HELPERS

 

  WDCS058 'Canyon Rescues' - 1945

Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews fall deep down into the Grand Canyon and Donald tries to get them out.

Comments:
Although Donald by virtue of his greater experience should be rescuing his nephews, the tables are quickly turned; they have to get their uncle out of the 'hot' water! Barks wrote a similar plot in WDCS228 'The Watchful Parent' 14 years later - and Donald had not grown any wiser...
In WDCS246 Lost Frontier Donald takes the nephews to the Grand Canyon to prove to them that cavemen don't exist. Again, the nephews risk their lives for their uncle, as they get into a fist fight with the strong cavemen who will not let Donald go.

 

  WDCS189 'Backyard Garden' - 1956

Synopsis:
Donald decides to beautify his backyard at springtime but there are gophers below with different ideas...

Comments:
In this story Barks gives us numerous well-thought examples of how not to deal with Mother Nature. Donald takes on the role of a blundering amateur botanist, while the nephews - using nothing but their common sense - try to teach him how nature works...

 

  WDCS191 'The Tracker' - 1956

Synopsis:
Donald is vacationing in the deep woods and he uses a scintillator to disclose the whereabouts of the nephews. But it only functions if it is turned on...

Comments:
Donald is not even moderately knowledgeable as a visitor to the woods, but, luckily, his nephews are able to help him when he gets hopelessly lost. They have taken on the role of surveyors and are able to point their uncle in the right direction using a map they have drawn.

 

  WDCS196 'The Snow Statue Contest' - 1957

Synopsis:
All Duckburgians are competing to build the finest snow statue and Donald thinks that a certain poor family should win. But the nephews' statue is better looking. Something has to be done...

Comments:
The nephews are on collision course with their uncle as both parties try to build the best snow statue for a competition in order to collect money for two needy children, but none of them are aware of the other party's intentions. The ongoing misunderstandings escalate as the nephews wreck Donald's statue and vice versa. In the end it becomes apparent that they are all working for a good cause.

 

  WDCS232 Under the Polar Ice - 1960

Synopsis:
The nephews have won a trip on a submarine but Donald stows away rather than face a punishment of peeling ten sacks of potatoes. But there are more potatoes that need to be peeled aboard the sub!

Comments:
The nephews - in their roles as Junior Woodchucks - have helped Donald out in numerous stories, and this is just one of them. Still, there is a twist this time; after having rescued their uncle from freezing waters and an aggressive polar bear, Donald is able to save the day by leading them towards the right way home by use of his special homing pigeon skill.

 

  WDCS234 Riding the Pony Express - 1960

Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews are guests on a dude ranch and they decide to revive the old Pony Express just for fun. But the game becomes serious!

Comments:
Donald reenacts the old Wild West days as a riding mailman, while the other tourists act as scalping Indians. But when he, purely by chance, is entrusted with some important government mail, his nephews have to help him deliver it.

 

  WDCS252 Mr. Private Eye - 1961

Synopsis:
Donald sees himself as a brilliant detective and does not hesitate to take a job protecting the priceless Cat's-Eye Opal.

Comments:
As it turns out, the nephews' detective skills are much greater than their uncle's. They manage to foil a potential robbery by the Beagle Boys. This also happened in WDCS291 Delivery Dilemma, in which two Beagle Boys' attempt to scam Scrooge out of his money failed because the nephews became suspicious.

 

  WDCS259 Jungle Bungle - 1962

Synopsis:
Donald is a skilled marksman with his bow and arrows and he is invited to Africa to shoot the pink-eyed rhinoceros with a tranquilizer arrow.

Comments:
It is not enough for Donald to be an expert if Lady Luck turns her back on him. Luckily, he has his nephews accompanying him on his African venture, and they manage to save him - as usual...

 

  WDCS269 A Matter of Factory - 1963

Synopsis:
Scrooge makes Donald the manager of one of his motels in order to show that his nephew is not a complete nobody. But 'motelling' is not that easy...

Comments:
The nephews work hard to help their uncle get his new business on its feet but to little avail. Despite the good work Donald does not succeed, because he is constantly cheated by the guests.
In WDCS204 'The Nose Job' the nephews also loyally helped Donald in his new job as cleaner of the huge stone head of senator Snoggin at the side of Mount Mushmore. The difference this time was Donald's incompetence that destroyed the work.

 

  WDCS282 Bubbleweight Champ - 1964

Synopsis:
The joust between the JW's from Goosetown and Duckburg ends in a tie and now their trainers have to reach a decision. Donald acts for Duckburg...

Comments:
In this story Donald goes to great lengths in order to help his nephews and the JWs out of a predicament; he volunteers to take part in a boxing fight, although he has never tried that sort of thing before. The nephews, though, have to get him fit to compete.

 

 

 

http://www.cbarks.dk/thenephewsstorieshelpers.htm   Date 2008-12-17