Generally speaking, I avoid the "literary parody" stories, as I prefer to the Ducks to be Themselves. In Paperin Hood, they are Themselves putting on a show, so you get both the real Ducks and the roles they play.
That's one of the reasons I simply can't connect with "Treasure Island" (and have a hard time with "Moby Dick" too). I really prefer the parody stories that incorporate more of the figures' Disney relationships and don't try to match the original in every way.
On to the topic... this thread barely scratches the surface. There's so many. But off the top of my head, "Celsius 154" immediately comes to mind. A great one - music is the thing that's forbidden in this dystopian future! (And there you have a good example of a parody that uses the original's basic structure but does something actually creative with it.)
There are also two parodies of "The Maltese Falcon" - one by Kari Korhonen (called "The Maltese Mallard"), and one in Rudy Salvagnini's charming "Goofy's Wednesday's Novels" series (the title "Il mistero del talco" is obviously a pun that didn't get across too well in German...)
And let's not forget Cavazzano's masterpiece (as a writer and artist!) "Casablanca"! (Idiotically called "Cusubluncu" when first published in German. Later prints rectified that, thankfullly.)
And lots more...
(Orora wouldn't a better title for the 1984 story be "Big Uncle is Watching You" or something like that?)
Generally speaking, I avoid the "literary parody" stories, as I prefer to the Ducks to be Themselves. In Paperin Hood, they are Themselves putting on a show, so you get both the real Ducks and the roles they play.
That's one of the reasons I simply can't connect with "Treasure Island" (and have a hard time with "Moby Dick" too). I really prefer the parody stories that incorporate more of the figures' Disney relationships and don't try to match the original in every way.
On to the topic... this thread barely scratches the surface. There's so many. But off the top of my head, "Celsius 154" immediately comes to mind. A great one - music is the thing that's forbidden in this dystopian future! (And there you have a good example of a parody that uses the original's basic structure but does something actually creative with it.)
There are also two parodies of "The Maltese Falcon" - one by Kari Korhonen (called "The Maltese Mallard"), and one in Rudy Salvagnini's charming "Goofy's Wednesday's Novels" series (the title "Il mistero del talco" is obviously a pun that didn't get across too well in German...)
And let's not forget Cavazzano's masterpiece (as a writer and artist!) "Casablanca"! (Idiotically called "Cusubluncu" when first published in German. Later prints rectified that, thankfullly.)
And lots more...
(Orora wouldn't a better title for the 1984 story be "Big Uncle is Watching You" or something like that?)
Huhhh... maybe! I was trying to literally translate the original title. In French, the title was "Uncle Scrooge and Year 2084". Although, if the point was to be like the original novel, it would be "Two Thousand Eighty Four". But that's not very fascinating for the target audience, is it?
--- Gaucelm de Villaret gaucelm@gmail.com --- gaucelm.blogspot.fr twitter.com/GothHelm --- facebook.com/gaucelm
I suspect this one opinion will prove unpopular, but never liked that kind of stories. I prefer when the ducks/mice are evolving in their own universe.
I suspect this one opinion will prove unpopular, but never liked that kind of stories. I prefer when the ducks/mice are evolving in their own universe.
I do as well. I never liked the cross-fertilisation stories very much. Only the 1930s, Gottfredson, British and Italian stories(in the Gottfredson mold) seemed "natural" to me, as well as Taliaferro having Goofy or Pluto as sometimes used characters in Donald strips. I don't like the modern mixing of Duck and Mice characters, such as Gyro and Scrooge with late Murry's Mickey Mouse, or long adventure multi-episode stories by Pat and Carol McGreal, using both, or the US special holiday giant book stories generally drawn by Strobl, using ALL or ANY of The Disney animation characters together (Pinocchio, 7 Dwarfs, Wicked Witch, Peter Pan, together with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge, Huey Dewey and Louie, Gyro, Goofy, etc.). Stories like that are too contrived, based on trying to fit them all in, and have the story make some sense.
I don't mind mice and ducks in the same story, but things like the Seven Dwarfs and Madam Mim truly baffle me. Remember that story in which Fethry Duck briefly dated Madam Mim? I mean, what the dickens?
I don't mind mice and ducks in the same story, but things like the Seven Dwarfs and Madam Mim truly baffle me. Remember that story in which Fethry Duck briefly dated Madam Mim? I mean, what the dickens?
Eh. Regardless of my liking of such "crossover" stories, Madam Mim feels like very much a separate case. Unlike the Dwarfs, who just kind of… exist in the forest next t Duckburg but are still tied to their movie, Mim was completely transplanted into the Duck universe, with an altered personality (much less evil than the movie version) and now living in a shack in Duckburg as a matter of course, not somewhere in England. Merlin is never mentioned. Overall she might as well be a new character in the vein of Witch Hazel as far as a casual comic reader is concerned. Our very own Matilda is a big fan of the comics-Mim but openly doesn't consider her the same character as the Sword in the Stone version, any more than Scrooge "is" Ebenezer Scrooge.
I don't mind mice and ducks in the same story, but things like the Seven Dwarfs and Madam Mim truly baffle me. Remember that story in which Fethry Duck briefly dated Madam Mim? I mean, what the dickens?
Eh. Regardless of my liking of such "crossover" stories, Madam Mim feels like very much a separate case. Unlike the Dwarfs, who just kind of… exist in the forest next t Duckburg but are still tied to their movie, Mim was completely transplanted into the Duck universe, with an altered personality (much less evil than the movie version) and now living in a shack in Duckburg as a matter of course, not somewhere in England. Merlin is never mentioned. Overall she might as well be a new character in the vein of Witch Hazel as far as a casual comic reader is concerned. Our very own Matilda is a big fan of the comics-Mim but openly doesn't consider her the same character as the Sword in the Stone version, any more than Scrooge "is" Ebenezer Scrooge.
That's no worse than the mice from Cinderella being moved into Grandma Duck's farm, or The Witch (wicked Queen) from Snow White, and The Seven Dwarfs living in the forest surrounding The Three Little Pigs' house, or Pinocchio's cricket conscience living in Chip 'n Dale's woods, and interacting with Duckburg's citizens, same with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, who should either be in "Neverland, or in southern England. Next, we'll see The Teapot, Cup and Candelabra characters from "Beauty abd The Beast", who should live in 18th Century France, or Hunchback of Notre Dame characters, who should be living in 14th Century Paris, corousing with Darkwing Duck, in St. Canard, or with Phineas and Ferb, or maybe with Mike Finn, or Elfago Baca, or the beavers from a Disney True Life Adventure, or maybe the skelaton of Walt Disney, himself??
I also have fond memories of Paperino e il vento del Sud, even if I never actually read Gone with the Wind. Or maybe that's just why, since I can't compare it either positively or negatively to the original.
That story basically has nothing to do with Gone with the Wind . So no need to feel the pressure. I don't quite like the beginning but the rest part is just fine.
I also have fond memories of Paperino e il vento del Sud, even if I never actually read Gone with the Wind. Or maybe that's just why, since I can't compare it either positively or negatively to the original.
That story basically has nothing to do with Gone with the Wind . So no need to feel the pressure. I don't quite like the beginning but the rest part is just fine.
There is also the story Grandma Duck Story, which is a flashback to Grandma Duck's youth, where she has a romance with a male duck who is a clear parody of Clark Gable. The story is set near the wilderness of Africa, so I am guessing it was a parody of Mogambo or Red Dust?
--- Gaucelm de Villaret gaucelm@gmail.com --- gaucelm.blogspot.fr twitter.com/GothHelm --- facebook.com/gaucelm
I suspect this one opinion will prove unpopular, but never liked that kind of stories. I prefer when the ducks/mice are evolving in their own universe.
Rob thought you meant you didn't like stories that mix Ducks and Mice, but my guess is you're here referring to literary and movie parodies. If so, then you can tell that I am one person who generally agrees with you. As I said, there are a small handful of parody stories that have gotten past my defenses, but they are the rare exceptions to the rule for me. I've always been somewhat mystified by how many of the highest spots in the Inducks rankings are taken by literary parodies. Basically, I go to Disney comics for Duckburg stories (or, more exactly, stories in the world in which Duckburg exists), where the characters are fully themselves. A good literary parody can be a nice change of pace every now and then, but it's never going to win my heart or end up near the top of my personal ranking. Even if I'm gobsmacked by the art (Mottura, Carpi).
In terms of parodies of movies: I am unreasonably fond of Gail Renard's Brig-a-Dog. The Ducks are all Themselves in this one, so that helps. They just come across a Brigadoon-like village in the Scottish countryside. I probably like it mostly because "Brigadoon" was one of my favorite movies when I was a teenager, and I'm pleased to have a version of it as part of my Duckworld. True, the resolution makes no sense and breaks the magic rules, but precisely the same can be said of the resolution in "Brigadoon." Renard's story just substitutes the mutual love of boy and dog for romantic love.
I know that Scots are really tired of having their culture represented abroad by Nessie and Brigadoon, but I can't help it, I'm fond of both of those. Though I was also glad to see kelpies in DuckTales 2017's "Missing Links of Moorshire" (in fact, that's been my single favorite thing in DuckTales 2017 so far). Now I WANT SELKIES! Someone who writes Duck comics: get on that, please! The next time you write a story that takes the Ducks to Scotland, have them encounter some selkies for a change! If you want to do it as a movie parody, there's "The Secret of Roan Inish" and "Song of the Sea" to inspire you....
Now I WANT SELKIES! Someone who writes Duck comics: get on that, please! The next time you write a story that takes the Ducks to Scotland, have them encounter some selkies for a change! If you want to do it as a movie parody, there's "The Secret of Roan Inish" and "Song of the Sea" to inspire you....
I also think that'd be nice. Though you know what, for variety, I think they ought to do it with the Icelandic versions for a change — though Scrooge is welcome to mention that these creatures he's just met are a lot like the folktales he heard as a kid!
There's another Gone With The Wind parody called Bye-Bye with the Breeze in which the Civil War becomes.. a war between Scrooge's and Rockerduck's candy factories. It's as silly as it sounds and the art isn't nearly as good as Carpi's but it's more of a direct parody of the source material, with more focus on the Daisy O'Hara category too.
I grew up with the Italian parodies as an integral part of my Disney comic experience, so I generally enjoy them. I can see how the concept wouldn't appeal to readers in America or elsewhere these stories never really existed. Many of them have very little to do with their source material anyway, they're basically telling stories with the established character dynamics within a literary context.
Personally I do like the "Ducks/mice play other roles" stories. These characters are actors -- character actors who generally play characters similar to themselves, but still. The old Disney cartoons and comics pretty much established that they were actors and entertainers -- so to me, these stories work perfectly as movies/comics/plays starring Mickey, Donald, Scrooge and the rest, playing other roles like any actors might. It's the same reason why I like the Muppets Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island -- these aren't "real" events in the lives of Kermit and Gonzo and Rizzo and the rest, they're movies that the Muppets act in (and give interviews about and even do DVD commentaries on).
There are a few stories where the parody is actually presented as a play that the characters are putting on -- I remember reading two of the Il Teatro Alambrah stories, where the story was that Mickey and pals were putting up a play:
- Il teatro Alambrah presenta: Le furberie di Scapino, which is a fairly straight-up (and pretty good!) retelling of Scapin The Schemer by Moliere, with Goofy playing Scapin. Before and after the play there was a wrap-around story with Arizona Goof and Witch Hazel, who were both in the audience and watching the play. - Il teatro Alambrah presenta: Il visconte dimezzato, a version of The Cloven Viscount by Italo Calvino, once again with Goofy playing the titular role. Before and after the play there were some behind-the-stage content, with Goofy demonstrating some of the special effects they used on-stage (and of course messing them up).