From Fables to Fantasy: The Transformation of Family in Disney’s Duckverse

This presentation is about the transformation that has occurred in Disney’s Duckverse's family relations between the 1940s and the 2020s in the context fantasy genre studies. Originally, the family relations in Disney comics and animations were leaning towards fables and fairytales: the nuclear family was rarely seen, typically the mother was absent, and the children lived with their father or father figure. In the works by Carl Barks and Don Rosa, the characters grew more complex and deeper family relations were established. But it was the new DuckTales animation that made the big leap: Huey, Dewey and Louie each have different personalities, and the story of their mother, Della Duck, was introduced.