Launchpad’s Association with Della Duck: More Possible Hints?
Part 1 | Part 2| Continued from Part 3
Alrighty! Time to bring up some more interesting points that might be worth paying attention to:
Back in May, Disney released a ton of content to promote DT's Disney Channel relaunch. Some of this content was a series of online shorts called Webby Reacts and it featured Webby looking at clips of other Disney Channel media. In some of the shorts, she would name drop her friends and make comparisons to what was going on while others presented interesting situations:
- While watching a clip from Raven's Home, Webby claimed that one of the characters was being possessed by an evil shape-shifter.
- The Descendants 2 clip featured the “What's My Name?” music video which highlighted a group of singing and dancing pirates.
- Webby speculated that someone's parent was cursed in her Descendants 3 teaser reaction.
- When a clip from Stuck in The Middle showed a family member leaving, she got really upset and hugged HDL tightly.
All of these sound very familiar…
...Were these shorts foreshadowing future plot points? It sure looks like it! They match up a little too well.
- In the same short that featured Stuck in The Middle, Dewey comments that “TV is awesome!” and when “Day of The Only Child!” aired, we found out that he's been developing his own TV show pilot! In a reaction to Disney's Zombies movie, Webby accidentally breaks the camera and wonders if Scrooge will believe Louie did it instead. Maybe this is a bit of a stretch, but in “Only Child”, Louie did end up breaking a ton of things on purpose. (“The Depths of Cousin Fethry” seems to prove that Louie often gets blamed for things even if he's not responsible. He is labeled as the “evil triplet” after all.) Another thing that this short could be getting at is “The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!” since mummies and zombies are practically the same.
- There's an Andi Mack clip where Webby compared the awkwardness of a romantic relationship to herself. Maybe this one might be a stretch as well, but the closest thing I could think of this foreshadowing was “The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!” where it also shows an awkward relationship between Scrooge and Goldie.
So, what does this information have to do with the main point of my theory? Well...the first short to be released from Webby Reacts featured another clip from Andi Mack where someone who was seen as an older sibling, revealed themselves the main character's parent. Webby name-dropped Launchpad as she made a comparison to him and the parent. She notes that both of them are characters that have made “a lot of mistakes”. (While not mentioned in the short, both of these characters are also world-travelers.) Towards the end of the short, Webby begins to wonder who the main character’s father is and goes off to make a mystery board dedicated to the subject.
- I can’t think of an episode that matches this...it could just be foreshadowing an ongoing idea or it might have been trying to make a loose connection to Della; she’s a world traveling parent who hasn't made the best decisions, but we don’t discover her being anything other than herself. She wasn't previously thought to be someone else. Even if this short was referring to Della, Launchpad and a father is mentioned alongside her...
- All the shorts seem to be hinting towards Season 1 episodes, but what if this one is hinting beyond that? A couple of fans have noted that Webby has yet to add Launchpad to any of her mystery boards. Could this be part of the reason why they didn't really interact until “Shadow War”? Because Webby would start making theories about him and reveal something important?
In “Beware of The B.U.D.D.Y System!” we find out that Launchpad just got his driver's license. It shouldn't be surprising due to the way he was driving in “Woo-oo!”, but still...Launchpad applied to be a chauffeur...while being unlicensed? And Scrooge hired him? Wha?? Was this the only position Scrooge had available? (Was it due to Duckworth’s death? In the older series, Duckworth doubled as both Scrooge’s butler and chauffeur.) This sounds a little like Launchpad could have been desperate to work for Scrooge...why did he take the position he wasn't quite suited for, just to start talking about aviation on his first day? Yes, that's his passion, but for someone who keeps up with the newspaper and makes scrapbooks out of them , he should have already known Scrooge didn't have an opening for a new pilot and should have known that his chances would be extremely low if Scrooge is retired. I think LP could have been one of the first employees Scrooge has hired in ten years. I also have a feeling that LP has been trying to work for Scrooge for a while and waited for any position to open up just so he could reach him…the way he responded after Scrooge warned him about every dent coming out of his salary could indicate that money isn't his main objective.
In the beginning of “Beware of The B.U.D.D.Y System!”, we were presented with Launchpad's living area for the first time. There were a number of interesting things to take in about the setting, like how he has a burrito poster hanging up and how he keeps his eating utensils in socks. But what interested me the most was more towards the second level of the room: He has white Christmas lights on the banister leading up to where he sleeps; in a hammock. And the ceiling above his hammock has plastic glow-in-the-dark moons and stars. So...every night, he's suspended in the air with little lights around him? I'm sensing a strong outer-space vibe from this...
- Before Della's situation was explained, there have been multiple instances of stars and moons inside and outside of the show and might be hinting towards something that relates to Della in some way. Another example of this imagery being used is on the cover of Launchpad's joke book. The star stickers are on Dewey and Webby's side. They not only jump-started the mystery surrounding Della, they also resemble her personality the most.
Back in May when DT began it’s relaunch on the Disney Channel, I noticed that “The Spear of Selene!” was set to premiere the same month as Mother's Day and wondered if the episode was possibly being used as a tie-in. Could it have been pushed up for this reason? One of the reasons? Maybe this happened because it had a very anticipated plot? According to the production order, “McManor” should have aired first, but it aired at the end of May instead. Even though it didn't premiere directly on Mother's Day, it did air again before it.
- (Sidenote: I also noticed that “Selene”s premiere landed on Russi Taylor's birthday. She's the original voice actress for Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby. I wondered if this was subtly hinting at Russi playing Della. Heh, totally wrong about that, but I’m glad Russi still ended up on the show as Young Donald in “Last Christmas!”. And I’m so glad we get to hear Della speak now!
Paget Brewster
does a wonderful job with playing her.)
- A similar thing happened in the following month: After “McManor”, there was a short hiatus in the beginning of June. Then the show returned with “Jaw$!” premiering a day before Father's Day. I find it extremely interesting that Disney decided to premiere an episode where Launchpad is very concerned about Dewey...scolds him in a parental manner...and scoops all three of the boys up to hug them...a day before Father's Day...In order of production, “Day of The Only Child!” was supposed to be aired before “Jaw$!”.
- Could Disney have moved it up to make it a tie-in? Would they go that far to hint that Launchpad could be the father? It seems like they may have done something this subtle before:
- “Woo-oo!” premiered on August 12th, which just so happens to be Middle Child Day. Did...did Disney premiere the show on this day to hint towards Dewey getting the focus in Season 1?!
- And then a year later, "The Most Dangerous Game...Night!", the first episode in a Louie-focused season, premiered on National Sloth Day (10/20), "The Ballad of Duke Baloney" premiered on National Sandwich Day (11/3), and "Storkules in Duckburg!" premiered a day before Mickey Mouse's birthday. Storkules' voice actor, Chris Diamantopoulos, plays Mickey in the MM Shorts! Usually, networks push holiday themed episodes up to tie-in with major holidays, but every episode of S2 we've seen so far has been aired in production order...How much of this is a coincidence and how much of this was planned?
- Something else I noticed about "The Spear of Selene!" is that it aired on May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day. In the episode, we find out the spear isn't an artifact, but something else. Did this episode premiere that day to hint that the SOS was a spacecraft?
Also back in May, when the Radio Disney Music Awards took place, Disney released a music video collaboration with Marshmello using one of his songs, “Fly”. In the video, Scrooge, Donald and the kids are out having a space adventure and Marshmello helps them out along the way. I enjoyed the video a lot, but the whole time, I was wondering: Where’s Launchpad? Why is Donald shown driving the ship instead of the go-to pilot of the group? The ship even ends up crash landing on a planet, but they didn't want to use Launchpad? That’s his thing, why was he excluded? Could including him have been too revealing? Now that we know the Spear was a spacecraft and that Della is alive on the moon, the whole music video was alluding to a future plot point involving the family going off to save her. (Unless she ends up rebuilding the Spear in time.) If Launchpad had a relationship with Della, he’s going to want to be part of the mission. It’s very likely that he was left out because it would have closely resembled what would eventually happen and to also keep too many people from making a connection between LP and Della’s situation.
The Sunchaser, the red seaplane the family travels around in, belongs to Scrooge, but it is named after the first plane LP ever built in the original series. And fans have noted that the biplane Della rides in Scrooge’s “Last Crash” flashback resembles the Joyrider from the original series; another plane Launchpad has created. (In addition to this, he’s also created the Thunderquack in Darkwing Duck.)
- “Last Crash“ revealed that Della is not only a mechanic and a pilot, but she designs blueprints for vehicles as well. Are these concepts simply being recycled and reworked? Or could there be a deeper meaning behind this?
When the promo for “Storkules In Duckburg!” was released, I wondered if some plot elements from "The Golden Fleecing" would be recycled, like making a reference to how one of the harpies fell in love with Launchpad. But when the episode premiered, he (technically) didn't show up until the end. Which is completely understandable, because if this version of LP had an encounter with harpies during one of his past adventures, they certainly traumatized him, so why would he want to be involved when they’re flying around? I also had a feeling he wouldn't really be in this episode since Storkules was going to be the focus and we didn't get to see them interact in “Selene”. Storkules might know about LP through Della or LP might know about Storkules through her, so maybe they’re being kept away not to reveal much. (I’m also theorizing that Stork is being used to indirectly give us information about Launchpad. Something about their similarities and avoidance give off that vibe...Maybe I’ll save that subject for another time).
While there weren't any “Golden Fleecing” elements in the plot for me to look into, something else did capture my attention: Donald’s wall of family photos was updated! Most of them consisted of Donald and the boys doing various things when the were younger, but one particular photo looked very out of place...this one featured an adult duck who did not resemble Donald at all. He was more human-shaped with messy, white hair, a dark teal scarf, a brown jacket and tan pants, sitting on the ground giving a thumbs up to the camera. I quickly thought “Is this the father of the triplets?” Before I could drop my theory, I took notice of the strange green object behind the character. I was puzzled...it looked a lot like a cactus. As soon as I came to that conclusion, another came up: “Is that a PLANE? A crashed plane?! And he’s giving a thumbs up?! IS THAT LAUNCHPAD?!” I mean, why would they have yet another male pilot on the show, sporting brown and teal, who also has the tendency to break things? Isn't that cutting a little too close?
- But if this character is intended to be Launchpad, why is his hair white? Perhaps his likeness is being obscured to make us skeptical. Giving him hair red and making his chin more prominent would give too much away. (Donald and the boys aren't exactly on model either; Donald’s sailor hat is different and HDL’s eggs...were not that small...) Or maybe his hair is like that to imply that LP’s not a natural redhead?! (Gasp!) There’s official material where ‘87’s Launchpad is given white hair either by coloring error or it was once considered for him to look like this. Maybe the show-runners took this odd occurrence into consideration.
- So...why is there a lone photo of Launchpad surrounded by pictures of Donald raising the boys? And why does it disappear from the wall later on in the episode like we weren't supposed to see it? Scrooge, Mrs. B and Webby aren't featured anywhere on this wall and Donald still doesn't interact with Launchpad, so what is this all about? Could Donald know or suspect that LP is the father? Or is this meant to be meta foreshadowing for us fans to catch onto?
- Before Duckworth's reveal, he was hinted at a few times where his likeness was obscured: The ghost chasing the kids in Mrs. Beakley's short , the photograph of a floating orb of light on Webby's board and of course, the ram-headed spirit Black Arts Beagle summoned in “McManor”. Even though these depictions didn't look exactly like him, they all gave us a basic idea. The same could be happening for Launchpad.
When IGN released the SDCC trailer for the last four episodes of Season 1, everyone quickly took notice about how huge HDL’s eggs were in the family photo. We were in such disbelief, that we began to think perspective had come into play and simply made them seem that big. But when “Last Crash” premiered, this proved to have little effect. So...why did Della lay such humongous eggs?! Is this the standard size for ducks in this universe? Or was this meant to be an indicator that the father was on a higher level of anthropomorphization than Della was? (oh gosh, that word is long)
The scene in “The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!”, where Scrooge got Launchpad to dress-up as Donald in order to fool his parents, was hilarious. I immediately thought of how LP was created to replace fill the void Donald left behind in the old show and I think that’s what the joke was based on. I also found it interesting that he kept getting Donald’s story of moving into the mansion, mixed up with his own. Later on, I began to wonder if this scene was partially meant to be foreshadowing; that Donald will later feel like his role is being threatened by Launchpad. LP already sorta replaced Donald when it came to joining Scrooge on adventures and if Launchpad does end up being HDL’s father, and even when Della comes back, Donald could very well feel like his role as a parental figure is being endangered...at first.
Thinking back on "Beware of the B.U.D.D.Y System!" made me realize that there seems to be a trend going on where LP and the boys mimic each other:
- With Huey, it seems like their thing is matching. In the pilot episode, Launchpad was interested in wearing one of Huey’s matching family road trip shirts. And later on, they were shown wearing matching outfits and expressions in "Moorshire". They’re also involved in The Junior Woodchucks, so their scout uniforms go together as well. In “Day of The Only Child!”, LP drags Huey over to the Beagle Boys by the handkerchief and Huey drags him back by the sleeve in a similar manner. (Heh, LP seemed very surprised that Huey was able to do this, especially after not being able to move the tree log before this scene.)
- With Dewey, I think he and LP are going to continue to mimic each other's actions. This was noticeable in "B.U.D.D.Y" where they had the same reaction to Gyro's model train and during the scene where Mark is demonstrating the self-driving car to a crowd. They’re the only ones who use the “Buh?” sound of confusion; Dewey says it again in “The Secret of Castle McDuck!” when Huey asks him about rubbing a pencil on the back of the riddle they found and Launchpad says it again in “Shadow War” when Gyro explains what his Barksian Modulator is. “The World's Longest Deathtrap!” highlighted how like minded they are. Dewey was quick to throw the phone instead of using it for help like Launchpad was quick to drop the rope without tying it to something first.
- With Louie, I think their thing might be lying. LP helped Webby and Louie lie to Mrs. B in the pilot by pretending to be Uncle Hampus. While not with Louie, he did lie to Dewey about his side-quest being "tourist stuff" (and there's still the possibility that LP could be faking his general behavior to an extent.) LP sorta lied about how he went off to see Oceanika in “Depths” too, maybe not entirely, but he minimized the details. Something else worth noting is how Launchpad and Louie were mimicking each other’s actions towards the end of “Death Trap”
To be fair, all of this might just be a fun little gag. Fenton and Dewey mirrored some of each other’s actions in “B.U.D.D.Y”, and LP mirrored Webby in “Shadow War”, but at the same time, Fenton hasn't done it as much as Launchpad and perhaps he was so in-sync with Webby because she’s similar to Della. We need to see how much of this trend is carried on into Season 2 and if it’s mainly Launchpad who is involved for this to seriously count.
That's it for this post, but I'm not done just yet...the next part of this theory update will be focused on how odd Launchpad acted in the last two episodes of Season 1. I originally wanted to integrate those observations somewhere in here, but I think they're more worthy of having their own post.
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