2019 Geek-A-Long: DuckTales

Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg. Race cars, lasers, airplanes, it’s a duck-blur. Might solve a mystery or rewrite history… DUCKTALES, WOO-OO! Everyday they’re out there making DUCKTALES, WOO-OO! Tales of derring-do, bad and good, luck tales.

D-d-d-danger lurks behind you. There’s a stranger out to find you. What to do? Just grab on to some DUCKTALES, WOO-OO! Everyday they’re out there making DUCKTALES, WOO-OO! Tales of derring, bad and good, not ponytails or cottontails, no. DUCKTALES, WOO-OO!

In all seriousness though, I must’ve watched the gif of Scrooge McDuck jumping into his money bin and spitting out coins well over one million times when I designed this square. I couldn’t decide if I wanted him jumping into his money bin or swimming around in it. Eventually, the difficulty level in getting him onto a Geek-A-Long square decided for me. He was incredibly hard to get right because of the simple curving lines.

There was one point where I was just stomping around my house ranting about duckbills and how stupid they were and demanding to know why ducks thought they were so special with their impossible to draw bills. This, of course, led my husband to showing me an old video from 2013 called “True Facts About the Duck.” Before I share the link with you, I should warn you that while it is educational, you will never look at a duck or duck ponds the same again. And you probably shouldn’t watch it at work or with small children around. Alright, you can click this link now.

Ze Frank has a whole series of “True Facts.” Some are funnier than others. True Facts About the Duck is more on the screaming, “Oh-God, why? Why is this happening? No, duck. Duck, why?” side of humor. But they all aren’t like that. My favorite is the one about the Aye Aye.

Aaaaaanyway. Now that I’ve scared some of you for life and you’ll no longer be able to look at a picturesque duck pond the same again, let’s do a hard gear shift back to one of my favorite cartoons of all time: DuckTales.

The original DuckTales aired in 1987 and ran until 1990. I was just a wee lass then, and I was completely obsessed with Scrooge McDuck. I spent most of my early years trying to convince my mom to fill up my kiddie pool with pennies so I could swim around in them like Mr. McDuck. When she said no, I informed her that I would be leaving to move in with Uncle Scrooge and she would be sorry when I was swimming in coins without her.

Needless to say, I was trepidatious when Disney announced that they’d be rebooting the show. I was ready to hate it. I had my pitchfork and torch, ready to march into Disney World, but dang… they nailed it. I love the reboot.

If you’re unfamiliar with DuckTales and the greater Duck Universe, which includes Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin, here is the premise:

After not speaking to each other for ten years, Scrooge McDuck is reunited with his nephew Donald Duck after he asks Scrooge to babysit his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie for the day. The presence of the newcomers rekindles Scrooge’s sense of adventure, leading the group to go on many new treasure-hunting expeditions. The nephews and their new friend Webby seek the truth behind their uncles’ strained relationship and the unexplained disappearance of Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s mother and Donald’s twin sister Della Duck.

Wikipedia

In the reboot, the triplets actual have distinct personalities and Webby gets to be a real character with her own arc. She’s no damsel in distress. Also, one of the best things about the reboot, other than the fact that I get to watch my niece become obsessed with it the way I was at her age, is that they actually discuss Della Duck. To my knowledge, before the 2017 reboot of DuckTales, they never discussed who or where she was and why she left her boys with her brother Donald.

In season one, Dewey and Webby begin a secret search to unravel the mystery behind his mother’s disappearance. And, gentle readers, they answer all of your questions. Granted, you don’t start to get any real answers until the end of season one, but by season two, she’s a REAL CHARACTER. They actually show where she’s been, and it’s hardcore just like her.

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the DuckTales pattern here. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong! Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~ Jac

My niece, Mabel the Merciless, is at that stage where she likes to declare who everyone gets to be when we watch shows together. She’s Webby, Megan-Anne gets to be Uncle Scrooge, and I am the “angry owl.” It’s bullshit. She won’t even let me be Donald. She also never confirms which character is the “angry owl,” because she’s too busy laughing about how I have to be that character. Double bullshit.

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