Quack Pack | |
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Genre | Animated sitcom |
Created by | Toby Shelton Kevin Hopps |
Based on | Donald Duck by Walt Disney Dick Lundy |
Directed by |
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Voices of | |
Theme music composer | Jeff Martin (arranged by Randy Petersen) |
Opening theme | "Quack Pack", performed by Eddie Money |
Ending theme | "Quack Pack" (Instrumental) |
Composer | Eric Schmidt |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 39 |
Production | |
Producers |
|
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company | Walt Disney Television Animation[a] |
Original release | |
Network | Syndication |
Release | September 3 November 28, 1996 | –
Quack Pack is an American animated sitcom produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, featuring Donald Duck and his nephews.[1] The show debuted on September 3, 1996 as a part of the "Disney Afternoon" programming block, following the success of Goof Troop, and ran for one season with 39 episodes.[2]
The show centers around Donald Duck, who works as a cameraman alongside his girlfriend Daisy, a reporter for the TV show What In the World. The pair travels around the world with his now-adolescent nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, looking for noteworthy news stories.
Huey, Dewey and Louie have more distinct personalities than their younger selves had. They usually resort to extreme measures to achieve their ambitions without being punished by their uncle, often by tricking him only to feel guilty about it afterwards. The brothers share similar passions such as listening to rock music, getting revenge on those who anger them, impressing girls, getting money, pulling pranks, playing games and reading comics, as well as a profound knowledge of cars and mechanics.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Really Mighty Ducks" | Toby Shelton; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, Carole Beers, & Bob Zamboni (animation timing) | John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, & Jim Peterson | Carin-Anne Anderson and Kuni Bowen | September 3, 1996 | |
Tired of being nagged at by Donald to clean their room, the boys seek the help of Ludwig Von Drake and find a machine that turns them into superheroes known as the Tremendously Talented Trio of Truly Trusted Trouble-Shooters or "The T-Squad" for short, thus deterring Donald from hassling them. But when Donald uses the machine himself and transforms into the supervillain "The Duck of Doom", things start to get out of hand. | ||||||
2 | "Island of the Not So Nice" | Kurt Anderson; Carole Beers, Bob Zamboni, and Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | Dean Stefan | David Prince and Wendell Washer | September 4, 1996 | |
The boys decide to take Daisy's pet iguana Knuckles for a walk, promising that nothing bad will happen. But when they get kidnapped by a mad scientist with a machine that can turn lifeforms back into their prehistoric ancestors, they find they might not be able to come through on that promise, but Knuckles comes with them and was accidentally turned into a Godzilla-like dinosaur that rampages though Duckburg. | ||||||
3 | "Leader of the Quack" | Kurt Anderson; Carole Beers & Bob Zamboni (animation timing) | Steve Cuden | Shawna Cha, Holly Forsyth, Jan Green, and Enrique May | September 5, 1996 | |
The group go to a village still stuck in the Medieval period, where the people there hail Donald as their savior for defeating a dragon and make him their king. It seems glamorous at first, but Donald soon realize how heavy the crown really is. | ||||||
4 | "All Hands on Duck!" | Toby Shelton; Carole Beers & Bob Zamboni (animation timing) | John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, & Jim Peterson and Dean Stefan | Kurt Anderson, Hank Tucker, and Eddy Houchins | September 10, 1996 | |
When Donald and Daisy go to do a report on a Naval vessel, it is revealed that Donald still owes them 24 hours of worktime, and his C.O. is content on giving him a hard time as comeuppance for all the times Donald has thrown him overboard. Note: This is one of the only two episodes where Huey, Dewey and Louie didn't make an appearance. This episode also has some simlilar traits from the original DuckTales because in the series, Donald joined the Navy while the boys stayed with his Uncle Scrooge. | ||||||
5 | "Pride Goeth Before the Fall Guy" | Toby Shelton; John Kimball & Rick Leon (animation timing) | Richard Stanley | Jill Colbert and Victor Cook | September 11, 1996 | |
Donald hires a new, shady assistant. Meanwhile, the boys get a new pack of cards of infamous criminals and Donald's new assistant is among them. | ||||||
6 | "Need 4 Speed" | Toby Shelton; Mircea Mantta, Terence Harrison, Marsh Lamore, and Bob Zamboni (animation timing) | Barry Vigon & Tom Walla | Wendell Washer and Ryan Anthony | September 12, 1996 | |
When Donald has nightmarish visions of what will happen to his nephews if he lets them drive, he refuses to let them have a car. But when a champion racer insults Donald (and in front of Daisy no less) he promises the boys a car if they help him win the race. Only Donald isn't likely to give the boys exactly what they want. | ||||||
7 | "The Germinator" | Toby Shelton; Bob Zamboni, Woody Yocum, and Terence Harrison (animation timing) | Dean Stefan | Lonnie Lloyd and Wendell Washer | September 17, 1996 | |
The group encounters a mad scientist who has devised a machine that can shrink things down to microscopic size and uses it to make Donald sick. | ||||||
8 | "The Late Donald Duck" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison and Kirk Tingblad (animation timing) | Richard Stanley | Mark Kennedy and Victor Cook | September 18, 1996 | |
Donald draws the ire of his boss Kent Powers when he shows up to work late. To try and keep his job, he writes a story, hoping he'll buy it. Note: This is one of the only two episodes where Huey, Dewey and Louie didn't make an appearance. | ||||||
9 | "Tasty Paste" | Kurt Anderson; Marsh Lamore, Rick Leon, John Kimball, & Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | Steve Roberts | Ryan Anthony, Craig Kemplin, Debra Pugh, Lenard Robinson, and Kirk Tingblad | September 19, 1996 | |
The boys become the new CEOs of a company that sells an addictive new snack and become filthy rich. But they're so into their wealth that they forget that there are some things money can't buy. | ||||||
10 | "Phoniest Home Videos" | Kurt Anderson; Carole Beers, Bob Zamboni, and Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, & Jim Peterson and Richard Stanley | Warwick Gilbert | September 24, 1996 | |
When Donald's videotaped foul-ups make him a big star on 'Wackiest Home Videos', he gets a swelled head and ignores Huey, Dewey and Louie. But when the show's producer pushes Donald into life-threatening stunts, it's up to the boys to save him. | ||||||
11 | "Return of the T-Squad" | Kurt Anderson; John Kimball, Woody Yocum, Marsh Lamore, & Bob Zamboni (animation timing) | Bill Motz & Bob Roth | Marty Warner, Craig Kemplin, and Victor Cook | September 25, 1996 | |
When Donald is kidnapped by aliens who tried to dominate Earth but were foiled by Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie must once again don their capes and tights as the T-Squad to rescue him. But they soon learn that even the most daunting tasks can be solved without superpowers. | ||||||
12 | "Koi Story" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison and Kirk Tingblad (animation timing) | Alicia Schudt | David Prince and Wendell Washer | September 26, 1996 | |
The group encounters a stranger who keeps a rare, giant fish couped up in a huge bowl, content on keeping him happy. But he doesn't know that his pet isn't happy, nor does he realize what he wants. | ||||||
13 | "Ready, Aim... Duck!" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, and Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | Cathryn Perdue | David Prince, Wendell Washer, and Craig Kemplin | October 1, 1996 | |
After Donald trashes the house while playing the boys' Captain Jack virtual reality helmet, he makes up lies on the spot to hide the truth. Donald then has visions of Captain Jack ordering him to confess. But Donald ignores this and eventually draws the ire of a dangerous criminal known as "The Claw". | ||||||
14 | "Pardon My Molecules" | Toby Shelton; Terence Harrison, Mircea Mantta, and Woody Yocum (animation timing) | Dean Stefan | Jill Colbert and Sharon Forward | October 2, 1996 | |
While on a trip to the desert, Huey and Dewey's game of race cars leads to a bitter argument. Meanwhile, Donald and Daisy head to a secret lab where they're kidnapped by a scientist who wants revenge on Daisy for ridiculing his painting years ago. But when Huey and Dewey are merged by one of the scientist's inventions, they must learn to work together to save their uncle and Daisy. | ||||||
15 | "Unusual Suspects" | Toby Shelton; Bob Zamboni, John Kimball, and Woody Yocum (animation timing) | Bill Motz & Bob Roth | Marty Warner, Holly Forsyth, Lonnie Lloyd, and Laurence Knighton | October 3, 1996 | |
New neighbors move in next to Donald and his nephews and Donald decides to scope them out. But while they pretend to be normal, they hide a dark secret. | ||||||
16 | "Ducklaration of Independence" | Toby Shelton; Terence Harrison and Kirk Tingblad (animation timing) | Robert Schechter | Holly Forsyth, Enrique May, and Judie Martin | October 8, 1996 | |
Dewey has become fed up with his brothers intruding on his space and decided to search for a hidden place they're currently looking for. But when he finds a hermit in it content on keeping to himself, he realizes he might not be able to cope with a life of solitude afterall. | ||||||
17 | "Can't Take a Yolk" | Toby Shelton; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, and John Kimball (animation timing) | Thomas Hart | Victor Cook, David Prince, Chris Rutkowski, and Wendell Washer | October 9, 1996 | |
When Huey, Dewey and Louie get punished after playing a practical joke on their uncle, they order some retro-growth formula to shrink a tree to get out of the yard work Donald set them. However, Donald accidentally uses the formula on himself and it is slowly turning him younger and younger. | ||||||
18 | "Heavy Dental" | Kurt Anderson; Bob Zamboni, Carole Beers, Marsh Lamore, and Rick Leon (animation timing) | Douglas Langdale | Jill Colbert and Holly Forsyth | October 10, 1996 | |
Huey wants to enter a cool teen contest, so wants to look his very best. But when he goes to the dentist to get his teeth whitened, he's outfitted with what he believes to be braces, but it is in reality a special mind-control device intended for someone else and the mastermind will stop at nothing to get it back. | ||||||
19 | "Duck Quake" | Toby Shelton; Bob Zamboni and Woody Yocum (animation timing) | Kevin Campbell | Jill Colbert, Lonnie Lloyd, and Marty Warner | October 15, 1996 | |
The boys remember the horror of their terrible camping situation from last year. So they employ the help of Ludwig Von Drake and trick Donald into thinking there will be a huge earthquake in Duckburg, thus pressuring him to buy provisions that the boys intend to use on the next school camping trip. But when Donald catches wind of their true intentions, he uses the boys own earthquake device to get revenge on them. | ||||||
20 | "Long Arm of the Claw" | Kurt Anderson; Bob Zamboni, Woody Yocum, Terence Harrison, and Mircea Mantta (animation timing) | Bill Motz & Bob Roth | David Prince, Wendell Washer, and Michael Bennett | October 16, 1996 | |
Donald cowers in fear when he hears that The Claw has been released from jail and is seeking revenge. To make things really intense, he and his mother move next door to him. The Claw, who has undergone rehabilitation, seems to have changed his ways. But his mother tells him that the process wasn't perfect and that he can still go back to his old criminal self. | ||||||
21 | "Shrunken Heroes" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison and Kirk Tingblad (animation timing) | Marion Wells | Shawna Cha and Holly Forsyth | October 17, 1996 | |
Louie is arrested after attempting to foil poachers' plot to sell endangered animals to tourists and Daisy tries to coax him out of taking the law into his own hands. Louie then meets his hero who tried the same stunt and after a microscopic adventure learns that law enforcement should be left to the pros. | ||||||
22 | "Snow Place to Hide" | Kurt Anderson; Carole Beers, Kirk Tingblad, Bob Zamboni, Terry Harrison, & Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | Dean Stefan | Holly Forsyth, Llyn Hunter, and Enrique May | October 22, 1996 | |
When Daisy goes on a ski trip with their boss Kent Powers, Donald becomes jealous of the whole thing and tails her to ensure her commitment to him, and is letting his greened-eyed monster of jealousy call all the shots. | ||||||
23 | "Huey Duck, P.I." | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, and Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | Jymn Magon and Steve Roberts | Wendell Washer, David Prince, and Kirk Tingblad | October 23, 1996 | |
Huey becomes enticed by a TV show and passes himself off as a professional agent. But when he gets in the thick of things, he realizes that it's never as easy as television makes it. | ||||||
24 | "Take My Duck, Please" | Kurt Anderson; Bob Zamboni, Carole Beers, Woody Yocum, John Kimball, Marsh Lamore, and Rick Leon (animation timing) | Marion Wells and Dean Stefan | Marty Warner, Craig Kemplin, and Michael Bennett | October 24, 1996 | |
The boys are getting tired of having to work all the time and want to have fun. When they and Donald see a commercial for an exchange program to Switzerland they immediately agree it would be a great idea. Donald gets a prim and proper girl in exchange and the boys get to have fun. But when Donald finds out that she's not the sweet angel the ads make her and the boys encounter a slave driving alien disguised as their guardian, they start to doubt the switch. | ||||||
25 | "Ducks by Nature" | Kurt Anderson; Carole Beers, Mircea Mantta, Bob Zamboni, & Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, & Jim Peterson | Holly Forsyth, Denise Koyama, and Joe Horne | October 29, 1996 | |
Fed up with the boys just sitting on the couch watching television, Donald takes them to a camp where they're reluctant at first, but soon find themselves competing for the affection of another fellow camper. Meanwhile, the counsellor, Beef Jerky, takes Donald for a weakling and Donald decides to join the trip to prove him wrong. | ||||||
26 | "Recipe for Adventure" | Toby Shelton; Dale Case and Marsh Lamore (animation timing) | Neil Kramer & Ned Teitelbaum | Phil Weinstein and Sharon Forward | October 30, 1996 | |
The group goes with Gwumpki to his home country where he's to cook his special burgers for his queen. But when they arrive, a stranger tries to blackmail Gwumpki to cook his burgers so that he can get his hands on a powerful relic to control the world. | ||||||
27 | "The Boy Who Cried Ghost" | Kurt Anderson | Steve Cuden | David Prince and Wendell Washer | October 31, 1996 | |
On their way to a Halloween party, Dewey's pranks go too far, leaving them stranded and forced to spend the night in a creepy mansion. But when it turns out to be really haunted, Dewey has a hard time convincing the others that it's not one of his practical jokes. | ||||||
28 | "I.O.U. a U.F.O." | Toby Shelton; Carole Beers, Bob Zamboni, and Terence Harrison (animation timing) | Cathryn Perdue | David Prince and Wendell Washer | November 5, 1996 | |
The family travels out into the desert and Dewey claims to see a U.F.O., much to the disbelief of the others. But when he gets the help from one of the locals, Dewey's curiosity soon lands him in a heap of trouble. | ||||||
29 | "Gator Aid" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, & Bob Zamboni (animation timing) | Steve Roberts | Carin-Anne Anderson, Kuni Bowen, Craig Kemplin, and Enrique May | November 6, 1996 | |
The group visit an alligator farm where they find that all the alligators have been wrangled with the exception of one female who develops a crush on Donald. Their hunt for the gators leads them to an operation to rob a gold depository. | ||||||
30 | "None Like It Hot" | Toby Shelton; Dale Case, Daniel de la Vega, Marsh Lamore, Kevin Petrilak, and Mitch Rochon (animation timing) | Dean Stefan | Jill Colbert and Victor Cook | November 7, 1996 | |
Louie's quest for the latest Mantis Boy comic leads him and his brothers to discover a madman's plot to submerge the earth in an intense heatwave. | ||||||
31 | "Ducky Dearest" | Kurt Anderson; Carole Beers, Bob Zamboni, and Kirk Tingblad (animation timing) | Laraine Arkow | David Prince, Wendell Washer, and Victor Cook | November 12, 1996 | |
When a commercial on television leads Donald to doubt the integrity of his nephews, he gives in and buys a kit to try to become the perfect parent. Little does he know about the scam behind the commercial. | ||||||
32 | "Transmission: Impossible" | Toby Shelton | Jymn Magon | Warwick Gilbert and Don MacKinnon | November 13, 1996 | |
When the boys destroy Donald's new ninja lumberjack tape, he loses trust in them and he and Daisy refuse to believe anything they say. But when a thief uses security cameras as portals to steal valuable artifacts, the pressure is on to convince them of the truth. | ||||||
33 | "Nosy Neighbors" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, and John Kimball (animation timing) | Robert Schechter | Holly Forsyth and Marty Warner | November 14, 1996 | |
After a series of thefts in Donald's neighborhood, he joins the Nosy Neighbors neighborhood watch group and gets carried away with defending his home turf. | ||||||
34 | "Hit the Road, Backwater Jack" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, and Woody Yocum (animation timing) | Robert Schechter | Mark Kennedy and Warwick Gilbert | November 19, 1996 | |
After the boys find a treasure map, they decide to follow it and bring Backwater Jack along so they can shoot his next adventure, only Jack's not the adventurer he makes himself out to be in his books. | ||||||
35 | "Cat & Louse" | Toby Shelton; John Kimball, Rick Leon, Mitch Rochon, Kevin Petrilak, and Woody Yocum (animation timing) | Marion Wells | Ryan Anthony and Debra Pugh | November 20, 1996 | |
When the group interviews a cat and lion trainer, Huey's fear of house cats resurfaces. Dewey and Louie plan to discover how his fear first came about and learn it may be connected to the trainer. When the trainer discovers the group has found out he is not only training his cats to do harmless tricks, he sets out for revenge. | ||||||
36 | "Hero Today, Don Tomorrow" | Toby Shelton; Terence Harrison and Kirk Tingblad (animation timing) | Marion Wells and John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, & Jim Peterson | Jill Colbert and Holly Forsyth | November 21, 1996 | |
The boys become enticed by an American Gladiator like star Flint Steel and Donald becomes jealous. To try and get the boys attention again, Donald tries to convince them that he knew Flint Steel from his youth. | ||||||
37 | "Captain Donald" | Kurt Anderson; John Kimball and Mircea Mantta (animation timing) | Cathryn Perdue | Jill Colbert, Holly Forsyth, and Michael Bennett | November 26, 1996 | |
Kent Powers lets Donald become captain of his yacht on a cruise when they run into a hurricane and are stranded on an island where a sinister pirate befriends them so they can use them to find a legendary treasure. | ||||||
38 | "Stunt Double or Nothing" | Kurt Anderson; Carole Beers, Bob Zamboni, Marsh Lamore, Karen Peterson, & Kevin Petrilak (animation timing) | Marion Wells | Carin-Anne Anderson, Kuni Bowen, and Bradley Raymond | November 27, 1996 | |
When a newspaper reveals that the viewers prefer Daisy over Kent Powers, he becomes enraged at the news and has trained a gorilla do all his stunts for him to increase his popularity. At the same time, he threatens to fire Donald and Daisy if any of his property gets damaged from their antics. | ||||||
39 | "Feats of Clay" | Kurt Anderson; Terence Harrison, Kirk Tingblad, and Woody Yocum (animation timing) | Don Gillies | Craig Kemplin and Marty Warner | November 28, 1996 | |
While visiting China, Huey is seduced by a local girl who turns out to be an empress witch of world domination. |
Co-producers Kevin Crosby Hopps and Toby Shelton turned to Donald Duck shorts for inspiration for Quack Pack. Shelton noted that in the shorts, Donald mostly interacted with humans, and decided to incorporate humans into the world of Quack Pack. This contrasted with DuckTales, a previous Disney Afternoon series, where the world is inhabited by other anthropomorphic animals. Shelton considers Quack Pack as more of an extension of the original Donald Duck shorts than of DuckTales.[3] Because of this, many characters from the DuckTales cartoons and comics, including Disney characters, such as Scrooge McDuck, Launchpad McQuack, and Mickey Mouse don't appear in the series, although Ludwig Von Drake does make a couple of appearances.
In the show, the previously interchangeable nephews were given their own voices and personalities. Huey was the smooth-talker and schemer, Louie was the athlete and oddball, and Dewey was the intellectual and prankster.[3]
The original title of the show was Duck Daze, but was changed to Quack Pack before release.[4] There are still references to Duck Daze in the theme song.
After Quack Pack left the Disney Afternoon block and following the launch of Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC, it eventually resurfaced in reruns on Disney Channel, and later on Toon Disney. The show was removed from the channel's line up along with several other Disney shows in November 2004.
This show was aired on Disney Junior in Turkey, Netherlands, Flanders, Japan, and Southern Africa, on Disney Channel in Germany, India, Mexico, Poland and Turkey, and Disney XD in Scandinavia and Latin America.
All episodes of the series are currently available on the Disney+ streaming service.
In the summer of 1997, three 45-minute VHS cassettes containing six episodes were released in the United States.
VHS Name | Episode Titles | Release Date |
---|---|---|
Alien Attack! | "I.O.U a U.F.O." "Ducklaration of Independence" |
July 15, 1997[5][6] |
Ducks Amuck! | "Ducky Dearest" "All Hands on Duck" |
July 15, 1997[7] |
House of Haunts | "The Boy Who Cried Ghost" "Cat and Louse" |
August 26, 1997[8] |
The episodes "Transmission: Impossible", "Heavy Dental" and "Feats of Clay" were released as the first Region 1 volume Quack Pack: Volume 1 in the United States on February 14, 2006.[9][10]
A one-off Christmas special compilation DVD titled Disney's Christmas Favourites was released in Region 2 on October 31, 2005, and contains the Quack Pack episode "Snow Place to Hide", along with the Mickey Mouse Works short segment "Mickey's Mixed Nuts", the 101 Dalmatians: The Series episode "A Christmas Cruella", and the short Toy Tinkers.[11]
Zach Gass of Screen Rant called Quack Pack one of the "classic Disney cartoons," writing, "It's not the most original idea, but it's definitely an animated '90s time capsule. With its choice of design, dialogue, and certain plot devices, it's unarguably a product of its time, for better and for worse."[12] Catherine Hug of CBR.com said, "While Quack Pack only had one season in 1996, it featured the hilarious antics of Donald Duck and his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. While Donald tried working as a TV Cameraman, he also had to watch over his three rebellious nephews."[13] Susana Polo of Polygon stated, "Quack Pack wasn’t all bad ideas. Like our modern DuckTales reboot, it seized upon the idea of giving Huey, Dewey and Louie differentiated personalities."[14]
Quack Pack served as inspiration for the 2017 DuckTales episode of the same name, wherein the main characters find themselves trapped in a 1990s sitcom and are forced to contend with the human studio audience, which they view as monsters since humans are not part of the series.[15] Additionally, in the series finale 'The Last Adventure!', it was revealed that Donald kept a Hawaiian shirt similar to the one he wears in Quack Pack, and Della, sarcastically, asked if the year was 1996, which was the year the series released.[citation needed]