Being a kid in the late 80s through the mid-90s was like growing up in a golden age of entertainment. When Ronald Reagan appointed a new head of the Federal Communications Commission in 1981, the regulations that required children's programming to be educational were lifted. So too were the rules that protected children from advertising through commercials. This meant that kids' programs could feature a whole slew of new kinds of characters--and all of that merchandise could be advertised in the same place it was being watched.
In 1983, Disney (DIS) launched its own television channel, featuring original content revolving around its already very marketable library of characters. The Disney Channel was a premium cable ad-on, originally aimed at family-friendly programming. It would later shift to focusing on kids and adolescent audiences and in 1987, it optioned an animated series based on its popular comic book called "Uncle Scrooge".
The show introduced kids to Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck's wealthy and curmudgeonly uncle. "DuckTales" mainly featured Scrooge and his three grandsons, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. But it introduced a whole range of memorable, marketable characters in its four seasons on the air. Those characters went on to make Disney a good deal of money, first as dolls and McDonald's (MCD) Happy Meal toys, now as collectible vinyl figures and Disney Store merchandise.
'DuckTales' is Coming to Disney's Epcot
Starting this Friday, December 16, visitors to Disney World's EPCOT park can participate in the DuckTales World Showcase Adventure. Using the Play Disney Parks mobile app, attendees enjoying EPCOT's World Showcase can share the experience with some old cartoon friends.
The adventure's description reads, "Join Scrooge McDuck, his nephews, and friends as they travel around World Showcase on a quacky quest to find the Seven Plunders of the World – and return them to their rightful owners."
Travelers can help catch thieves or match wits with the guardians of ancient artifacts in several countries featured in EPCOT's World Showcase. Treasure can be found in Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom. There are three assignments and one finale in each country--the missions take around 25-30 minutes to finish. When each mission in each country is complete, a final mission is unlocked.
Disney is Bringing Back the Classics
The experience was announced in late 2019 as a replacement for Agent P's World Showcase Adventure, which closed in early 2020. But while the ride has been in the works, Disney has been embracing nostalgia in other ways.
"DuckTales" was rebooted briefly in 2021, introducing the crew to a new generation of kids. When it comes to the original DuckTales universe, the show spawned a few spin-offs, like the Disney version of the Batman-archetype "Darkwing Duck", and similarly structured programs that are still very successful today. One of the most well-known was "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers". While the original cartoon has long been off the air, the film studio recently released a new "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" live-action and animation film. The content of the movie relied heavily on feelings of nostalgia held by millennial audiences--and debuted as the second most-watched movie across streaming platforms.
