Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first appeared in a newspaper comic strip on October 17, 1937. Their first animated appearance was in the theatrical short Donald's Nephews, released April 15, 1938. The boys are V.I.P members of the Mickey Mouse Club.
On a few occasions, there is a fourth nephew that appears, slipping through by a mistake of the artist. He has been named "Phooey Duck" by Disney comic editor Bob Foster. One short Egmont-licensed Disney comic explained Phooey's sporadic appearances as a freak incident of nature. [1][2]
Character background[]
Huey, Dewey, and Louie are the sons of Donald's sister Della Duck; in Donald's Nephews, their mother is instead named Dumbella. In the original theatrical shorts, they were originally sent to visit Donald for only one day; in the comics, the three were sent to stay with Donald on a temporary basis, until their father came back from the hospital (the boys ended up sending him there after a practical joke of putting firecrackers under his chair). In both the comics and animated shorts, the boys' parents were never heard from or referred to again after these instances, with the boys ending up permanently living with Donald, in keeping with Disney's usual elimination of characters' parents.[3] All four of them live in the fictional city of Duckburg, in the fictional state of Calisota.
The three ducklings are noted for their identical appearances and personalities. A running joke involves the three sometimes even finishing each others' sentences. In the theatrical shorts, Huey, Dewey, and Louie often behave in a rambunctious manner, sometimes committing retaliation or revenge on their uncle Donald Duck. In the comics, however, as developed by Al Taliaferro and Carl Barks, the young ducks are more usually portrayed as well-behaved, preferring to assist their uncle Donald Duck and great-uncle Scrooge McDuck in the adventure at hand. In the early Barks comics, the ducklings were still wild and unruly, but their character improved considerably due to their membership in the Junior Woodchucks and the good influence of their wise old great-grandmother Elvira Coot "Grandma" Duck.
Colors of Huey, Dewey, and Louie's caps[]
In early comic books, the caps of Huey, Dewey, and Louie were colored randomly, depending on the whim of the comic book colorist. In one cartoon (Donald's Happy Birthday, 1949), all three nephews wore red. It slowly became established that Huey is dressed in red, Dewey in blue, and Louie in green. Disney's archivist Dave Smith, in "Disney A to Z," said, "Note that the brightest hue of the three is red (Huey), the color of water, dew, is blue (Dewey), and that leaves Louie, and leaves are green." Another combination that shows up from time to time is Huey in blue, Dewey in green, and Louie in red. In-story, this inconsistency is explained away as a result of the ducklings borrowing each other's clothes.
Animation[]
Huey, Dewey, and Louie appeared in a large number of theatrical shorts with Donald, starting with Donald's Nephews, released in 1938. From there on, they appeared alongside Donald in the following shorts:
- Good Scouts
- Donald's Golf Game
- Hockey Champ
- Sea Scouts
- Mr. Duck Steps Out
- Fire Chief
- The Nifty Nineties
- Truant Officer Donald
- Donald's Snow Fight
- Home Defense
- Donald Duck and the Gorilla
- Donald's Off Day
- Donald's Crime
- Straight Shooters
- Soup's On
- Donald's Happy Birthday
- Lion Around
- Lucky Number
- Trick or Treat
- Don's Fountain of Youth
- Canvas Back Duck
- Spare the Rod
- Donald's Diary
- The Litterbug
They also appeared with Uncle Scrooge but without Donald in Scrooge McDuck and Money.
After the era of theatrical shorts ended, they appeared in:
- Donald Duck Presents
- DuckTales
- Mickey Mouse Works
- House of Mouse
- Quack Pack
- Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
- Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
- DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
- Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse
- Mickey's House of Villains
Later Appearances[]
DuckTales[]
They later starred in the 1987 animated television series DuckTales, in which they appeared in adventures with their great-uncle, Scrooge McDuck (Donald having enlisted in the U.S. Navy). The boys' personalities in this series were mainly based on their comic book appearances versus the theatrical shorts.
Minor Appearances[]
Movies[]
In the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Huey, Dewey, and Louie appear in a picture on a newspaper in Eddie Valiant's office. In 1990, the boys also made an appearance in the anti-drug TV special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie as teenagers in Quack Pack.
After DuckTales[]
Huey, Dewey, and Louie also starred in the 1990s series Quack Pack, in which the three were portrayed as teenagers. In Quack Pack, the boys were given distinct personalities, with Huey serving as the group's leader, Dewey as a computer whiz, and Louie as enjoying sports. After Quack Pack, the boys were reverted to their original ages in future appearances, including 2000s series Mickey Mouse Works, and then re-aged in House of Mouse. On House of Mouse, they served as the house band.
Voices[]
Clarence Nash, Donald's voice actor, gave the voices to the boys in the cartoon shorts, making them just as unintelligible as Donald's. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were all voiced by Russi Taylor in DuckTales. In Quack Pack, they were voiced by Jeannie Elias, Pamela Segall, and Elizabeth Daily, respectively. Tony Anselmo voiced the characters in House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Works, but Russi Taylor still voices the trio in other projects, such as the video games Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers and Mickey's Speedway USA, and the direct-to-video films Mickey's Once and Twice Upon a Christmas.
Comics[]
Within the comics, Huey, Dewey, and Louie often play a major role in most stories involving either their uncle Donald or great-uncle Scrooge McDuck, accompanying them on most of their adventures. Also seen in the comics is the boys' membership in the Boy Scouts of America-like organization, the Junior Woodchucks, including their use of the Junior Woodchucks Guidebook, a manual containing all manner of information on virtually every subject possible (however, there are some resources, such as the ancient libraries of Tralla La, that hold information not found in the guidebook). This excellent youth organization, which has twin goals of preserving knowledge and preserving the environment, was instrumental in transforming the three brothers from little hellions to upstanding young ducks.
In Disney comic writer Don Rosa's (unofficial) continuity, Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck were born around 1940 in Duckburg. True to his jocular style, Rosa occasionally makes subtle references to the untold mystery of the three boys' life: What became of their parents? In his epic comic series, Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Rosa pictures how Scrooge first met Donald and his nephews, saying: "I'm not used to relatives, either! The few I had seem to have... disappeared!" Huey, Dewey, and Louie answer: "We know how that feels, Unca Scrooge!"
In Some Heir Over the Rainbow, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, along with Donald Duck and Gladstone Gander, are tested by Scrooge McDuck, who wants to pick a heir to his fortune. Using the legend of gold at the end of rainbow, Scrooge secretly gives US$ 3,000 (One thousand to Huey, Dewey, and Louie, another for Gladstone, and the last one for Donald). Donald uses his money for a down payment of a new car, now being $1,000 in debt. Gladstone, considering himself too lucky to need the money this soon, hides the money for when and if he needs it, causing Scrooge to consider him a better option than Donald. Huey, Dewey, and Louie lend their money to a man who claims to need the money to search for a treasure. Initially thinking they were tricked out of the money, Scrooge actually considers leaving his fortune to Gladstone, even though he sees that as "an awful injustice to the world", but the man actually finds the treasure and pays the kids back. Scrooge makes Huey, Dewey, and Louie his heirs. Although this is disregarded in a number of later comics, it seems to be the most solidly canon indication of Scrooge's plans.
Origin of names[]
According to interviews by Taliaferro, Huey, Dewey, and Louie were originally named after two political figures and an animator of the time:
- Huey was named after Huey Long (1893-1935) of Louisiana.
- Dewey was named after Admiral George Dewey (1837-1917) of the Spanish-American War.
- Louie was named after animator Louie Schmitt (1908-1993).[1].
Cultural influences[]
In the 1972 science fiction film Silent Running directed by Douglas Trumbull, the main character, Lowell, befriends three robot drones and renames them Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Video game appearances[]
Huey, Dewey, and Louie appear in the third Magical Quest game. The object of the game is to rescue them from the clutches of the villainous King Pete.
Kingdom Hearts series[]
In Kingdom Hearts they work in the item shop in the First District of Traverse Town.
In Kingdom Hearts II, they run an item shop (Huey), a weapon shop (Louie) and an accessory shop (Dewey) in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden.
In both endings, they are all seen going back to Disney Castle.
References[]
- ↑ Much Ado About Phooey - Indexed
- ↑ Mailing list entry from writer Lars Jensen, near bottom of entry
- ↑ Examples include Donald Duck's close relationship with his uncle Scrooge, and Mickey Mouse caring for his nephews Morty and Ferdy.