History YMMV / DuckTales1987

* EvilIsSexy: Magica De Spell, Circe, Cinnamon Teal, Feathers Galore, and Boom-Boom Beagle.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: As much of a classic the show is, it has not aged well, especially in comparison to other Disney afternoon shows. Most of the cast is completely flat and a lot of episodes have very simple plots. It can seem especially basic if you were exposed to the comics or the reboot first which both have overarching intricate stories and deeper characters. The animation was a tremendous step-up from what Creator/HannaBarbera, Creator/{{Filmation}}, Creator/{{DIC}}, Creator/{{Nelvana}}, Creator/RubySpears, and [[Creator/DepatieFrelengEnterprises Marvel]]/[[Creator/SunbowEntertainment Sunbow]] were doing at the same time, but it too seems less impressive compared to modern shows with higher production values.

** Pretty much the entire instrumental score, rich with leitmotifs and themes that uplift and inspire. Pay any attention to the music, particularly during the "Treasure of the Golden Suns" five-parter, and it becomes apparent how much love Ron Jones poured into scoring this series. It's a positive tragedy that, to this day, Disney Records still hasn't released the BGM to the public on a CD collection. It's perhaps an even more appalling tragedy that even among ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'' fans, those who pay enough attention to the score to ''merit'' a CD release comprise a very small [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtdIZU7FYtk pocket]] [[http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/forum/displayquestion.php?topicid=7286 fandom]].

** Some fans consider Doofus Drake annoying and would have been glad not to see him in the show; others think he's cute, sympathize with his tendency to get bullied and insulted (the latter sometimes even by the triplets and Webby), and enjoy his {{hero worshipp|er}}ing IntergenerationalFriendship with Launchpad.

** Creator/AlanYoung is ''the'' voice of Scrooge [=McDuck=]. Ditto, Russi Taylor as Huey, Dewey and Louie.

** In "Super [=DuckTales=]", when Scrooge loses his fortune, Launchpad - despite no longer being employed by him - [[UndyingLoyalty still sticks loyally by Scrooge]], even letting him crash in his home. This is even more touching given that in "Down and Out In Duckburg," a previous instance of Scrooge temporarily losing his money, he was quite convinced Launchpad wouldn't give him the time of day. This sentiment is repeated in TheMovie, where he, Mrs Beakley and Duckworth all stick by Scrooge in spite of his fortune being magically and legally taken from him.
** The very premise of Scrooge himself as a man in his nineties who is still a profound businessman, a budding adventurer and MemeticBadass with no signs of slowing down. Creator/AlanYoung became iconic as the voice of Scrooge through this series, and stuck loyally to reprising him every chance he was given up to his death aged ''96''.

** [[NewOldFlame "Glittering" Goldie]] is Scrooge [=McDuck=]'s first love, who proves herself to be more than a match for him in both wits and greed. [[Recap/DuckTalesS1E50BackToTheKlondike Goldie's introduction]] featured her eyeballing a massive gold nugget Scrooge had found, strong-arming him into a rigged game of cards, and ultimately falling for him after he turns the tables on her. Decades after they have a falling out, Scrooge discovers that Goldie had been living on his old claim, defending it with her trusty shotgun and pet bear, and while things start tense, they reconcile after Goldie chooses to save Scrooge from a robbery. [[Recap/DuckTalesDuckyMountainHigh Goldie's finest outing]] shows her orchestrating a complex scheme to obtain Scrooge's land in the Ducky Mountains, knowing that it has a massive gold deposit underneath that Scrooge himself is unaware of. Happily tricking Scrooge into trading his land for hers, Goldie rubs her victory in his face before giving him an affectionate kiss and a complement, [[WorthyOpponent to which Scrooge can do nothing but smile]].

* {{Moe}}: Webby was designed as extremely cute, with a higher-pitched voice and big eyes, as well as a cheerful, sweet and (mostly) innocent personality.

* SignatureScene: Scrooge diving into his money bin in the opening, a thing many a 80s kid wanted to do their whole lives.

** Three of them, in fact, in the form of Launchpad's loving family. Ripcord, Birdie and Loopy [=McQuack=] are very well liked and fondly remembered despite only appearing once in the episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E12TopDuck Top Duck]]" (with Ripcord and Loopy getting a non-speaking cameo in "Til Nephews Do Us Part"). Fans requested they make another appearance, but all they got was a cameo from Ripcord in the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E57UFFoe U.F. Foe]]."

** Webby, so very much. Even though the boys allow her around and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther demonstrate that they really do care about her (sometimes)]], they often brush her off when she wants to join their project-of-the-week. As noted above, it's suggested that she's supposed to be a few years younger than they are, so they sort of view her as an honorary AnnoyingYoungerSibling; however, given that they're really the only friends she's shown to have, this probably leaves her feeling lonely much of the time. It is also implied that she and her Grandmother, Mrs Beakley, were living a rather lonely and impoverished life beforehand, requiring Scrooge give them actual shelter as well as wages. No wonder she so eagerly treats Scrooge as her honorary uncle.
** Fenton Crackshell is extraordinarily good at counting, and he does become the super hero Gizmoduck. But he also has a big case of bad luck and a tendency to screw things up, and he's beaten up by the Beagles ''four times'' in one episode alone. He lives with his trailer trash mother, who often cares more about watching TV than listening to what her only son had to say. There's also his relationship with girlfriend Gandra Dee, who is frequently ungrateful or cold-hearted towards him. Of course, we're still talking about a relatively light-hearted cartoon, and plenty of this is played for laughs. But the poor guy deserves all of the breaks that he could ever catch...
** The show carefully avoids drawing attention to this, but Huey, Dewey, and Louie were already orphaned by their biological parents when Donald decides to up and abandon them to the care of his elderly, disinterested, and somewhat self-absorbed uncle in order to return to his career in the Navy. Glimpses of the future suggest that he never returns to them, and over time he stops being mentioned at all. Luckily, Scrooge quickly warms to the kids and does his level best to be a good caregiver; still, that's a pretty horrifying back story.

** Launchpad. While some of Scrooge's vitriol comes from [[CaptainCrash his more destructive aspects]], he also sometimes treats him harshly due to being in a bad mood, even though Launchpad might have done nothing to justify the behavior. Furthermore, despite his apparently confident manner, the pilot has a severe insecurity complex regarding being good enough. This led to him running away from home in his teens and freaking out the first time he saw his parents again, because all he could focus on was how ashamed he believed they were. It also gives a sadder undertone to occasions in the series when he feels in danger of being replaced[[note]]like "Armstrong" and "Where No Duck Has Gone Before"[[/note]].

** Some fans feel that season two was inferior to the first and that it had weaker animation and missed the adventure stories that made up season one. Others felt that the second season was just as strong as the first, if not even better.

** Webby, so very much. Even though the boys allow her around and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther demonstrate that they really do care about her (sometimes)]], they often brush her off when she wants to join their project-of-the-week. As noted above, it's suggested that she's supposed to be a few years younger than they are, so they sort of view her as an honorary AnnoyingYoungerSibling; however, given that they're really the only friends she's shown to have, this probably leaves her feeling lonely much of the time.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: In "Super [=DuckTales=]", when Scrooge loses his fortune, Launchpad - despite no longer being employed by him - [[UndyingLoyalty still sticks loyally by Scrooge]], even letting him crash in his home. This is even more touching given that in "Down and Out In Duckburg," a previous instance of Scrooge temporarily losing his money, he was quite convinced Launchpad wouldn't give him the time of day. This sentiment is repeated in TheMovie, where he, Mrs Beakley and Duckworth all stick by Scrooge in spite of his fortune being magically and legally taken from him.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: As much of a classic the show is; it has not aged well, especially in comparison to other Disney afternoon shows. Most of the cast is completely flat and a lot of episodes have very simple plots. It can seem especially basic if you were exposed to the comics or the reboot first which both have overarching intricate stories and deeper characters. The animation was a tremendous step-up from what Creator/HannaBarbera, Creator/{{Filmation}}, Creator/{{DIC}}, Creator/{{Nelvana}}, Creator/RubySpears, and [[Creator/DepatieFrelengEnterprises Marvel]]/[[Creator/SunbowEntertainment Sunbow]] were doing at the same time, but it too seems less impressive compared to modern shows with higher production values.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: As much of a classic the show is; it has not aged well, especially in comparison to other Disney afternoon shows. Most of the cast is completely flat and a lot of episodes have very simple plots. It can seem especially basic if you were exposed to the comics or the reboot first which both have overarching intricate stories and deeper characters. The animation was a tremendous step-up from what Creator/HannaBarbera Creator/{{Filmation}}, Creator/{{Nelvana}}, Creator/RubySpears, and creator [[Creator/DepatieFrelengEnterprises Marvel]]/[[Creator/SunbowEntertainment Sunbow]] were doing at the same time, but it too seems less impressive compared to modern shows with higher production values.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: As much of a classic the show is; it has not aged well, especially in comparison to other Disney afternoon shows. Most of the cast is completely flat and a lot of episodes have very simple plots. It can seem especially basic if you were exposed to the comics or the reboot first which both have overarching intricate stories and deeper characters.