Summary[]
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by the Walt Disney Company. Scrooge McDuck is an elderly Scottish anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats and is portrayed in animations as speaking with a slight Scottish accent, also sometimes known as a Scottish burr. His dominant character trait is his thrift, and within the context of the fictional Disney universe, he is the World's richest person.
Named after Ebenezer Scrooge from the 1843 novel A Christmas Carol, Scrooge McDuck is a wealthy Scottish business magnate and tycoon. He was in his first few appearances characterized as a greedy miser and anti-hero (as Charles Dickens' original Scrooge was), but in later comics and animated shorts and the modern day, he is more often portrayed as a charitable and thrifty hero, adventurer, explorer, and philanthropist. Scrooge McDuck was created by Carl Barks as a comic book character originally as an antagonist for Donald Duck, first appearing in the 1947 Four Color story "Christmas on Bear Mountain" (#178). The character soon became so popular that Scrooge McDuck became a major figure of the Duck universe. In 1952, he was given his own comic book series, called Uncle Scrooge, which still runs today. Scrooge McDuck was most famously drawn by his creator Carl Barks, and later by Don Rosa. Comics have remained Scrooge McDuck's primary medium, although he has also appeared in animated cartoons, most extensively in the television series, Duck Tales (1987–1990).
Along with several other characters in the Disney franchise, Scrooge McDuck has enjoyed international popularity, particularly in Europe, and books about him are frequently translated into other languages. He is the maternal uncle of Donald Duck, the grand-uncle of Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Donald Duck's three nephews), a usual financial backer of Gyro Gearloose, and the employer of Launchpad McQuack. His "money bin" and indeed Scrooge McDuck himself are often used as humorous metonyms for great wealth in popular culture around the world.
Although never confirmed by Carl Barks, it is possible that Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who left his country for America at age 13 as a near-penniless immigrant teenager and eventually became the world's second-richest industrialist of his era, served as a model for Scrooge McDuck, who also immigrated at 13 according to Disney canon. Another possible inspiration is an unnamed character in the 1943 Donald Duck short film, the Spirit of '43, who was a representation of Donald Duck's thrifty conscience. This anonymous character had many of Scrooge McDuck's characteristics including sideburns, pince-nez glasses, and a Scottish accent.
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Character Appearances in MAD[]
Season 4[]
- Episode 12 (90) McDuck Dynasty: Himself getting spoofed along with Duck Dynasty.