Duckburg

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Duckburg, as seen in the animated series DuckTales.
Duckburg, as seen in the animated series DuckTales.

Duckburg is a fictional city which appears in Walt Disney's comic books and animated projects. In the comics and cartoons, Duckburg is the home of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck, Daisy Duck, and most of their supporting cast. Duckburg was first mentioned in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #49 in 1944, and was created by Carl Barks.

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[edit] Features

Duckburg is a medium size city located in the fictional United States state of Calisota (a combination of the real-life US states of California and Minnesota). In comic writer Don Rosa's stories, Duckburg is located on the west coast of the United States, though other writers leave the city's location as vaguely defined. However, in Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, the author alludes to where exactly he has situated Duckburg: "I won't bother to say precisely where I situated Duckburg and Calisota on America's west coast ... but if you get out a good map and compare the coastline, you'll see that I stuck the old gold-prospector's adopted hometown directly across the bay from a very appropriately named actual city." Knowing how Don Rosa like to play a gag, it is likely that this city would be Eureka (meaning 'I found it'!), California. This fits with the river and a large forest south of Eureka.

In the DuckTales episode "Double O' Duck," a map is shown which shows Duckburg as being located approximately where the city of Pittsburgh, PA would be. The city is populated by various anthropomorphized animals, with ducks, dogs, and pigs the most dominant ones. The population is estimated 316 000 .

Duckburg's most prominent resident is Scrooge McDuck, the wealthiest duck in the world. Duckburg serves as the headquarters for his global business empire, with many of Duckburg's businesses owned by Scrooge.

In some stories, Scrooge's wealthy rivals, Flintheart Glomgold and John D. Rockerduck also have holdings or residences in Duckburg, and compete fiercely against Scrooge.

The most prominent landmark in Duckburg is Scrooge McDuck's money bin, a giant building sitting on Killmotor Hill (formerly known as Killmule Hill) in the center of town. The money bin contains both office space and, most famously, three cubic acres of money, the results of Scrooge's lifetime of business and treasure-seeking adventures.

Another major landmark in some stories is a large statue of Duckburg's founder, Cornelius Coot.

Duckburg is also the headquarters of the Billionaire's Club, a special club for various wealthy businessmen. McDuck, Rockerduck, and sometimes Glomgold are members of the club. Another important organization founded in Duckburg is the Junior Woodchucks, a rather mysterious Boy Scouts of America-like club in which Huey, Dewey and Louie are members.

Duckburg is a major center for Space exploration. Expeditions have been launched from Duckburg to Mars, Venus, the Asteroids, and more remote parts of the Galaxy.

Duckburg also features a sea port and is in proximity to several mountains, the most notable being 'Old Demon Tooth', usually depicted as a towering pointed peak leaning slightly to the side.

Duckburg is home to Yarvard University, an institution more notable for its athletic teams than for its academic achievements. However, it is the Alma Mater of the Bey of El Daga, an eccentric Levantine ruler.

Located near Duckburg is a farm owned and run by Grandma Duck, Donald's paternal grandmother. Donald's cousin Gus Goose also lives on Grandma's farm as a "farmhand," though his laziness makes him a rather poor farmhand. The farm is often a gathering site for various Duck family holiday celebrations. Grandma's real name is Elvira Coot Duck. She is a direct descendant of Cornelius Coot. Her finest achievement is helping Donald Duck and the Junior Woodchucks to transform her great-grandsons Huey, Dewey and Louie from wild, destructive little kids to fine upstanding boys.

[edit] History

Duckburg has been given a long history by many creators, including such writers as Barks and current Duck comic writer Don Rosa.

In the comics, the location that would eventually become known as Duckburg was originally known as "Fort Drake Borough," a fort built in the 16th century by British explorer Sir Francis Drake. By the 19th century, the fort had been handed over by its departing British occupants to Cornelius Coot, who renamed the fort "Duckburg." "Drake" means a male duck, while "borough" and "burg" are synonyms.

Duckburg remained a quiet, small town until the arrival of wealthy businessman Scrooge McDuck. McDuck had bought the old fort from Clinton Coot, a descendant of Cornelius. Scrooge proceeded to construct his famous money bin and established various businesses in and around Duckburg. This construction caused Duckburg's population to swell, and turned the small town into a bustling city within several decades' time.

Duckburg is probably the largest city in the state of Calisota, but not the capital city. There are no references to the governor, legislature, Capitol, etc., of Calisota in any of the many stories about Duckburg. Duckburg seems to have its own governor, however.

Duckburg maintains a traditional rivalry with Goosetown, another city of Calisota.

[edit] Calisota

Calisota is a fictional U.S. state, created by Carl Barks in his story "The Gilded Man" (Four Color #422) and used in comic books produced by the Walt Disney Company. Duckburg is among the cities located there. Possibly, so are Goosetown, Mouseton, Spoonerville, and most likely St. Canard, since the Audubon Bay Bridge connects St. Canard to Duckburg. (Needs citation.) Although it has many fictional elements and a variable climate it is probably roughly equivalent to Northern California. Duckburg has occasionally been said to be seated north of Los Angeles and San Francisco. A map in Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck shows that Calisota covers the part of California north of Sacramento.

The name is a blend of California and Minnesota—supposedly to allow all kinds of weather or climate in the stories—although Calisota bears very little in common with the latter (a state in the Upper Midwest, far from the ocean coasts). It may also be a reference to Calistoga, a small town in Napa County, which is, like Duckburg, north of San Francisco.

[edit] In other media

  • Duckburg was the setting of the 1987 animated series DuckTales. The cartoon's version of Duckburg was based heavily on the comics' version.
  • Duckburg appeared in the 1990s animated series Quack Pack. In this series, Duckburg was populated almost entirely by human beings, with Donald, Daisy, and Donald's nephews as the only anthropomorphized animals that usually appeared. Moreover, the Money Bin is nowhere to be seen.
  • Although it isn't seen on screen, Duckburg is referred to in Darkwing Duck by Gizmoduck, who mentions to Darkwing that Duckburg is his hometown (in a reference to Gizmoduck's appearances in DuckTales). A billboard announcing Gizmoduck's departure from Duckburg featuring Scrooge McDuck was also briefly seen in an episode.
  • Duckburg was also used for the setting of Mickey's Birthdayland (later Mickey's Starland) at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom from 1988 to 1996. It even included Grandma Duck's Farm and a statue of Cornelius Coot, though it was more of a rural town than a burgeoning metropolis. The connection to Duckburg was removed as the land was renovated in 1996 to become Mickey's Toontown Fair. However, the Cornelius Coot statue remains.

[edit] External links

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