In the course of two seasons, DuckTales has gone across the world, conducted a literal shadow war and even seen the Earth fend off an army of invaders from the Moon. But the sheer scale and scope of the adventures of the Duck family are set to become even more exciting and formidable when the show returns for a third season.
During an exclusive interview with CBR, DuckTales Executive Producer Matt Youngberg and Co-Executive Producer/Story Editor Francisco Angones spoke about their ambitions for the upcoming season of the show and how they found a way to meld the grandest adventures with the most personal of stakes.
Looking back at the previous two seasons of the show, DuckTales has gotten more ambitious and bold with each passing episode. The finale for the second season, "Moonvasion," included almost every previously introduced character uniting to fight back against an alien invasion, building to a massive space battle to decide the fate of the planet. But Youngberg and Angones were quick to argue that, even if the show was returning to a more earthbound setting, it wasn't going to just be about losing any of that momentum.
"Knowing where Season 3 goes," Angones explained, "I don't know if 'unambitious' is how I'd describe it. One thing that [Youngberg] challenged us to, after spending so much time on the Moon and introducing the character of Della, was having this believable reintroduction to the family. Now in the third season, for the first time in the history of the show, the whole family is together. They're a functioning family, and they all have a shared goal coming out of the first episode.
"Part of it is to set up the fact this is another fun rollicking adventure, the type of which we have all the time." But Angones was adamant that the series wasn't approaching anything close to being pedestrian or regular. "It's hard to call it 'back to basics' when every episode has a new location and a new treasure in it. Basics on DuckTales is pretty intense. The idea Youngberg really challenged us with, after we focused so much time on the Moon and Della and the invasion, was to really get back to the globe-trotting adventure."
Speaking about what it was like to construct the year, Youngberg pointed out that "the challenge really was, it's not just back to basics. Having Della return to the family, and to have that happen in the previous season, now it's... it's not the status quo of Season 1. They've got their mom, this family that's been apart for two seasons is together. What's the new normal? I think that idea echoes through a lot of our show. "What is the new normal? If something happens in your life, how do you adapt to it?"
It was important for Youngberg that the show be willing to tackle the surprising hurdles life throws at you, especially as a family unit. "I don't think life is about having something happen over and over again, it's about adjusting to what's happening in the moment. Season 3 really is the family together and going back to the status quo for them, which is adventures and treasure-hunting and all that kind of stuff... I think there's going to be a lot more adventure, even more than in the previous seasons. I think this season has wonderful stories that we explore in terms of the characters... there's a lot of really big, cool stuff coming in the season."
The final moments of the second season revealed that F.O.W.L., an evil organization dedicated to taking control over the world, has been secretly operating behind-the-scenes of the entire series. Not only were established villains like Black Heron and future threats like Steelbeak revealed to be members of the organization, previously introduced allies like Gandra Dee and even Scrooge's Board of Investors also turn out to be members. This gives the season a genuine sense of tension, as the villains very specifically know how to target the Duck family and their allies if and when they need to -- and could do so without Scrooge realizing it in time.
It makes sense then to have the core cast come together for some globe-trotting adventures before the full dramatic stakes of the season are revealed. Angones talked about how "we crafted a story in Season 3 that is centered around globe-trotting adventure, while the stakes have never hit closer home. Part of it is the fact that Scrooge's board of directors, led by Bradford Buzzard who is played by Marc Evan Jackson, have been operating under their nose for the entirety of the show, and even earlier than that. I did think it was important that we went back to an 'everyone is having a really nice time,' where we are before things get real crazy. It's rad. It's DuckTales prime."
Check out a clip of the family's new dynamic from the season premiere, "Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks," below.
DuckTales Season 3 stars the voices of David Tennant, Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz, Bobby Moynihan, Kate Micucci, Beck Bennett, Toks Olagundoye, Tony Anselmo and Paget Brewster. The two-episode season premiere hits Disney XD on Saturday, April 4.