Ludwig Von Drake

[Scroogerello]

Now, there's usually some discussion among Disney Duck fans as to how Ludwig is related to Donald, and yesterday, I came across this video, part of "The Hunting Instinct" (1961):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJhK295Lhpc

Not only does Walt Disney introduce Ludwig as Donald's uncle, he specifically described him as being the brother of Donald's father. Very interesting; makes me wonder whether this idea was expanded upon in later episodes (they are so hard to find on the web!). 

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jun 28, 2017 16:29:45 GMT Scroogerello said:

Now, there's usually some discussion among Disney Duck fans as to how Ludwig is related to Donald, and yesterday, I came across this video, part of "The Hunting Instinct" (1961):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJhK295Lhpc

Not only does Walt Disney introduce Ludwig as Donald's uncle, he specifically described him as being the brother of Donald's father. Very interesting; makes me wonder whether this idea was expanded upon in later episodes (they are so hard to find on the web!). 

I am aware of this statement by Walt, and based my theory on it. My headcanon is that Humperdink Duck was briefly married to Mrs Von Drake, but divorced before Ludwig was born, with Humperdink soon remarrying with Elvira and having Quackmore (which makes them half-brothers). Ludwig was raised by his mother alone, hence his accent. 

Also, this is secondary in my theory, and the above can work without it, but I also mix in the idea of Ludwig as being on Daisy's side of the family (as seen in a French pre-Rosa tree) by having Daisy's father be Ludwig's brother Otto, who, having been born earlier, was still named "Duck". This makes Donald and Daisy "half-cousins", so to speak, sharing less than 1/8 of their DNA while still being related.

[drakeborough]

Jun 28, 2017 16:29:45 GMT Scroogerello said:

Now, there's usually some discussion among Disney Duck fans as to how Ludwig is related to Donald, and yesterday, I came across this video, part of "The Hunting Instinct" (1961):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJhK295Lhpc

Not only does Walt Disney introduce Ludwig as Donald's uncle, he specifically described him as being the brother of Donald's father. Very interesting; makes me wonder whether this idea was expanded upon in later episodes (they are so hard to find on the web!).

I saw this episode fairly recently but didn't mention it because there was no active discussion on the forum as to how Ludwig is related to Donald.

At first, the idea seems really stupid, since any brother of Donald's father would obviously have the surname Duck, but it may make sense if we assume that Ludwig Duck changed his name to Ludwig Von Drake after moving to Europe ("Drake" being the European version of "Duck"). However, the idea only works in animation, since in the comics it is firmly established that Ludwig is NOT the son of Grandma Duck.

So, sorry Walt, it may have all started with you, and both Donald and Ludwig may be your brainchildren, but this time I have to exclude what you said from my headcanon. For me, Ludwig is married to Donald's maternal aunt Matilda McDuck, and thus is an uncle by marriage to Donald.

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jun 28, 2017 18:32:39 GMT drakeborough said:

Jun 28, 2017 16:29:45 GMT Scroogerello said:

Now, there's usually some discussion among Disney Duck fans as to how Ludwig is related to Donald, and yesterday, I came across this video, part of "The Hunting Instinct" (1961):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJhK295Lhpc

Not only does Walt Disney introduce Ludwig as Donald's uncle, he specifically described him as being the brother of Donald's father. Very interesting; makes me wonder whether this idea was expanded upon in later episodes (they are so hard to find on the web!).

I saw this episode fairly recently but didn't mention it because there was no active discussion on the forum as to how Ludwig is related to Donald.

At first, the idea seems really stupid, since any brother of Donald's father would obviously have the surname Duck, but it may make sense if we assume that Ludwig Duck changed his name to Ludwig Von Drake after moving to Europe ("Drake" being the European version of "Duck"). However, the idea only works in animation, since in the comics it is firmly established that Ludwig is NOT the son of Grandma Duck.

So, sorry Walt, it may have all started with you, and both Donald and Ludwig may be your brainchildren, but this time I have to exclude what you said from my headcanon. For me, Ludwig is married to Donald's maternal aunt Matilda McDuck, and thus is an uncle by marriage to Donald.

I believe this cartoon's explanation (as given by Ludwig himself) is that, because he "vas a little rrrebel", he took his mother's name rather than his father's. But obviously this ignores Grandma Duck, hence why I had to make up this elaborate 'divorce' theory for it to work.

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Jun 28, 2017 17:12:49 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

I am aware of this statement by Walt, and based my theory on it. My headcanon is that Humperdink Duck was briefly married to Mrs Von Drake, but divorced before Ludwig was born, with Humperdink soon remarrying with Elvira and having Quackmore (which makes them half-brothers). Ludwig was raised by his mother alone, hence his accent.

I like this line of thinking better than Ludwig being married to Matilda (who is an eternal spinster in my mind), but he has to have grown up in Vienna ... there's no way he could have his Austrian accent if he was raised in the US (even if by a single mother). So maybe Mrs. Von Drake moved back to Austria after young Ludwig was born, and raised him there?

Scrooge MacDuck said:

I believe this cartoon's explanation (as given by Ludwig himself) is that, because he "vas a little rrrebel", he took his mother's name rather than his father's. But obviously this ignores Grandma Duck, hence why I had to make up this elaborate 'divorce' theory for it to work.

Where does he say that?

EDIT: Wikipedia says, "In the Wonderful World of Color episode Kids is Kids, Ludwig states that he is a bachelor."
Is this true? If so, it shoots down the "Ludwig is married to Matilda" idea. 

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jun 28, 2017 18:37:33 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Jun 28, 2017 17:12:49 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

I am aware of this statement by Walt, and based my theory on it. My headcanon is that Humperdink Duck was briefly married to Mrs Von Drake, but divorced before Ludwig was born, with Humperdink soon remarrying with Elvira and having Quackmore (which makes them half-brothers). Ludwig was raised by his mother alone, hence his accent.

I like this line of thinking better than Ludwig being married to Matilda (who is an eternal spinster in my mind), but he has to have grown up in Vienna ... there's no way he could have his Austrian accent if he was raised in the US (even if by a single mother). So maybe Mrs. Von Drake moved back to Austria after young Ludwig was born, and raised him there?

Scrooge MacDuck said:

I believe this cartoon's explanation (as given by Ludwig himself) is that, because he "vas a little rrrebel", he took his mother's name rather than his father's. But obviously this ignores Grandma Duck, hence why I had to make up this elaborate 'divorce' theory for it to work.

Where does he say that?

EDIT: Wikipedia says, "In the Wonderful World of Color episode Kids is Kids, Ludwig states that he is a bachelor."
Is this true? If so, it shoots down the "Ludwig is married to Matilda" idea. 

I can testify that does say he is a bachelor, though Rosa fans might argue that it only proves he wasn't married with Matilda yet at the time this special was made. In the same category, one series of comic strips has him joining the "Absent-Minded Dating Club" where he meets and romances a duck woman called Alice, who's just as absent-minded as he is, though the arc ended with them forgetting about each other due to the aformentioned absent-mindedness.

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Jun 28, 2017 18:48:56 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

In the same category, one series of comic strips has him joining the "Absent-Minded Dating Club" where he meets and romances a duck woman called Alice, who's just as absent-minded as he is, though the arc ended with them forgetting about each other due to the aformentioned absent-mindedness.

Are we sure that wasn't just Brigitta setting her sights on another older duck?

[Scroogerello]

Jun 28, 2017 17:12:49 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

I am aware of this statement by Walt, and based my theory on it. My headcanon is that Humperdink Duck was briefly married to Mrs Von Drake, but divorced before Ludwig was born, with Humperdink soon remarrying with Elvira and having Quackmore (which makes them half-brothers). Ludwig was raised by his mother alone, hence his accent. 

Also, this is secondary in my theory, and the above can work without it, but I also mix in the idea of Ludwig as being on Daisy's side of the family (as seen in a French pre-Rosa tree) by having Daisy's father be Ludwig's brother Otto, who, having been born earlier, was still named "Duck". This makes Donald and Daisy "half-cousins", so to speak, sharing less than 1/8 of their DNA while still being related.

Yeah, I read that theory on your "Scrooge McDuck Wikia" recently. I think it's a clever one-- especially since Grandpa Duck from "No Hunting" kind of reminds me of Ludwig (the smaller eyes, wrinkles, wackiness and overall eccentric mannerisms). And Grandpa Duck's comic book counterpart (Strobl's design, that is) also looks a bit like Ludwig, though in a way that a lot of elderly Duck relatives would.
Also, as mentioned earlier on the forum, Grandpa Duck also appeared in a "Disneyland" episode, which seemingly also shows his wife (or daughter) and a baby, who may be one of DD's parents (or maybe Donald himself?).

Anyway, the business with Von Drake taking his mother's name is new to me (as I said, I have only seen few of the episodes of the series--which is a shame, since it has some of the best and funniest Ludwig material in it). On the D23 website, it is claimed that it was Donald who took his mother's name (as the Drakes are the paternal side of the family), but it doesn't mention an episode as a source.

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jun 28, 2017 19:11:29 GMT Scroogerello said:

Jun 28, 2017 17:12:49 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

I am aware of this statement by Walt, and based my theory on it. My headcanon is that Humperdink Duck was briefly married to Mrs Von Drake, but divorced before Ludwig was born, with Humperdink soon remarrying with Elvira and having Quackmore (which makes them half-brothers). Ludwig was raised by his mother alone, hence his accent. 

Also, this is secondary in my theory, and the above can work without it, but I also mix in the idea of Ludwig as being on Daisy's side of the family (as seen in a French pre-Rosa tree) by having Daisy's father be Ludwig's brother Otto, who, having been born earlier, was still named "Duck". This makes Donald and Daisy "half-cousins", so to speak, sharing less than 1/8 of their DNA while still being related.

Yeah, I read that theory on your "Scrooge McDuck Wikia" recently. I think it's a clever one-- especially since Grandpa Duck from "No Hunting" kind of reminds me of Ludwig (the smaller eyes, wrinkles, wackiness and overall excentriciteit mannerisms). And Grandpa Duck's comics book counterpart (Strobl's design, that is) also looks a bit like Ludwig, though in a way that a lot of elderly Duck relatives would.
Also, as mentioned earlier on the forum, Grandpa Duck also appeared in a "Disneyland" episode, which seemingly also shows his wife (or daughter) and a baby, who may be one of DD's parents (or maybe Donald himself?).

Anyway, the business with Von Drake taking his mother's name is new to me (as I said, I have only seen few of the episodes of the series--which is a shame, since it has some of the best and funniest Ludwig material in it). On the D23 website, it is claimed that it was Donald who took his mother's name (as the Drakes are the paternal side of the family), but it doesn't mention an episode as a source.

Yes, the resemblance with Grandpa Duck did cross my mind. Maybe the woman next to him in the Disneyland episode is in fact Mrs Von Drake or a young Grandma? As for the "last name" thing, both our sources are secondhand quotes. It would seem that both are derived from a single episode, and one of them got it wrong — only, how to know which one? (My source is the generally very reliable French website Chronique Disney, so I'm inclined to believe them, but D23 is pretty solid stuff as well).

[whatevs]

Jun 28, 2017 19:05:06 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Jun 28, 2017 18:48:56 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

In the same category, one series of comic strips has him joining the "Absent-Minded Dating Club" where he meets and romances a duck woman called Alice, who's just as absent-minded as he is, though the arc ended with them forgetting about each other due to the aformentioned absent-mindedness.

Are we sure that wasn't just Brigitta setting her sights on another older duck?

There's also that female clone of his from House of Mouse's "Goofy's Valentine Date" that he tried to date. I really like her design, personality, and that horrible, horrible intro quote of "Hello there, I'm a woman.".

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jun 28, 2017 21:16:01 GMT whatevs said:

Jun 28, 2017 19:05:06 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Are we sure that wasn't just Brigitta setting her sights on another older duck?

There's also that female clone of his from House of Mouse's "Goofy's Valentine Date" that he tried to date. I really like her design, personality, and that horrible, horrible intro quote of "Hello there, I'm a woman.".

Blast it all, I missed that episode! Which is too bad because I love House of Mouse to death. I'll go and watch it. By the way, anyone else thinks that dating your own clone is dangerously close to incest?

[Scroogerello]

Jun 28, 2017 19:29:18 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

Jun 28, 2017 19:11:29 GMT Scroogerello said:

Yeah, I read that theory on your "Scrooge McDuck Wikia" recently. I think it's a clever one-- especially since Grandpa Duck from "No Hunting" kind of reminds me of Ludwig (the smaller eyes, wrinkles, wackiness and overall excentriciteit mannerisms). And Grandpa Duck's comics book counterpart (Strobl's design, that is) also looks a bit like Ludwig, though in a way that a lot of elderly Duck relatives would.
Also, as mentioned earlier on the forum, Grandpa Duck also appeared in a "Disneyland" episode, which seemingly also shows his wife (or daughter) and a baby, who may be one of DD's parents (or maybe Donald himself?).

Anyway, the business with Von Drake taking his mother's name is new to me (as I said, I have only seen few of the episodes of the series--which is a shame, since it has some of the best and funniest Ludwig material in it). On the D23 website, it is claimed that it was Donald who took his mother's name (as the Drakes are the paternal side of the family), but it doesn't mention an episode as a source.

Yes, the resemblance with Grandpa Duck did cross my mind. Maybe the woman next to him in the Disneyland episode is in fact Mrs Von Drake or a young Grandma?).

Coincidentally, in Taliaferro's original newspaper strips featuring Grandma, she says she came west in a covered wagon, just like Donald's grandparents in the cartoon.

coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YD+43-12-11
coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YD+51-01-19

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jun 29, 2017 11:35:08 GMT Scroogerello said:

Jun 28, 2017 19:29:18 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

Yes, the resemblance with Grandpa Duck did cross my mind. Maybe the woman next to him in the Disneyland episode is in fact Mrs Von Drake or a young Grandma?).

Coincidentally, in Taliaferro's original newspaper strips featuring Grandma, she says she came west in a covered wagon, just like Donald's grandparents in the cartoon.

coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YD+43-12-11
coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=YD+51-01-19

Indeed! And this is further referenced in Homespun Detective, to boot. 

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Jun 28, 2017 18:48:56 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

I can testify that does say he is a bachelor, though Rosa fans might argue that it only proves he wasn't married with Matilda yet at the time this special was made.

But he's already been described  as Donald's uncle at this point, so even if you're being charitable and say he wasn't married to Matilda yet, it's clear his relationship to Donald is not (solely) through Matilda. And since the only reason to have him be married to Matilda (per Rosa) is to have him be Donald's uncle, the marriage becomes unnecessary, since a previous "uncle-nephew" relationship exists (although the provided explanation, i.e., that he's Donald's  father's brother, doesn't hold up either).

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Jul 27, 2017 17:14:35 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Jun 28, 2017 18:48:56 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

I can testify that does say he is a bachelor, though Rosa fans might argue that it only proves he wasn't married with Matilda yet at the time this special was made.

But he's already been described  as Donald's uncle at this point, so even if you're being charitable and say he wasn't married to Matilda yet, it's clear his relationship to Donald is not (solely) through Matilda. And since the only reason to have him be married to Matilda (per Rosa) is to have him be Donald's uncle, the marriage becomes unnecessary, since a previous "uncle-nephew" relationship exists (although the provided explanation, i.e., that he's Donald's  father's brother, doesn't hold up either).

Well, some people think the two make a cute couple, regardless of whether it's narratively necessary.