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The Disney Afternoon Revisited
Cartoon series produced by The Walt Disney Company, even
those of less than classic stature (I’m looking at you, Marsupilami) have a way
of gaining importance in the world of pop culture regardless of their quality.
One group of cartoons that truly earned their legendary standing in the minds of
kids everywhere were the programs featured each weekday on The Disney Afternoon
from 1990-1997. Some shows brought established characters into a new setting,
while others were original creations that became instant classics. Either way
we memorized the theme songs and tuned in to sing along daily. So flip on the
TV and join me for a look back on my experiences with what passed for
appointment viewing in elementary school.
I always saw The Disney Afternoon as the animated version of
TGIF on ABC. Shows like Boy Meets World, Family Matters and Step By Step eventually
earned a devoted audience, but to bring viewers in, the network originally had
ratings giants Full House and Perfect Strangers on the schedule. And so it was
with The Disney Afternoon's decision to include The Adventures of The Gummi
Bears and Duck Tales into the starting line-up. Leading up to 1990, the only
place I caught Disney cartoon series’ like The New Adventures of Winnie The
Pooh, Gummi Bears and to a lesser extent, Wuzzles was on Saturdays mornings
when I got tired of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. So it was a smart move throwing some
current hits into the mix. But very quickly, “the new breed” became a major
cultural obsession.
Though Duck Tales had been around since 1987, I didn’t really
experience it until The Disney Afternoon was created, where it quickly became THE
flagship show. There was no denying that Scrooge McDuck, the miser with a heart
of gold, was the leader of the animated charge that began once the school bell
rang at 2:30pm. The show brought us to the city of Duckberg where ,”Life is
like a hurricane…” and in each episode The Beagle Boys or possibly Magica De
Spell would be concocting a plan to get Scrooge’s money, which would then have
to be defended by the billionaire and his 3 Grand-Nephews (?). My confusion
came from the fact that I had seen Huey, Dewey and Louie plenty of times in
old Donald Duck cartoons referring to the hot-headed sailor as “Unca Donald”,
but now they were calling this Scottish fellow “Unca Scrooge”, what was up with
that?
As it turns out, there was 50+ years of comic book
adventures featuring this crew of feathered fightin’ fowls that I was
completely unaware of at age 8. My Dad on the other hand, had been a big fan
when he was my age. When my father heard me talking about Uncle Scrooge
swimming through his vault of gold coins on TV he was all smiles, “I used to
have stacks of those comics when I was growing up, is that popular now?” I
never would have pegged my Dad as a comic book reader, he was always talking
about The Hardy Boys or Mr. Flibberty-Jib (whoever that was) but now we had a
common bond. Unfortunately the Duck Tales comics of the time didn’t really
excite me the way the show did, that is unless they were the issues featuring
Gizmoduck!
Say it with me, “Blathering-Blatherkites!” With that run of
gibberish, Fenton Crackshell would attract robotic armor to his body and
transform into the wheeled warrior, Gizmoduck! For most episodes my go-to guy
was Launchpad McQuack, especially the episode where he defends the Earth from an
alien invasion, showing up Huey, Dewey & Louie’s cowardly TV idol, Major
Courage. In a pinch I would settle for the “Superdoo” episode where the chubby duckling,
Doofus gained super-powers from a space “doughnut”. But nothing could match my
excitement when Gizmoduck would transform to save the day in his clumsy
slapstick style. While Duck Tales was clearly the front runner in schoolyard
chatter, just a hair down in accolades was Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers.
Re-imagining the rascally Chipmunks as private
investigators/do-gooders for hire was exactly the right move for a generation
coming off of shows like The A-Team and Magnum, P.I. (from whom Dale obviously
borrowed his wardrobe). Chip took on the role of Fedora-wearing leader in their
battles against the forces of Fat Cat and his gap-toothed buddy was the comic
relief. Seeing the rodents hunting for justice rather than acorns was a pretty
exciting, especially when they had to get out of sticky situations with the
MacGuyver like skills of new character, Gadget.
Monterey Jack’s addiction to cheese was occasionally humerous
and Zipper was really just along for the ride, but the spunky, jump-suited mouse
mechanic really made the adventures possible building airplanes and other
vehicles from stuff you’d find in your junk drawer at home. Gadget’s inventions
were even the focus of the McDonald’s Happy Meal toys that came out during
those years, with thimbles, spatulas and buttons creating machines that fed the
Rangers’ need for speed. Next up was an even more unlikely imagining, Baloo the
Bear in Talespin.
Oh-Ee-Ay (you’re turn) Oh-Ee-oh (sing it again!) Yep, those
classic characters from The Jungle Book were given a new lease on life in this
show that had Baloo playing an aloof, but heroic airplane pilot amongst the
exotic flora and fauna. I’ll be honest, I usually didn’t stick around until
3:30pm to watch this show (Baloo was just so old school), that is unless they
got me hooked by watching cool cub, Kit Cloudkicker “air-surfing” at the top of
the episode. Seeing Kit flip out his boomerang board and start gliding through
the clouds was totally radical. Skateboarding was cool, but “air-boarding” was
the next level of awesomeness. Plus the kid was rocking the backwards baseball
cap, which in the 90’s was the official sign that this was the character we
should idolize. It still wasn’t enough to keep me tuned in, but by the next
year, Disney had me hooked big time.
“Let’s get dangerous!” With a catch phrase like that, how
could you not love Darkwing Duck? He was the only full-time super-hero on The
Disney Afternoon roster after all. What’s crazy is that although I was huge fan
of old radio shows featuring The Shadow (again, my Dad’s influence there), I
never realized what an almost direct homage DD was to that character until
recently. The fedora, the cape and coat combo, even the pistol, it was all
there. For some reason I always thought of him as more of duck version of
Batman (not to be confused with the adult animated sitcom, Duckman on the USA
network). After all, “When there’s trouble, you call DW!”
The arrival of The Masked Mallard spelled the end for Gummi
Bears and Duck Tales as part of The Disney Afternoon, but it’s just as well
because that meant he could hook-up with one of the recently unemployed citizens
of Duckberg, Launchpad! This was an awesome crossover to rival The
Jetsons Meet The Flintstones. It wasn’t just a one-time event, ol’ Launchpad
was jumping ship to become The Dark Duck Detective’s permanent sidekick in St.
Canard. It meant this was a shared Disney-Verse and that’s like crack to the
comic book lovin’ geeks of the world.
I especially enjoyed the battles against Darkwing’s evil
counterpart Nega-Duck and the most amazing of all moments, when Gizmoduck along
with other heroes joined forces with Drake Mallard’s alter-ego to form the
Justice Ducks! Is it any wonder Darkwing Duck was my #1 sought after autograph
at Disneyland during The Disney Afternoon Avenue event? Never heard about it?
Oh, you missed out!
Growing up just 20 minutes from Anaheim, I didn’t really go
to Disneyland until a visiting relative from out of state demanded it, which
usually happened every other year. This event however, was one of the rare
occasions that I asked my parents to take me out of my own desire to experience
the magic. Guess what? It worked! The Disney Afternoon Avenue was a re-branding
of the space between The Matterhorn and It’s A Small World from 1991 to 1993.
They basically just slapped new paint jobs and signage on existing rides that
were waning in popularity, but it was still very cool.
For example, The Autopia became Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers
Raceway. It was still the same slow-moving car on a track, but now there were
wooden cut-outs of Fat Cat and his goons for you to dodge! That’s new…right? It
was basically the same deal over at the Motor Boat Cruise, which became the
Motor Boat Cruise to Gummi Glen thanks to a few awnings and more 2-D cut-outs.
You know the more I think about it, they really cheaped-out on this promotion!
Come on, Mickey, you couldn’t spring for a few statues of Sunny and Zummy? Heck
you could’ve just hung the plush dolls from a tree on a rope that made them
bounce up and down, give me something! Luckily the rides weren’t what got me
through the gates, it was the chance to meet actual TV stars!
I remember the week before we went I was busy cutting out
and stapling together squares of paper to create an autograph book for the
characters to sign. I even cut out pictures from TV guide and Disney Adventures
magazine to glue on the front, so I could remember who I was there to see.
Somehow while making my way to The Disney Afternoon Avenue I ended up in line
to get Belle from Beauty and the Beast to sign my book. Not my first choice,
but the movie had just come out, so I guess I just got caught up in the hype of
meeting the celebrity of the moment. I next got a chance to shake hands with
Launchpad McQuack, he was so tall! It was amazing to see him in 3-Dimensions
and writing me a personalized message.
When I went to work in the Disneyland character department
in my college years, I always looked to create a moment like this for the kids
I interacted with. In fact, during the audition process there is a section
where they test how you look in costume and who did they give me to wear?
Launchpad! It was a surreal moment that really brought me full circle. That
character was long since retired by 2000, so it was a rare treat to don the
flight jacket and goggles to strut my stuff.
Of course standing right next to him was his partner,
Darkwing Duck! Now DD was shorter than imagined an action star to be, but he
had the cape flinging routine down and made some very heroic poses. I don’t
know why I didn’t get pictures, but I’ll always have the autographs you see
above to remember the excitement. There is one more memory I have of the event,
that I can’t find any confirmation of online…
Are you ready for this? I swear that a blimp flew about 50 feet above The Matterhorn, which was being piloted by none other than Roger
Rabbit himself! I remember walking by the Alice In Wonderland ride and hearing
a familiar voice coming over the loudspeakers in the park and being told to,
“Look up here, people!” I tipped my head up to see the king of Toontown flying
through the air, waving at the park guests below. I have to believe it was for
the filming of some TV special or something, but I’ve never caught a glimpse of
that footage. If I dreamed it, fine. But that was the most vivid dream I’ve
ever had, man.
To close I’ll just say that The Disney Afternoon went many
more years and many more shows beyond the initial line-up that’s cemented in my
memory. Goofy got back in the spotlight with Goof Troop, Aladdin got an
animated series and even some random police officer bobcat creature named
Bonkers hung around for a while. When Gargoyles hit, I thought I just might keep watching the animated line-up. It was basically Batman: The Animated Series
mashed-up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which seem like a 100% win. But as
awesome as Gargoyles was, by 1996 I was devoted to Saved By The Bell for my
afternoon viewing hours since I was entering high school myself and ended up leaving cartoons in
the dust. Still The Disney Afternoon is a cherished memory I’ll always look
back on fondly as animated entertainment at its finest.
So which was your era of The Disney Afternoon? What show
dominated your TV viewing each day from 2:30 to 4:30pm?
Rabbitearsblog Posted on Aug 01, 2019 at 07:48 AM
Aaahhh...the Disney Afternoon...one of the best programming blocks that Disney ever created! Gummi Bears, Ducktales and Chip and Dale were my favorites!
Hoju Koolander Posted on Jan 18, 2015 at 04:26 PM
@pikachulover I guess I should have collaborated with you for more personal photographic evidence of the event. At least Gadget got her own ride once Toontown opened, what a tribute! I didn't remember the stamp on the map deal, sounds cool. I definitely was watching The Disney Afternoon on KCAL 9, I think I linked to that special. Was it the one with the Olsen Twins?
@Vaporman87 I have found evidence on YouTube that Disney World had a Disney Afternoon stage show at Mickey's Starland, but no mention of the Avenue and ride conversions.
@thecrow174 Another great observation. I guess futuristic surfboards aren't very fitting for the timeframe either, but they probably knew they had to give kids someone to identify with, despite looking like he came from a totally different series.
Mr Magic Posted on Jan 17, 2015 at 11:20 PM
I wonder what made the TaleSpin animators decide to give Kit a backwards ball cap, which is a 90s look, not a 30s/40s look.
Vaporman87 Posted on Jan 17, 2015 at 08:42 AM
Any idea if Disney World participated in this?
pikachulover Posted on Jan 17, 2015 at 02:20 AM
Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck were my favorites. I even have the lunchboxes for each of those cartoons.
I had to beg my parents to take me there. I hadn't been to Disneyland since 1986 when they took me there for my birthday. We went on Columbus Day back when the schools still gave that holiday off. I didn't get autographs, but I did get pictures! I really wanted to see Gadget most of all. I was so happy to meet her. My mom even got into and took a picture next to the Grammi Gummi standup.
If I remember correctly the boats had recording of the characters voices. I almost crashed a car in the autopia!
Did you get the map the blank spaces that you had go around the area to get it stamped? I had that poster up in my room for years. It got so faded! I forgot what happened to it. My parents also bought me a small plush Chip doll. I was disappointed they didn't have Gadget ones.
Do remember that special that KHJ/KCAL showed on Disney Afternoon live?
Hoju Koolander Posted on Jan 16, 2015 at 03:34 PM
@Vaporman87: My favorite lyric of the Gummi Bears theme is "Magic and mystery are part of their history, along with the secret of Gummi Berry Juice..." Very medieval/sword and sorcery with all those horns blaring.
@thecrow174: Excellent point. Duck Tales and Rescue Rangers had some of the best NES games ever, not limiting the discussion to just licensed games. So it's odd that Gummi Bears never go that treatment.
Vaporman87 Posted on Jan 16, 2015 at 02:42 PM
I received my helping of Disney Afternoon thanks to my younger brother who enjoyed just about every show in it. By the time it began airing, I was in high school and Disney cartoons (outside of the feature films) were not something I actively sought out to watch.
However, my brother did. And what he watched, I inevitably found myself watching along with him. Of the many shows and characters, I think I actually enjoyed Duck Tales the most, followed by Chip 'N Dale's Rescue Rangers. Some of the shows that came later, like Gargoyles, would have probably been my preferred show had I not already been graduated and heading to college.
I can also say that my favorite intro song from the Afternoon would be the Gummi Bears intro. "Bouncing here and there and everywhere... high adventure that's beyond compare..."
Mr Magic Posted on Jan 16, 2015 at 02:10 PM
Oddly enough, Capcom never produced a Gummi Bears game.
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