Disney Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Disney Wiki

"Once Upon a Dime" is the sixty-first episode of DuckTales.

Synopsis[]

Scrooge wakes up to "dime polishing day", the day where he gives his number-one dime a yearly polish. However, he discovers his beloved dime had been replaced by a quarter and goes into a panic at its disappearance. The nephews cut off his crisis by explaining they took it to play an arcade game and gave him their lucky quarter as a replacement, the dime miraculously returning from the machine each time they played. Scrooge makes the nephews promise never to take his dime again, prompting them to ask why it is so special. Scrooge explains it is responsible for his move to America and his entire fortune. He decides to explain the story while polishing his dime.

In his youth, Scrooge lived in Scotland with his parents, hoping to make a living playing the electric bagpipes, but his father (sick of the noise from his electric bagpipe playing) urged him to go into business. His attempts at getting a high-profile job with benefits ends with him learning that "the bottom is where you start in life" and the only job he can get is at a barber's shop shining shoes for tips. After working hard to clean a customer's extremely dirty boots, Scrooge was rewarded a dime that would become his most prized possession. However, his parents tell him that American Money is worthless in Scotland and Scrooge's father gets the idea to have Scrooge travel to America to find his wealth. Scrooge wanted to stay behind in Scotland and have the life his father did, but he tells him that it's hard to make a living that way and he should strive for better things. Scrooge's father tells Scrooge to "work smarter, not harder", words that Scrooge would remember deeply. Scrooge comes to believe the dime is a sign to move to America to find his fortune, remembering his uncle Catfish McDuck, a riverboat captain in America, wrote to his family about the abundant wealth available in America, and decides to save his money for a trip to America. Taking his father's advice, Scrooge creates a pulley system that makes shining shoes more efficient and easier and earns the money for the trip in only a few months.

After arriving in America, Scrooge is immediately arrested by a police officer offer under the charges of wearing a dress in public (not caring Scrooge's outfit is actually a kilt). In jail, Scrooge has his first encounter with the Beagle Boys. Posting his dime for bail, Scrooge goes to court where the police officer who arrested him insults his appearance, only for the judge, who is also from Scotland, to sentence the officer to 30 days in a skirt for insulting him and his culture. The judge gives Scrooge his dime back and he travels to his uncle Catfish, hoping the latter's success would rub off. However, Catfish isn't as wealthy as Scrooge thought when he learns he is disputing the rights towards a plantation that would make him rich with another riverboat captain named Old Man Ribbit. Both claim that the previous owner of the plantation owed them money before he died, and Scrooge offers the two a chance to settle the dispute with a riverboat race. Scrooge works with his uncle Catfish on his boat while Ribbit hired a group called the Beaver boys to work for his boat. During the race Ribbit cheats with help from the Beaver Boys, but Scrooge uses his father's advice to make a similar device he used to shine shoes to shovel coal fast enough to win the race. However, Catfish only pays Scrooge for the race and doesn't give him a partnership in the plantation.

Deciding to go into business for himself, Scrooge traveled to the Klondike to find gold. Despite harsh conditions, Scrooge mines a stockpile of gold to make enough money to send back to his parents (forgetting the American money is useless in Scotland). The nephews ask if the gold was how Scrooge got rich, he explains that while he did make a lot of money, he didn't feel rich yet. Searching for more wealth, Scrooge invested his new money in Oklahoma Timberland. He bought a train to help with hauling the lumber but discovered there were no tracks. Hiring workers to place track, Scrooge traveled towards his purchased land, but was robbed by the Beagle Boys, who took his dime and his clothes. Scrooge reclaims his dime and clothes by using his terrible electric bagpipe playing to force the Beagle Boys to surrender to the police and finally reaches his land, only to discover he had been cheated and the timberland he was sold was barren. The railroad workers came after him demanding his pay, but all Scrooge had was his dime and he wasn't going to give it up. While trying to bury it to keep it safe, Scrooge accidentally strikes oil and uses the profit to pay off the works and expand his wealth.

Despite making more money, Scrooge still didn't feel rich and decided to expand his business internationally. While speaking to some businessmen about dime mines in Africa, Scrooge learns of a coal field, which is deemed worthless by the businessmen because Africa is too warm for there to be a need to burn it for heat. However, Scrooge buys the fields comes up with a plan to use peanuts to lure elephants across the fields and have them crush the coal on the ground into diamonds, profiting from the diamonds and selling peanuts to the businessmen. He eventually obtained so much wealth, he had to build his famous money bin and gained his hobby of swimming through his treasure. The nephews ask again if Scrooge finally felt rich at that point, but Scrooge explains that without his parents, he felt lonelier than ever. He then realizes that finally felt rich when Donald sent his nephews to live with him and Mrs. Beakly and Webby moved in, giving him a family for the first time since he left Scotland. He declares that having a family to share his wealth with makes him truly rich and invites everyone for swim in his money bin.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

  • At the beginning of this episode, Scrooge's calendar declares this episode to take place on a Tuesday that falls on July 1. At the time of this episode's airing, the nearest year that had its month of July start on a Tuesday was 1986, meaning that this episode took place nearly a year-and-a-half before the time of its original airdate. This would also suggest the whole series itself to begin at some point in 1986 rather than 1987.
  • The episode was notably based on numerous flashbacks and other references from classic Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge comics, including:
    • The Great Steamboat Race (the rivalry of Scrooge's riverboat captain uncle over Cornpone Gables and the riverboat race)
    • Hall of the Mermaid Queen! (Scrooge earning a silver dollar in a riverboat race)
    • Only a Poor Old Man and/or Back to the Klondike (Scrooge's Klondike days).
    • Scrooge working as a shoeshine boy also appeared in The Invisible Intruder, for which Carl Barks did the artwork as well.
    • The scene where Scrooge earned his Number One Dime by shining a particularly muddy pair of boots was directly adapted from the comic Getting That Healthy, Wealthy Feeling by Tony Strobl.
  • Cottage McDuck, Scrooge's childhood home, reappears in this episode. It had previously appeared in the episode "The Curse of Castle McDuck", where Scrooge and his family visit Scrooge's old childhood home in Scotland.
  • This episode marked the animated debut of Scrooge's parents, McPapa and McMama.
  • The title of this episode is an allusion to the traditional story opening, "Once upon a time."
  • The scene where Scrooge is arrested for wearing a kilt can be seen as a moment that has not aged too well as the officer considers it a crime for Scrooge (a boy) to wear a dress (actually a kilt) and can be viewed as a slant against people who identify as gender nonconforming. On Disney+, the episode is prefaced with a warning card about the dated humor.

Video releases[]

DVD

  • DuckTales: Volume 3

Screenshots[]


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
Advertisement