Brigitta MacBridge (also spelled Brigitta McBridge[1] in Italy and previously known as Brigitta Papera) is a supporting character from the Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge comics. She is a female anthropomorphic duck and the self-styling fiancee of Donald Duck's uncle Scrooge McDuck, whom she is madly in love with. She was created by legendary Italian Disney comic artist Romano Scarpa.
Although she never appeared in the printed works of Disney legend Carl Barks, Barks did like the character, and even provided Scarpa with a story idea for Brigitta once, which was about Brigitta spraying herself with money-scented perfume to make Scrooge fall in love with her.[2]
As of yet, her only animated appearance was in the intro to the Italian Disney TV show Topolino Show which debuted in 1982, animated by her creator, Romano Scarpa.[3][4]
Background[]
A model sheet of Brigitta, drawn by her creator Romano Scarpa.
Brigitta first appeared in 1960, in the Uncle Scrooge comic The Last Balaboo, written and drawn by the classic Disney artist Romano Scarpa. Here, her relationship with Scrooge is said to have started in 1898 in Klondike. Scrooge bought her an expensive fur coat, and in exchange asked her to never bother him again.
However, this did not work. Brigitta truly loves Scrooge, and for decades, she has tried every method to get him to return her love. This includes stalking him, which greatly infuriates Scrooge. To impress him, she has established her own business, and at times acts as his rival. She has proven to be cunning and skillful, and seems to have a very strong will. Sometimes, she has Jubal Pomp helping her. Dickie Duck (Glittering Goldie's granddaughter) occasionally appears as her employee.
Right from the beginning, Scarpa and his successors have left enough hints that Scrooge is interested in her, but does not enjoy her obsession with him, and is mostly afraid that Brigitta is just trying to court him in order to get her hands on Scrooge's fortune. Besides, the notoriously avaracious Scrooge loathes Brigitta's spendthrifty lifestyle. Although he pretends to be emotionless—a typical character trait—he is not. When she gets in trouble, he is there to help her, and he has at times protected her from danger; whenever another man expresses an interest in her, Scrooge seems not to be above jealousy. In the Uncle Scrooge comic The Next Best Thing by Lars Jensen, Scrooge can make her date his rival Flintheart Glomgold, so he feels free at last, but then he discovers Flintheart is heartlessly using her and rescues her. Though Scrooge has had chances to end their strange relationship, when she is truly frustrated with his behavior, he has instead chosen to pass them by and even apologizes to her at times. In Scarpa's Uncle Scrooge comic Zio Paperone e la formula della ricchezza ("Uncle Scrooge and the formula for Riches"), after having been on an adventure together, Scrooge realizes (with hearts in his eyes) that Brigitta would be the perfect spouse for him. However, Scrooge immediately shrugs this off again, deciding that he is "far too young to be thinking about getting married!".
On another note, Brigitta acts as Scrooge's personal nurse whenever he is sick and has nursed him back to health on many occasions. She is among Scrooge's most trusted allies and she volunteers to help whenever he asks for it. Scrooge's relatives are quite friendly with Brigitta and seem to have accepted her as an unofficial member of the family; she is even present in family meetings at times. Brigitta has also helped them beat the Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell on occasion. John D. Rockerduck is said to find his rival's relationship amusing and is himself friendly with Brigitta, and John even pretended to be in love with her to make Scrooge jealous. This really worked for Brigitta, until Scrooge discovered her pact with John, who was interested in keeping Scrooge busy in a possible marriage with Brigitta. These events were shown in the classic comic Zio Paperone e l'amore a seconda vista ("Uncle Scrooge and Love at Second Sight").
In a 2007 issue of the comic, a parallel-universe Scrooge is bankrupt and married to Brigitta, whose shopaholic ways are contributing to his money problems. When the parallel-universe Scrooge fools the Earth A Scrooge into trading places, the Earth A Scrooge works to set things right by retiring his debts and seeking money-making opportunities. He also put Brigitta on a strict budget and says she should do her own cooking, as she was once a restaurateur. After Scrooge solves the money problems of his parallel-universe counterpart, he returns to his own world, but realizes he may be missing out on marriage, so he starts a relationship with the Brigitta from his world.
Despite the fact that Brigitta MacBridge and Glittering Goldie love the same man, Scrooge McDuck, these two quite different ladies have never been in conflict because of his affection in the rare comic stories where they both appear. In Scarpa's comic The Miner's Granddaughter (Uncle Scrooge #422), Brigitta feels really sad when she sees Scrooge and Glittering together for a brief moment, but then Glittering comforts her and says that she is Scrooge's past, while Brigitta is his present. Brigitta thanks Goldie for her kind words and calls her "my friend". There are three other Italian stories - Zio Paperone Pigmalione ("Uncle Scrooge Benefactor"), Zio Paperone e Le Grandi Conquiste ("Uncle Scrooge and The Big Achievement") and Paperina di Rivondosa ("Daisy of Rivondosa") by Silvia Ziche - where they both appear, but do not interact with each other. The only other story where Brigitta and Goldie do interact again is A Tale of Two Biddies (Uncle Scrooge #439).
In the story Paperinik, Paperinika e la Romantica Vendicatrice (Duck Avenger, Super Daisy and the Romantic Avenger) (first published in Italy in 2013), Brigitta takes the identity of Brigittik, the Romantic Avenger, after accidentally being hit by an electric shock from Gyro Gearloose’s invention. Though she turned back to normal, she still re-appears in later stories, especially against Brgittik'a new nemesis: 2diPicche.
Trivia[]
- Her last name, "MacBridge", is a reference to the trope of well-off older ladies playing bridge games for entertainment.
- In German and Dutch, she is named Gitta (sometimes Brigitta) Gans ('Gans' meaning 'Goose').
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.topolino.it/personaggio/brigitta/ Brigitta - Paperi - Topolino Sito Ufficiale
- ↑ http://www.cbarks.dk/theitalianconnection.htm
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSDD-mlxDFU
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljE_sWyFzN4
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