Huey, Dewey, and Louie

Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic 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.

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). According to the Duck Family Tree, their full names are Huebert, Deuteronomy and Louis. 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. 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. According to Don Rosa, Huey, Dewey and Louie became members of the Junior Woodchucks when they were around 11 years old.^[3]

Colors of Huey, Dewey, and Louie's outfits

In early comic books and shorts, the caps of Huey, Dewey, and Louie were colored randomly, depending on the whim of the colorist.

On few occasions until 1945 and most every cartoon short afterward, all three nephews wore identical outfits (most commonly red). It wasn't until the 1980s when it 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

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. They also make a cameo in Mickey's Christmas Carol.

Character appearances

Huey, Dewey and Louie appear as characters only at Tokyo Disney and Disneyland Paris.

Tokyo Disney

Huey, Dewey and Louie only appear in seasonal Parades Easter, Halloween and Christmas 2011 after a long absence.

Disneyland Paris

Huey, Dewey and Louie appear more regularly in Paris. They appeared during the Christmas season 2010 in their day time and night time Parades at the Disneyland Park "Disneyland Paris's Magic Kingdom" Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade and in the Disney's Fantillusion Parade in glittery outfits. They made another appearance at Disneyland Paris for meet and greet at the Disneyland Hotel on April 2, 2011 the day of the Press Event for the launch of their new season "Magical Moments Festival". They also appeared at the Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade at the Disneyland Park in special outfits for the Parade and at the Disney's Stars 'n' Cars Parade at the Walt Disney Studios Park in a unique directors outfits.

The Three Nephews appeared at Disneyland Paris's Halloween season 2011. they have their own show during "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Parties" at the Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris, titled "Huey, Dewey and Louie's Trick or Treat Party". They also made an appearance for meet and greet at Disneyland Paris's "Disney's Halloween Party" on October 31, 2011. This is the first time ever that the three nephews appear for meet and greet at any of the Disney Parks for regular park guests.

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 in a variety of different styles (most commonly as 'The Quackstreet Boys').

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 by Carl Barks, 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 a pot of gold at the end of a 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).^[4]

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.
• In the Canadian television series Due South, two of the detectives at the Chicago police department where the series takes place are named Jack Huey and Louis (Louie) Gardino. After season two, Gardino is replaced by Detective Thomas Dewey. They are often referred to as "the duck boys" by other characters.
• In Finland, the three main political parties, namely the National Coalition Party, the Centre Party and the Social Democratic Party, are sometimes sarcastically referred as Huey, Dewey, and Louie, for there are allegedly no differences in their political agendas. The joke is based on the fact that the parties use the same symbolic colours (blue – NCP, green – Centre, red – Social Democrats) as the three ducks' caps.
• In the Cowboy Bebop episode "Waltz for Venus," Spike and Faye capture three minor bounty heads named Louey, Huey, and Dewey.
• They all appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "Some like it Hitman" voiced by Seth Green (Huey and Dewey) and Sam Kwasman (Louie). In that sketch, they ask their Uncle Donald (also voiced by Kwasman) if they can see their mom (Della Duck) again.

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. The trio also appear in Quackshot piloting Donald's plane as he travels the world in search of a lost treasure.

They also appear in Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers, aiding Donald to rescue Daisy and beat Gladstone to her, while he rescues their hexed play toys.

They even appear in Mickey's Speedway USA as unlockable lightweight characters.

Kingdom Hearts series

In Kingdom Hearts they work in the item shop in the First District of Traverse Town. In Kingdom Hearts II, they individually 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. They reappear in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep in Disney Town, recreating Ice Cream flavors, this time with a speaking role.

References

External links

• Huey, Dewey, and Louie at the INDUCKS
• Toonopedia page about Huey, Dewey, and Louie
• Disney shorts encyclopedia page about Huey, Dewey, and Louie
• The boys' profile on the Disney HooZoo
• Huey Duck at the Internet Movie Database
• Dewey Duck at the Internet Movie Database
• Louie Duck at the Internet Movie Database