Ducktales never matched the panache of Barks's inspired original. The TV series added the whiny Webbigail and her grandmother, Mrs. Beakly, who resembled a feather pillow with a beak. Launchpad McQuack supplied mock-heroic comedy, although his prominent cleft chin made him look like a pelican. When Uncle Scrooge and his relatives scaled the Himalayas in search of the crown of Genghis Kahn in the comic book, Barks ended the story with typical irony: people weren't interested in the gold and jewels Scrooge coveted, they only wanted to hear about Gu, the abominable snowman he encountered. In the animated version, the big joke is an amorous, ugly female snowman chasing Launchpad. But these shortcomings never bothered the Gen-Y viewers who grew up watching Ducktales. (Rated TV-Y, suitable for ages 6 and older: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon