Any nineties kid could tell you about DuckTales, and practically everybody knows the theme song. Whether you’re familiar with the cartoon, or if you just know it in passing, DuckTales has remained one of the most iconic Disney series in television. The show is making quite the impact on viewers even thirty years later.

The series quickly became popular after its worldwide release, winning the hearts of many people. Hungary actually has a word for that particular generation, called the Ducktales Generation. In fact, the show has become so popular that Disney has even started up a reboot of the series. Whether Disney intended to or not, it made a big impact with this TV series about anthropomorphized ducks having some pretty crazy adventures.

So, what is it about DuckTales that got so many people’s attention? Why did this series resonate with so many of the 90s generation? Maybe it was the idea of an old, miserly duck going on crazy treasure hunts. Maybe it was the fun family bond we saw between Scrooge and his nephews. Or maybe it was because the animation was actually really good quality, especially for animated television. Whatever the reason, this show definitely made waves in the television world.

But how much do you know about DuckTales? This show has quite the rich history in Disney, and with that history comes some pretty interesting elements going on behind the scenes. There’s a lot about the show you likely don’t know.

So here are 20 surprising facts you may not know about DuckTales. Think we missed a few interesting facts? Be sure to let us know!

20 These Four Have Something In Common

We know that the triplets in DuckTales are all pretty much interchangeable. The only way that you can tell the three apart is by their clothing: Huey always wears red, Dewey wears blue, and Louie wears green. The triplets have similar personalities and they’re all even voiced by the same voice actor.

What you may not also know is that the triplets also share the same voice actor with Webby Vanderquack, Mrs. Beakley’s granddaughter. Russi Taylor is the voice of the younger ducks. If that name sounds familiar, there’s a good reason. Russi is also the voice of Minnie Mouse. Talk about some awesome connections! I wonder what it would be like if Minnie ever met the triplets. That would make for a pretty interesting crossover.

19 An Interesting Origin Story

Darkwing Duck was a rather popular TV series that co-starred the popular Launchpad McQuack. It was a great series that had a James Bond, Batman feel to it, with an awesome vigilante and crazy scenarios. But what you may not know is that Darkwing Duck was actually inspired by DuckTales. More specifically, it was inspired by an episode in the show.

There’s an episode in DuckTales called “Double O’ Duck,” Where Launchpad gets involved in quite the adventure. The whole episode has this James Bond, super spy feel. It was from this episode that the creators got the idea for Darkwing Duck. In fact, the series was originally going to be called Double O’ Duck. That’s pretty crazy that we never would’ve gotten our dark mallard hero if it hadn’t been for DuckTales!

18 So... Where Am I?

Now we know quite a bit about Duckberg and that life can be pretty crazy there, but as far as geography goes, we actually don’t know much about where Duckberg is. Depending on the medium, Duckberg has been placed in several different locations. People can’t seem to agree on where this place actually is.

What we do know from the comic books is that Duckberg is in Calisota, a fictional state in the United States. But where that state is exactly in the U.S. isn’t really known. Various maps have shown it to be on the West Coast, near Pittsburg, and even by Virginia. I guess it doesn’t really matter since it’s a fictional town, but it’d be nice to have some sort of geographical reference. Some of us like a little accuracy!

17 A Beautiful Inspiration

Magica de Spell is likely one of the most popular villains on Ducktales, probably because she’s a pretty significant threat. She’s a powerful witch that often clashes with Scrooge, and is also known for her dark charm and appeal. But did you know who inspired her design? The source may surprise you.

Carl Barks said that he took inspiration for Magica from two Italian actresses, Gina Lollobrigida and Sophie Loren, and also from Morticia Addams. The idea for the design was he wanted to create a witch who was not only not ugly, but actually good looking. And looking at Magica, I can definitely see the Morticia Addams inspiration (plus Morticia is just fabulous). But calling a duck attractive seems a little weird to me. . .

16 Russia’s First (American) Cartoon

DuckTales not only gained popularity in the US but worldwide as well. It’s been broadcast everywhere from France to Mexico, and it’s been translated to several different languages. But there’s one area that aired that may actually surprise you. In 1991, DuckTales aired in the former Soviet Union, and it’s the first American cartoon to air in Russia.

It’s not surprising that no American animation had aired before in Russia, given the tenuous relationship between the two countries. But once the Cold War was over, relations began to improve, at least to the point where DuckTales was allowed to air. It’s pretty interesting that the first animated American show to ever air in the former Soviet Union is one about a very rich duck going on adventures with his nephews.

15 Inspiration Goes Both Ways

You likely knew that the DuckTales show was loosely based on the Uncle Scrooge comics. And you may have also known that DuckTales took some inspiration from Indiana Jones with the music and the logo. But did you know that the original comics inspired Indiana Jones?

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg both said that it was the adventures of Scrooge McDuck in the Uncle Scrooge comics that inspired them to create Indiana Jones. If you look at all of them, there are a lot of similarities between Jones and Scrooge. Even their personalities are quite a bit alike, although Jones is much less concerned about money. If it hadn’t been for Carl Barks, the creator of the comics, we wouldn’t have our favorite explorer with a whip.

14 He’s Not As Scottish As You Think

Remember Glomgold, one of Scrooge’s big nemesis, also known as the second richest duck in the world? You likely remember him having an even thicker Scottish accent than Scrooge McDuck. In the series, Glomgold was a native of Scotland, just like Scrooge was. It made their rivalry rather entertaining (two Scottish ducks yelling at each other is pretty funny). But did you know that in the comics, Glomgold wasn’t actually Scottish?

Glomgold was originally a European from South Africa. His nationality was changed in the TV series due to tensions and political turmoil going on in South Africa at the time. The creators also felt that giving him a Scottish origin would give him a great connection to Scrooge, making their rivalry more real. It’s quite the change though.

13 You Can Hear It Four Different Ways

If you haven’t heard of the DuckTales theme song, you’ve been living under a rock. It’s been known as one of the catchiest cartoon theme songs in existence; it only takes a few beats before you’re humming along and singing “Woo-oo!” The song has become rather iconic, so much that even the reboot of the series kept it. But did you know that there’s more than one version of the song?

There are actually four different versions. There’s the theme we’re familiar with that has one verse the chorus, a bridge, and the final chorus. The Disney afternoon version is a little bit shorter, and there’s a version on read-along cassette tapes that include an instrumental section. And finally, there’s a full-length version that includes a guitar solo, an additional verse, and a fadeout ending.

12 A Pretty Short TV Life

Considering how popular the show became and how it’s now regarded as one of the best and most well-known cartoon series, it’s a bit surprising that it didn’t have that many seasons. In fact, DuckTales only had four seasons, and ran from 1987 to 1990. But it did have 100 episodes, which is nothing to sneeze at. The number of episodes varies greatly in the seasons with the first season having a whopping 65 episodes.

After the movie DuckTales: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp didn’t make as much as Disney had hoped it would, the show was soon canceled after that. Which is a pity since I think people still would’ve watched more. That’s probably why the reboot has gained a lot of attention. We’ll just have to see how well this reboot does.

11 I’m Seeing A Connection

The DuckTales video game became one of Capcom’s greatest successes. In fact, they recently did a remastered version of the game that you can get. But does the original game look a little familiar to you? If you look at the structure and design of the game you may notice some similarities to another popular game at the time: Mega Man. And there’s a reason why these two games look a bit alike.

It turns out that the main team that worked on the DuckTales video game were also part of the team that worked on Mega Man. Now I would love to see a crossover between those two worlds. I can just imagine how much the nephews would freak out over Mega Man. Make it happen, Disney and Capcom!

10 Just How Rich Is This Guy?

We all know that Scrooge McDuck is the richest duck in the world, but do we know just how much he’s actually worth? No, we actually don’t. Even if we calculate all the money in his vault, the value of the estates and investments he owns, there wouldn’t really be a number. But some fans have argued that they know how much money is in his bin.

It’s been canon that the vault is three cubic acres, which is a measurement that doesn’t actually make sense or exist, which is just Bark’s testament to Scrooge’s infinite wealth. But some fans have done the math based on the size of the vault, which is said to be 127 feet by 120 feet. The final number has been somewhere between 31 billion and 5.4 trillion, depending on who you ask. Whatever the vault is worth, it’s a lot. Can Scrooge be my rich uncle?

9 I Think He Feels Left Out

Ever wonder why Donald Duck was never really present in the 1987 DuckTales series, especially since the original comics had Donald going along with Scrooge’s adventures? The series explains that Donald joined the navy and that’s why the nephews are now staying with their Great-Uncle Scrooge. But behind the scenes, there was a legitimate reason for why our short-tempered mallard was not included in these adventures.

The reason is that the creators felt that Donald would be too hard to understand, and that viewers would find him annoying. They felt he was the type of character that was good in small doses, but would quickly overwhelm all the other characters. Interestingly, the 2017 reboot has decided to include Donald, and fans seem to be receiving him well so far.

8 Webby’s Predecessors

Webby had a bit of a polarizing effect on DuckTales fans. They either loved her or they hated her. And yeah, her cutesy little girl act could get annoying sometimes, but she was also a pretty spunky character. She also brought out Scrooge’s softer side, which was always nice to see. But did you know she was based on another duck’s relatives?

Webby’s design and character were actually based off of Daisy Duck’s three nieces. They were kind of the female versions of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. If you look at them, they do look quite a bit like Webby, and they even wear similar clothes to her. Because all girls like pink, right? Eh, the eighties and nineties cartoons weren’t always great to female characters, but that’s a whole other issue.

7 Scrooge Has Gotten Nicer Over The Years

We all know that Scrooge McDuck is a bit of a grumpy old duck who is rather obsessed with treasure and wealth. His reasoning does make sense since he’s had to work hard to earn all of his money. He can be a bit of a jerk sometimes and his focus on wealth will take him away from his nephews, but did you know that he was a lot worse in the comics?

In the TV series, Scrooge’s greed and fixation on wealth was offset by his rather obvious affection for his nephews and Webby. In the comics, that affection is a little harder to see and it focuses more on Scrooge’s lust for adventure and gold. It does make sense since Scrooge is based on Ebenezer Scrooge, who is the epitome of a greedy miser. I guess the years have softened up his character a bit.

6 Meet The Man Behind The Song

Like I said before, the DuckTales theme song has become one of the most iconic cartoon theme songs in the history of television. And for good reason, since the song itself is so catchy. I dare you to try and listen to the theme without at least humming along; it’s practically impossible. And who doesn’t love singing along to the “Whoo-oo!” part? But did you know that the man behind the music has written some other hits as well?

Mark Mueller not only wrote the DuckTales theme but also the theme for Chip N’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers (another really catchy theme song). He also wrote Jennifer Paige’s song “Crush” and Amy Grant’s song “That’s What Love is For.” This guy has done pretty well for himself, I have to say.

5 This Criminal Family Has Real-World Connections

The Beagle family was one of the big villain groups from DuckTales and consisted of Ma Beagle and her group of rather dimwitted sons. They caused a lot of havoc and were often chasing after Scrooge and his nephews. What you may not know is that this family of criminals is loosely based on another criminal family.

The Beagles were inspired by the Barker-Karpis gang. This gang was prominent in the early 1900s and mostly consisted of family members. Ma Beagle was actually directly inspired by Ma Barker, the matriarch of the criminal family. Granted, there’s debate on whether Ma Barker was actually involved in any gang activity or not, but she’s still pretty cool. It’s awesome how history can affect elements in a kid’s cartoon decades later.

4 It All Started With This Movie

Remember the movie DuckTales: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp? It featured our favorite ducks exploring ancient pyramids, finding treasure, befriending a genie, and going up against an all-powerful sorcerer. In reality, the movie felt a bit more like a longer DuckTales episode, but it was still a fun ride. But this movie actually made history for Disney in a fairly big way.

This movie was Disney’s first animated, feature-length movie that was spun off a TV series. It paved the way for a few other similar movies such as A Goofy Movie, which was spun off of Goof Troop. It’s a little strange to think about since Disney now has done many movies based off its TV shows, but back then, it wasn’t really a thing.

3 He's Older Than You Think

By now, you likely know that DuckTales wasn’t Scrooge’s first appearance. But did you know that his first appearance also wasn’t in the Uncle Scrooge comics? The cantankerous duck has been around for quite a bit longer than you think. Scrooge actually first appeared in a Donald Duck comic in 1947 and was created to be an antagonist to Donald.

In fact, Scrooge was originally planned to appear in that comic alone, and Barks had no intention of bringing him back. But Scrooge ended up being very popular among fans, becoming one of the most iconic ducks in the Duck universe. Because of his popularity, he was eventually given his own comic book series. And the rest is history. Talk about humble beginnings.

2 Win All The Awards!

DuckTales was not only popular among the masses, but it also ended up making some waves among the critics. Admittedly, when critics first saw the show, they felt that people wouldn’t like it. They didn’t have many high hopes for it. And yet the show was received really well worldwide, becoming quite the classic among viewers. I guess people loved the adventures of Uncle Scrooge and his great-nephews.

But did you know that the show has been nominated for five Emmys? Not only that, it also won an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing. It’s also been nominated twice for Outstanding Animated Program. So, it looks like the show was not only popular but got some critical acclaim as well. And the critics thought it wouldn’t do very well. Good job, DuckTales!

1 Taking The Best From Both Worlds

If you haven’t seen the pilot for the DuckTales reboot, you really should. It does everything a reboot should do. It pays homage to the old series, but gives the show a new vibe, making it its own. If you want to see the gang again, get some new adventures, and hear David Tennant do an absolutely fantastic job as Scrooge McDuck, you should watch this show.

What makes the reboot stand out from others is that it’s actually combining elements from the 1987 series and the Uncle Scrooge comics. It’s actually a very smart move to make. It brings back the old gang that many are familiar with but gives new adventures and a fresh look and style. It’s the perfect blend of familiar and new. So, if you were a little wary of the 2017 reboot, you should check it out. It’s fun, it’s interesting, and it’ll have you singing “Woo-oo!”