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Actually I think one of the reasons that DuckTales turned out so differently from the comics was because the people who worked on the screenplays (loosely based on some Barks stories) and most probably the directors, didn't really know that much about Disney comics. Maybe (pure speculation follows) they mostly knew Donald from old short movies, and thought they needed a stronger and more popular hero for the cartoon shows. Hence the introduction of Launcpad Mcquack. Anyway, not many adaptations of comic book stories to film ends up being an exact copy of the comic. Usually there is some heavy rewriting of the storyline going on, and the results doesn't always turn out to be every comic fanboy's dream, though maybe the majority of viewers who doesn't know the original comic, likes the movie, not having prejudice by means of a year-long knowledge of the characters and events in the particular universe.

Most people tend to agree that while Launchpad has a place in the Duck universe, he works MUCH better as a foil to Darkwing than he does as a foil to Scrooge. He's not a bad foil when you make him more along the lines of Gyro Gearloose (IE a specialized character), but as a "Donald clone" all you get is failure. Thats why I prefer Ducktales stories where Launchpad is in character compared to everyone around him or especially the Van Horn DT stories and or Gyro/Launchpad shorts (which I wish he'd do more of).
Having said that - I loved the DT eps with Donald. I didnt even know the comics existed at that point in time and his classic animation voice didnt bother me one bit because - heck - it's Donald Freaking Duck. :)
The one episode in the pilot where Donald and Launchpad interact is probably my favorite part in the entire series.
Now here's a question: What is your opinion on Fenton Crackshell? NOT GIZMODUCK, but Fenton himself as a side character/foil?

Quote from user: MorequackI'm not sure how I feel about a lengthy Duck adventure with US, HDL but no Donald! In fact it bothers me because as a kid reading Duck comics Donald was my always my favorite. Now, I know that Duck Tales has always excluded Donald but I don't remember why? I have never been drawn to Duck Tales for that reason and I admit I have never read Duck Tales but I did watch a few TV episodes when it used to air several years ago and I did enjoy them. But Donald was always sorely missed and I remember wondering: "What the heck has happened to Unca' Donald?!" And "...who is that burly Indy-Jones-Duck who's taken his place???"
Apparently the "Duck Tales" team weren't allowed to use Donald as a main character. According to "Gargoyles" creator Greg Weisman, Roy Disney objected to letting the TV division use any of the classic chracters;

"I know that back in the day, he WOULDN'T let us use characters like Mickey, Donald , Goofy, etc. He didn't think we could do them justice, I guess. " (courtesy of Ask Greg at http://s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php Type Donald Duck and Michael Eisner into the search box and you'll find the quote in the second post)

I got into Disney comics through "Ducktales" so I've always been kindly disposed towards the series, no matter what changes they had to make to please the higher ups.

Quote from user: WBNow here's a question: What is your opinion on Fenton Crackshell? NOT GIZMODUCK, but Fenton himself as a side character/foil?
I love him!

Hey! A fellow Scandinavian!
I can't agree with you about Fenton though. It's like you've gotten him all wrong. Yes, he had low self-esteem. But considering how people must have put him down all his life, can you blame him? There were two times, when he suddenly got power, and it went to his head. But both times, he was thrown back down to Earth big time. He had his flaws, but that was partly what made him an interesting character. I can't say he was unfriendly though. Why would you think that? He wasn't unintelligent either. Sure, he made his share of mistakes. But that was more because he had bad luck than because he wasn't intelligent. There are also two times, when he saves the day without his Gizmoduck suit! That wasn't only intelligent, but also heroic and courageous!
I don't think he was as interesting or cute as Gizmoduck as he was as himself. It was like his Gizmoduck suit kept the real more loveable Fenton from shining through. As a matter of fact, I often even forget that Fenton is Gizmoduck, because they're like two different characters. However, Fenton really deserved becoming Gizmoduck. Even though it's not clearly stated, that it was fate, it's heavily implied. You might think that anyone can become a super hero, if they get a Gizmoduck suit. But do you remember the episode, where Fenton's mum accidently shrunk the suit in the wash? Huey, Dewie and Louie all tried the suit, but none of them could operate it. But then came along Webby, and she could operate it right away. She needed less time than Fenton to learn how to do it! This episode clearly shows, that only a few chosen people are meant to be Gizmoduck.

Quote from user: Lars JensenNo, he wasn't unfriendly or unintelligent. But he wasn't friendly or intelligent either. If I wrote a list of Fenton's personality traits, it would consist of several negative ones -- and none positive. Because I don't remember he *had* any positive ones.
Really now? Because I think Fenton comes across a very sympathetic character. Even in the two episodes, where he lets power go to his head, he's thrown back down to Earth so badly, that I can't help feeling sorry for him.

Quote from user: Lars JensenOK, I don't remember this so I'm going to take you on your word. But did he save the day because he was heroic? Or because he himself earlier in the episode had screwed things up to such a degree that the day now *needed* to be saved?
Well, it wasn't his fault in any of these two episodes. I'll try to describe them shortly.
1: In the first of these episodes, Fenton (as Gizmoduck) has followed Scrooge and Launchpad to a planet, where robots want to turn Scrooge's money into new robots. The leader of the planet, a computer called MEL, just takes the Gizmoduck suit of Fenton, and Scrooge now gets to know that Fenton is Gizmoduck. Fenton later defeats MEL, and he doesn't do it with his Gizmoduck suit, but by beating him in a counting duel, because Fenton can count faster than a computer!!!
2: In the second of these episodes, Flintheart Glamgold's scientists have invented termites, who can eat metal. These termites are set loose, and they eat Fenton's Gizmoduck suit right off his body. But still, Fenton is the one to save the day. Because just when the termites are about to eat Scrooge's money, Fenton says "Blabbering Blatherskites" through a phone, I think, so he can activate the Gizmoduck suit in their stomachs.

Quote from user: Lars JensenBut according to what you write, *Webby* would be a better Giozmoduck than Fenton did. So what made him special? Why did *he*, rather than Webby, deserve to be Gizmoduck? I don't get it.
Webby most likely would be a perfect hero, as an adult. But the show ended, when she still was a little girl. She needed a few more years before she was old enough to handle such a responsibility. There weren't so many child super heroes around then, were there? "The power puff girls" weren't invented yet. The closest thing was Inspector Gadget's niece Penny.

And you know, Fenton still managed to do a lot of great things as Gizmoduck, so he obviously was the right one to become a super hero. There was an episode, where Launchpad ended up wearing the Gizmoduck suit, and he was clearly as unfit to use it as Huey, Dewie and Louie were.

Please do that. :)