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"What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!" is the thirty-first episode of DuckTales. It premiered on March 9, 2019 and is the seventh episode in the second season.

Summary[]

Della struggles for survival against dangerous elements of the Moon, as she looks for a way to get back to her family on Earth.

Plot[]

10–11 years ago, just before Huey, Dewey, and Louie were born, Della Duck was flying into the cosmic storm overconfident about her chances. Scrooge contacted his niece, trying to turn her back before the storm kicked up when suddenly, a bolt of energy hit the Spear of Selene, sending the rocket and Della spiraling down to the moon. Della was flung from the cockpit by the aftershock. A day after the crash, she woke up with her helmet cracked and on the verge of suffocation when she spotted a package of Oxy-Chew from Gyro. As the chewing gum provides her with water, nutrition, and oxygen in places with low oxygen level, she survives, although she's disgusted by the flavor of the gum, black licorice. She soon realizes that her leg was stuck under the rocket and says "aw phooey." Days later, Della had no other option but to amputate her left leg to free herself, replacing it with a metal one.

Two months after the crash, Della manages to fix ship's transmitter and tries to use it to communicate with Earth and let her family know that the storm caused most of the ship's systems to fail but she was alright. She was able to activate a distress beacon in order to hopefully point anyone who could be looking for her in the right direction. She also explains her current living style and also attempts to draw out what she thinks her newborn sons would look like as she was unable to see them hatch. She leaves a message to them saying that it was only a temporary situation, and she would be back before they even knew it. Her recording is then interrupted when a giant bug monster known as Moon Mite starts attacking her ship, but she luckily survives.

Nine months after the crash, Della (now with longer hair) begins to grow weary that no one is coming to save her after she receives no response to the transmissions she sent out over the months. She reveals that she brought her Junior Woodchuck Guidebook with her, and planned to create ideas from the book for communicating back to Earth. She then attempted to create messages from the metal scraps of the Spear Of Selene for someone to see it on Earth, but this ended in failure after the Moon Mite returned and destroyed her messages with its corrosive saliva. With the lack of scraps for a full S.O.S, she uses a few more to create a dollar symbol, as she knows that it will get his attention.

One year after the crash, Della makes an attempt to wish her sons a happy first-year birthday with gooey rubble on the moon shaped like a cake, and a flare as a candle. Soon after, Della spots one of Scrooge's ships looking on the moon for any traces of Della. Della attempts to get close to the rocket but is blocked once again by the Moon Mite. Her attempts to have the ship notice her ends up in failure as her brawl with the Mite creates a large dust cloud, which the pilot of the rocket ship naively mistakes for a meteor strike on the surface of the Moon and departs, leaving Della in tears. She then decides to create a new plan - to fix the Spear of Selene itself, although her first few attempts fail.

Six years after the crash, Della was successfully able to repair the Spear of Selene and attempts to finally launch it, but the launching sequence fails. Della soon realized that it was because Gyro invented the ship's engine to be powered by gold itself, but unfortunately, there was no gold available to use. This leads a very annoyed Della to embark on a journey to find gold on the moon, believing that if there was any, she would find it.

Ten years after the crash, Della believed she had searched every spot on the Moon for gold, only to turn up with nothing, angering her and making her blame Scrooge for not leaving any spare gold to use in case the engine ran out. Della began to get frustrated after having been away from her family for so long, as well as chewing the same disgusting gum during the whole time and eventually her anger leads her to break a tooth. However, she soon realized that the tooth itself was made out of pure gold, leading her to believe that the times Uncle Scrooge took her to the dentist was to make sure she always had a little bit of gold on her at all times. This brings hope to Della once more as she believes that she can use the tooth as fuel for her rocket ship's engine.

Soon after, however, the Moon Mite returns again and begins taking apart Della's ship once more. Della attempted to flee from the Mite after realizing it was after her gold tooth but was knocked down and about to be killed until bolts of electricity were shot at the bug monster, causing it to flee. Della then met the two aliens that had saved her that went by the names of Penumbra and Lunaris who were Moonlanders. They then go into the underground caves of the moon where the Mite had also taken Della's ship with it.

They eventually run into the bug monster and try to fight it off, only for the Mite to spit acid onto Della's ship, burning away most of the metal, seemingly to the point where it can no longer function. This infuriated Della, which leads her to run at and fight the Moon Mite hands-on, only to be interrupted by the sounds of baby-like squealing coming from inside the ship. Della then came to understand that the squealing sounds were coming from the Mite’s baby, and the Mite was only attacking them in order to find proper metal to feed her and her baby. This lead Della to willingly give her golden tooth to the mother, knowing that a mother would do anything for the sake of her kid. Della sings a lullaby that she used to sing to her kids before they were hatched.

The baby then cheered up and was able to eat the golden tooth, with Della also giving the mother and her baby the metal weapons Penumbra and Lunaris used to attack them, for extra nourishment. The mother and her baby then leave them peacefully, as they and Della wave goodbye to one another before they burrow deeper underground. Lunaris praised Della for staving off the Moon Mites with words instead of violence. However, Della seemed to resign herself to her fate, fearing she would never make it home with her ship in its current ‘unrepairable’ condition. However, Lunaris offered her home within the Moon, saying that even though she can't get back to her own home, she can create a new one where they stand. They bring Della to their home which is made out of gold. Della has more hope that she can fix her ship but Lunaris thinks she can be useful.

Cast[]

Song[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the first time Della plays a large role in an episode, after having previously only been seen in flashbacks or brief cameo roles.
  • As the story concerns events that take place both before and during the main series, Scrooge is the only member of the current McDuck household to appear in this episode.
  • Gyro's Oxy-Chew gum was originally introduced in DuckTales Remastered.
  • This episode features various arrangements of the "Moon Stage Theme" from the DuckTales NES video game, including a lullaby version with lyrics sung by Della.
  • Della being stranded on the moon is remarkably similar to the Andy Weir novel The Martian and the 2015 adaptation of the same name where a man is stranded on Mars and never giving up to get off.
  • Della removing her own trapped leg after being stuck in a canyon alone also resembles the film 127 Hours.
  • The theme song is not featured in this episode.
  • This is the second episode that does not include the theme song and just have the title in the episode's background, since "Woo-oo!".
  • Note: This is the second episode to be set entirely after the events of The First Adventure! as a prequel to the other episodes of DuckTales in chronological order.
  • The title of this episode might be a reference to the Spongebob Squarepants' episode " What Ever Happened to SpongeBob? ", which is in turn a play on the title of the novel "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" by Henry Farrell.

Gallery[]


v - e - d
DuckTales logo
Media
Shows/Movies: 1987 series (videography) • 2017 seriesWalt Disney's World on Ice: Double Feature... Live!Raw ToonageDuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost LampChibi Tiny TalesThis Duckburg Life

Video Games: Video game (HD remake/Soundtrack) • DuckTales 2The Quest for GoldScrooge's LootDisney Heroes: Battle ModeDisney All-Star RacersDisney All-Star Party
Comics: Comic Books (IDW)
Books: The Secret City Under the SeaSphinx for the Memories and Sir Gyro GearlooseScrooge's Treasure HuntChristmas at the North PoleWebby Saves the Day

Disney Parks
DuckTales World Showcase AdventurePLAY!Donald's Duck Pond
Characters
1987 series: Scrooge McDuckHuey, Dewey, and LouieLaunchpad McQuackWebby VanderquackBentina BeakleyDuckworthChief O'HaraShedlock JonesGyro GearlooseLittle HelperYardarmDoofus DrakeFenton CrackshellDonald DuckLudwig Von DrakeGladstone GanderBubba the Cave DuckAbominable SnowwomanTootsie the TriceratopsSkittlesBlackjackPouponGene the GenieGlittering GoldieMad Dog McGurkFeathers GaloreBurt QuackarachMajor CourageMicro DucksAdmiral GrimmitzKing HomerQueen ArielShawebizadGandra DeeMcPapaMcMamaRoboticaBeagle BoysMa BeaglePeteFlintheart GlomgoldPhantom BlotDijonArgus McSwineMagica De SpellMinima De SpellPoe De SpellEl CapitanJoaquin SlowlyMerlock the MagicianCinnamon TealDracula DuckDr. NoGoodMillionara VanderbucksFritter O'WayLawrence LoudmouthBruno Von BeakArmstrongThe SirensCirceHarpiesYuckalindaQueen GriseldaDjinniTerra-Firmie KingOverlord BulovanSolegoGICU-2Magica's ShadowThe Fear DemonsVacation Van Honk

2017 series: Della DuckLenaBradford BuzzardBentley and Buford BuzzardCaptain PeghookManny the Headless Man-HorsePixiuGabby McStabbersonHack and Slash SmashnikovRoxanne FeatherlyToad Liu HaiMark BeaksFalcon GravesAmunetSabafToth-RaZeusSeleneStorkulesCharybdisBriar and BrambleDarkwing DuckGosalyn MallardMegavoltDon KarnageQuackerjackLiquidatorBlack HeronZan OwlsonFisherMannDrosera occidendumJosé CariocaPanchito PistolesFethry DuckJohn D. RockerduckJeevesGavinGrandpappy BeagleViolet SabrewingUnicornPercival P. PeppingtonNightmare BeastPaddywhackBushrootNegaduckDaisy DuckGoofyChip and Dale Monterey JackZipperGadget HackwrenchKit CloudkickerTaurus BulbaMolly CunninghamLieutenant PenumbraGeneral LunarisMoonlandersMoon MitesGilded ManNeighbor JonesSteelbeakIsabella FinchIndy and Ty SabrewingTri-Crested TittertwillAletheiaVeroKing HonestusEmma GlamourInspector TezukaAkitaStrongbeardHeckaJormungandrPonce de LeonMatilda McDuckEmutilda

Episodes
1987 series

Season One: "The Treasure of the Golden Suns" • "Send in the Clones" • "Sphinx for the Memories" • "Where No Duck Has Gone Before" • "Armstrong" • "Robot Robbers" • "Magica's Shadow War" • "Master of the Djinni" • "Hotel Strangeduck" • "Lost Crown of Genghis Khan" • "Duckman of Aquatraz" • "The Money Vanishes" • "Sir Gyro de Gearloose" • "Dinosaur Ducks" • "Hero for Hire" • "Superdoo!" • "Maid of the Myth" • "Down and Out in Duckburg" • "Much Ado About Scrooge" • "Top Duck" • "Pearl of Wisdom" • "The Curse of Castle McDuck" • "Launchpad's Civil War" • "Sweet Duck of Youth" • "Earth Quack" • "Home Sweet Homer" • "Bermuda Triangle Tangle" • "Micro Ducks from Outer Space" • "Back to the Klondike" • "Horse Scents" • "Scrooge's Pet" • "Catch as Cash Can" • "Merit-Time Adventure" • "The Golden Fleecing" • "Ducks of the West" • "Time Teasers" • "Back Out in the Outback" • "Raiders of the Lost Harp" • "The Right Duck" • "Scroogerello" • "Double-O-Duck" • "Luck o' the Ducks" • "Duckworth's Revolt" • "Magica's Magic Mirror"/"Take Me Out of the Ballgame" • "Duck to the Future" • "Jungle Duck" • "Launchpad's First Crash" • "Dime Enough for Luck" • "Duck in the Iron Mask" • "The Uncrashable Hindentanic" • "The Status Seekers" • "Nothing to Fear" • "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. McDuck" • "Once Upon a Dime" • "Spies in Their Eyes" • "All Ducks on Deck" • "Ducky Horror Picture Show" • "Till Nephews Do Us Part"
Season Two: "Time is Money" • "Super DuckTales"
Season Three: "The Land of Trala La" • "Allowance Day" • "Bubbeo & Juliet" • "The Good Muddahs" • "My Mother the Psychic" • "Metal Attraction" • "Dough Ray Me" • "Bubba's Big Brainstorm" • "The Big Flub" • "A Case of Mistaken Secret Identity" • "Blue Collar Scrooge" • "Beaglemania" • "Yuppy Ducks" • "The Bride Wore Stripes" • "The Unbreakable Bin" • "Attack of the Fifty-Foot Webby" • "The Masked Mallard" • "A DuckTales Valentine"
Season Four: "Ducky Mountain High" • "Attack of the Metal Mites" • "The Duck Who Knew Too Much" • "New Gizmo-Kids on the Block" • "Scrooge's Last Adventure" • "The Golden Goose"

2017 series
Season One: "Woo-oo!" • "Daytrip of Doom!" • "The Great Dime Chase!" • "The Beagle Birthday Massacre!" • "Terror of the Terra-firmians!" • "The House of the Lucky Gander!" • "The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!" • "The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!" • "The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest!" • "The Spear of Selene!" • "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!" • "The Missing Links of Moorshire!" • "McMystery at McDuck McManor!" • "JAW$!" • "The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!" • "Day of the Only Child!" • "From the Confidential Casefiles of Agent 22!" • "Who is Gizmoduck?!" • "The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!" • "Sky Pirates...in the Sky!" • "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!" • "The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!" • "The Shadow War!"
Season Two: "The Most Dangerous Game...Night!" • "The Depths of Cousin Fethry!" • "The Ballad of Duke Baloney!" • "The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!" • "Storkules in Duckburg!" • "Last Christmas!" • "What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!" • "Treasure of the Found Lamp!" • "The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!" • "The 87 Cent Solution!" • "The Golden Spear!" • "Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!" • "Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!" • "Friendship Hates Magic!" • "The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!" • "The Duck Knight Returns!" • "What Ever Happened to Donald Duck?!" • "Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!" • "A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!" • "The Golden Armory of Cornelius Coot!" • "Timephoon!" • "GlomTales!" • "The Richest Duck in the World!" • "Moonvasion!"
Season Three "Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!" • "Quack Pack!" • "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!" • "The Lost Harp of Mervana!" • "Louie's Eleven!" • "Astro B.O.Y.D.!" • "The Rumble for Ragnarok!" • "The Phantom and the Sorceress!" • "They Put a Moonlander on the Earth!" • "The Trickening!" • "The Forbidden Fountain of the Foreverglades!" • "Let's Get Dangerous!" • "Escape from the ImpossiBin!" • "The Split Sword of Swanstantine!" • "New Gods on the Block!" • "The First Adventure!" • "The Fight for Castle McDuck!" • "How Santa Stole Christmas!" • "Beaks in the Shell!" • "The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker!" • "The Life And Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!" • "The Last Adventure!"

Locations
DuckburgAtlantisThe Money BinMcDuck ManorCastle McDuckFountain of YouthScotlandNotre DuckValley of the Golden SunsSt. CanardCape Suzette
Organizations
Air PiratesF.O.W.L.Junior WoodchucksS.H.U.S.H.
Objects
Number One DimeJunior Woodchucks GuidebookGizmosuitGene's LampMerlock's TalismanSun CoinSun ChaserHarp of TroyMillennium ShortcutGyro's HelicopterMolecular ManipulatorGolden GooseWebby's Quacky Patch DollHindentanicMagic MedallionRatcatcherJewel of AtlantisPep!Gummiberry JuiceIron VulturePirate FightersSpear of SeleneSea DuckRanger Plane
Songs
DuckTales ThemeThree Cheers for Bubba DuckBoogie Beagle BluesMoon Stage ThemeSky PiratesThe Three CaballerosHear My Voice
See also
Carl BarksThe Disney AfternoonDarkwing DuckQuack PackDisney XD (Netherlands)Let's Go to Disneyland Paris
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