The successful return of DuckTales (read Kyle Anderson’s review here) has me over here with my fingers crossed that more animated series from The Disney Afternoon block will be rebooted—and I have a few ideas about what shows they could revive next. Reboot isn’t usually I word I throw around with any kind of excitement, but look, a girl needs more Gummi Bears in her life, okay?
That particular show may not be making a return anytime soon, the premiere of DuckTales did feature the names of three locations from other Disney Afternoon titles. Are they fun, throwaway easter eggs, or are they clues about the future? What would Scrooge McDuck say?
Clues, obviously!
In the premiere, St. Canard, Spoonerville, and Cape Suzette were all mentioned. These locales were the setting for Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, and TaleSpin, respectively. My heart jumped out of my chest in cartoon-like fashion when I heard the names—especially Cape Suzette.
These cities are on the map and part of the universe, so it’s reasonable to say they’re part of the canon in this rebooted setting. But what else could it mean? One thought is this could be the official establishment of a Disney Afternoon Universe. How Darkwing Duck would fit in is a no-brainer (a cameo for the character is already planned, more on that in a moment), though Darkwing Duck series creator Tad Stones said the animated series from the ’90s didn’t share any continuity with DuckTales. But, they did share a character with Launchpad McQuack. Launchpad could easily be a connecting piece now, as the characters are currently existing in the same universe.
Goof Troop being part of the universe makes sense, too, because of the Donald and Goofy connection. In A Goofy Movie, set in the same world as Goof Troop, Goofy’s son Max references his pop’s best friend Donald Duck. Donald eve makes a brief cameo alongside Mickey Mouse in the film.
Wedging in TaleSpin isn’t as obvious as the other the other two spots, but it’s not entirely out of left field. A newspaper clip in the DuckTales premiere has the headline “Skypirates Spotted Above Plain Awful” (the Plain Awful part is a reference to a Donald Duck comic by Carl Barks). What if those sky pirates are actually the Air Pirates from TaleSpin? The group was led by Don Karnage and even had a song called “Sky Pirates.”
Perhaps the casual mention of the other places on the map could be tied to hints about cameos. As mentioned, DuckTales story editor and co-producer Francisco Angones shared at San Diego Comic-Con that Darkwing Duck would be coming to Duckburg. At the same panel, he said a Powerline reference—a connection to A Goofy Movie—in the form of a poster on Dewey’s wall was cut from the series. Maybe Powerline will still swing through town while on tour, or maybe Goofy and Max will come to visit? The nephews were already trying to take the boat for a trip to Cape Suzette, so perhaps they’ll run into Kit Cloudkicker.
Or maybe the casual mention of the other towns is a fortune for future reboots? Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, and TaleSpin are all appealing options for reimaginings, and if they’re connected to DuckTales, could you imagine the potential for an epic crossover event?
Am I reading too much into this? What do you make of the mention of places like Cape Suzette? Share your theories in the comments.
