Huey, Dewey and Louie
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Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional 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.
Huey, Dewey and Louie are the sons of Donald's sister; in Donald's Nephews, Donald's sister is named "Dumbella," but in the comics, her full name is Della Thelma Duck. ("Dumbella" is obviously not a real name but a nickname, even though it is one she even inflicts on herself due to her low self-esteem.) 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). 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 boys are noted for having both identical appearances and personalities in most appearances, with the three sometimes shown as finishing each others' sentences as a running joke. In the theatrical shorts, Huey, Dewey and Louie would often behave in a rambunctious manner, sometimes committing retaliation or revenge on their uncle Donald for something he did to them. In the comics, however, as developed by Al Taliaferro and Carl Barks, the boys usually are shown in a more well-behaved manner, usually helping their uncle Donald 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.
Huey, Dewey and Louie can usually be told apart by the color of their hats and/or clothing: Huey dresses in red (although he used to wear orange), Dewey in blue, and Louie in green (although at one point he wore blue). 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."
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[edit] Animation
Huey, Dewey and Louie appeared in a large number of theatrical shorts with Donald, starting with Donald's Nephews, released in 1938. From there on, they appeared alongside Donald in the following shorts:
- Good Scouts
- Donald's Golf Game
- Hockey Champ
- Sea Scouts
- Mr. Duck Steps Out
- Fire Chief
- Truant Officer Donald
- The Nifty Nineties
- Donald's Snow Fight
- Home Defense
- Donald Duck and the Gorilla
- Donald's Off Day
- Donald's Crime
- Straight Shooters
- Soup's On
- Donald's Happy Birthday
- Lion Around
- Lucky Number
- Trick or Treat
- Don's Fountain of Youth
- Canvas Back Duck
- Spare the Rod
- Donald's Diary
- The Litterbug
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.
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.
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 game Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers, and the direct-to-video films Mickey's Once and Twice Upon a Christmas.
[edit] 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-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. 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, 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 gold at the end of 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.
[edit] 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 Thomas Dewey (1902-1971) of New York.
- Louie was named after animator Louie Schmitt (1908-1993).[1].
The television series Quack Pack presented full names for the youths:
- Huey's full name was Hubert Duck.
- Dewey's full name was Deuteronomy Duck. (He is also referred to by his brothers as Dewus, Dewdrop, and Doo-wop.)
- Louie's full name was Louis Duck.
[edit] Trivia
- 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.
- In the Kingdom Hearts video game, Huey, Dewey, and Louie somehow arrived to Traverse Town and set up an item shop, collecting money to fund their own adventures. They sell items and weapons to Sora and company, but refuse to give a family discount to their uncle Donald. By the end of the game, the trio went back to Disney Castle, though in the sequel, go to Hollow Bastion to aid the reconstruction along with Uncle Scrooge and again run an item shop.
- Donald Duck isn't the only Disney character to have nephews. Other Disney nephews and nieces with unknown or rarely seen parents include Mickey Mouse's Morty and Ferdie, Daisy Duck's April, May and June, Goofy's Gilbert, Gyro Gearloose's Newton, the Beagle Boys' the Beagle Brats and the Beagle Babes, José Carioca's Zico and Zeca, Fethry Duck's Dugan, Minnie Mouse's Melody and Millicent, Gladstone Gander's Shamrock, and Clarabelle Cow's Betsy.
[edit] Cultural references
- The movie Silent Running features three robots named Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
- The Japanese anime series Cowboy Bebop featured a trio of shuttle hijackers/bounty heads named Huey, Dewey, and Louie in one episode. Coincidentally, Koichi Yamadera, Spike's Japanese voice actor in the series, dubbed Donald in the Kingdom Hearts series.
- At the end of every episode of Car Talk on NPR, one of the fake credits is for the show's legal counsel, Hugh Louis Dewey of Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe, known to his friends in Harvard Square as Hughie Louie Dewey.
- In the film Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon, the three Chinese restaurant workers are named Hu Yi, Du Yi, and Lu Yi.
- The Canadian series Due South featured the police detectives Jack Huey, Thomas E. Dewey and Louis Gardino.
- In the "March of the Wooden Soldiers" storyline from the comic book series Fables, the first three soldiers to arrive in Fabletown are named Hugh, Drew, and Lou.
- In a Goodfeathers story printed in the Animaniacs comic book (issue #43, to be precise), the Godpigeon made the titular characters babysit his three nephews, all of them named Louie.
- In the book The Penultimate Peril, from A Series of Unfortunate Events, there is an identical triplet named Dewey Denouement.
[edit] Names around the world
- Arabic: كركور و فرفور و زرزور (Karkoor wa Farfoor wa Zarzoor)
- Czech: Kulík, Bubík a Dulík
- Danish: Rip, Rap og Rup
- Dutch: Kwik, Kwek, en Kwak
- Estonian: Hups, Tups ja Lups
- Finnish: Tupu, Hupu ja Lupu
- French: Riri, Fifi et Loulou
- German: Tick, Trick und Track
- Greek: Χιούι, Λιούι και Ντιούι (Khiui, Liui, & Diui)
- Hungarian: Tiki, Niki és Viki
- Icelandic: Ripp, Rapp og Rupp
- Indonesian: Kwak, Kwik, dan Kwek
- Italian: Qui, Quo, e Qua
- Japanese: Hyuui, Dyuui, Ruui.
- Lithuanian: Bilis, Vilis ir Dilis
- Norwegian: Ole, Dole og Doffen
- Polish: Hyzio, Dyzio i Zyzio
- Portuguese: Huguinho, Luizinho e Zezinho
- Spanish: Hugo, Paco y Luis / Hugo, Diego y Luis / Juanito, Jorgito y Jaimito / occasionally other names
- Serbian: Raja, Gaja i Vlaja
- Swedish: Knatte, Fnatte och Tjatte
- Russian: Билли, Вилли и Дилли (Billy, Villy, & Dilly)
(Note: The reason there are different sets of names in Spanish is that the comics are translated, using different guidelines, in Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Chile.)
