When I was younger and the schoolwork was finished, I spent quite a bit of time with my butt planted in front of the TV watching Disney cartoons. Ducktales, Talespin, Darkwing Duck, and Rescue Rangers were easily my favorites of the Disney's afternoon. While each of these shows proved to be popular with the kiddies, Ducktales was the first and most well received.

The show takes place in the city of Duckburg. Primarily it focuses on Scrooge McDuck who lives with his grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. The boys were staying with Donald, but being the sailor that he is, he decided to join the navy and see the world. Together Scrooge and the boys went on countless adventures seeking riches or simply just to have a good time. The show may have been silly at times but there was often a point to the episode and a moral to the story buried in somewhere. Granted the depth of the plot was relatively light since it's not like a kid will sit through some grand opus involving talking ducks.

The thing that really helped Ducktales out the most though was the fact that it expanded upon the known duck universe. Characters such as Launchpad McQuack, the pilot who could crash any plane, and Gyro Gearloose, the genius inventor, really helped to round out the show. Of course you can't have an interesting adventure series like this without worthwhile villains. The Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell take up a decent amount of screen time but my personal favorite was Scrooge's greedy nemesis Flintheart Glomgold. Yes, Ducktales is a fun show and surprisingly it holds up extremely well nearly twenty years later.

As part of the Disney Afternoon Ducktales began in September of 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes. It was so popular that a theatrical film ("Treasures of the Lost Lamp") was released in 1990, but it hasn't quite hit DVD yet. At any rate the first volume featured 27 episodes though it was missing the pilot episode "Treasure of the Golden Sun". Fans were left out in the dark as to why the introductory episode(s) was not included but will be delighted to hear that it has been included in this volume. 24 episodes make the cut here with the pilot taking up five of them.

Just like the first set this one is broken down onto three discs; each with eight episodes. The first disc is where the five parts of "Treasure of the Golden Sun" are featured and let me tell you that this is the best experience available on this set. Don't get me wrong; just about every episode in this second volume is great. There's just something about the pilot that hit all of the right notes and included everything that I loved about Ducktales. Sweeping adventure, funny jokes, and endearing dialogue come together with a great story.

"Treasure of the Golden Sun" isn't the only multiple episode storyline found on this set. "Catch as Cash Can" is a four part tale about yet another contest between Scrooge and Glomgold. In Macaroon there is a new fruit that has emerged and promises to take the world by storm. Seeing the financial opportunity the two rich ducks pit their fortunes against one another in order to score exclusives to the tasty treat. The Beagle Boys work their way in as well and soon things take a spin for the worst for Scrooge and company.

"Double-O-Duck" was another fantastic episode and focused mostly on one of Launchpad's misadventures. He is mistaken for a secret agent and gets dragged into the Foreign Organization of World Larceny. With a strong 007 atmosphere and lots of fun intrigue, this episode was another favorite of mine from this set. Granted it's not quite Casino Royale but when the entire cast is ducks you have to appreciate it on some level.

Some other outstanding episodes from this set include "Raiders of the Lost Harp", "Magica's Magic Mirror/Take Me Out of the Ballgame", "Time Teasers", and "Back Out in the Outback". With only a few episodes out of the 24 available here being what I'd call "average" this is another solid Disney Afternoon collection. Ducktales was indeed one of the finest cartoons to come along for Disney and this set will keep fans happy as well as create new ones. Get the first volume and pick this one up as well; you won't be disappointed.

Considering that these episodes of Ducktales were produced in 1987 the transfer here is fantastic. The print has been kept nearly pristine and apart from a few moments of speckle and discoloration, the video here is very pleasing. The image quality does dip at a couple of points where some soft edges and grain is identifiable but overall the care taken to bring this show to DVD is noticeable. Ducktales may not be as sharp looking as shows produced more recently but this release is a much better alternative to old VHS tapes and occasional reruns (if they can still be found).

Much like the image quality, the audio is reminiscent of a television show from the 80s. That means you can expect to listen to the show with a flat mono soundtrack that does little to impress audibly. The show sounded as good as I remembered with some terrific voice acting and music, but since it comes across with no directionality it can't really compete with today's current titles. Fortunately I didn't encounter any distortion or flaw with the transfer and even the English subtitles are very accurate.

Just like the first DVD release for Ducktales the second has nothing on it for bonus content. Simply having the show is a treat but a little something extra would have gone a long way.

When it comes to cartoons from the 80's it really doesn't get much better than the adventures of Scrooge and his nephews. Other shows come and go but Ducktales is arguably going to be around for my longer. Each episode is a fun little treat and it's one that fans can still enjoy nearly twenty years later. While the show may not be the most complex series out there I can still picture today's kids getting into it just as much as my generation did back in the day. That's the mark of good television; timelessness.

The second volume of Ducktales is just as entertaining as the first one was. Check it out if you're a fan or you're looking for an endearing show that the whole family can enjoy.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!