I had been looking forward to this show since it was announced in early 2015, so when it was finally released I was hugely disappointed. The animation and art are of the crude, angular "edgy" kind that dominates today's TV animation. Up to this point, these classic Disney characters and their storylines were always noted for their superb animation, character design and background artwork, that were a pivotal part of the awe and excitement that came with each adventure and truly engaged the viewer in a genuine and charming way. This cartoon abandons this legacy altogether, and even goes so far as to claim that the reason why the characters are so off-model is because it was based on the art styles of Disney Legends Carl Barks and Milt Kahl, as if to shift the blame for their poor performance to these two icons, whose work bears absolutely no resemblance to the crude drawings of the Ducktales reboot series. This comparison is highly insulting to the works of these two artists, who are both noted for their sublime artwork (in comics and animation, respectively) and extensive work on the Disney ducks.
Voice acting is based on "celebrity" status and not on whether or not someone fits the character. A lot of voices are television actors and not professional voice actors, leaving the voice work awkwardly paced and poorly acted.
The show abandons virtually all characterization from the characters' original incarnations, to the point where they are similar in name only to their original counterparts. The showrunners basically created an unrelated TV cartoon, using the DuckTales show and character names just as a marketing trick to get more viewers. The humor is endlessly self-referential and sarcastic, and every sense of adventure or excitement is deflated by some snarky sarcastic comment by one of the nephews, who, along with the show's sitcom-esque structure are more reminiscent of Quack Pack than anything else. In the end, any reboot of this beloved franchise would have naturally done well in ratings, but this could and should have been done so much better. The show had such huge potential, but all it does is focus of change for the sake of change. Don Rosa, comics creator who worked on a number of popular Disney comics featuring these characters, has also expressed his dislike of this show, saying it "bears virtually no resemblance whatsoever" to Barks original comics. I couldn't agree more...
Voice acting is based on "celebrity" status and not on whether or not someone fits the character. A lot of voices are television actors and not professional voice actors, leaving the voice work awkwardly paced and poorly acted.
The show abandons virtually all characterization from the characters' original incarnations, to the point where they are similar in name only to their original counterparts. The showrunners basically created an unrelated TV cartoon, using the DuckTales show and character names just as a marketing trick to get more viewers. The humor is endlessly self-referential and sarcastic, and every sense of adventure or excitement is deflated by some snarky sarcastic comment by one of the nephews, who, along with the show's sitcom-esque structure are more reminiscent of Quack Pack than anything else. In the end, any reboot of this beloved franchise would have naturally done well in ratings, but this could and should have been done so much better. The show had such huge potential, but all it does is focus of change for the sake of change. Don Rosa, comics creator who worked on a number of popular Disney comics featuring these characters, has also expressed his dislike of this show, saying it "bears virtually no resemblance whatsoever" to Barks original comics. I couldn't agree more...