The second season added new characters Bubba, a cave duck brought back to the present after one of Scrooge's time-travelling adventures, and Fenton P. Crackshell, a mildmannered Scrooge employee who accidentally becomes robotic superhero Gizmo.

The adventures were along the lines of Indiana Jones, globe-trotting quests and challenges with lots of danger. The series often poked fun at classic literature, history, and legend with such episodes as "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. McDuck" and "The Golden Fleecing." The show was an instant hit, demolishing its ratings competitors with luscious animation and clever mixes of action/adventure and comedy. After three years of commercial and critical success on its own, Duck Tales became the centerpiece of the new "Disney Afternoon," a two-hour block of half-hour animated programs.

Animation, some computer-generated, was done by Japanese studios, although the Disney people retained creative control. And for those of you who came here just to settle a bet, Huey wore the red sweater, Dewey wore blue and Louie green.