DUCKTALES: FORTUNE AND FEATHERS - Script / Screenplay
DUCKTALES: FORTUNE AND FEATHERS
A Live-Action Adventure Comedy
Written by
[Kalifornia jani - Jani Apukka]
Inspired by characters created by Carl Barks and the world of DuckTales
FADE IN:
EXT. DUCKBURG – DAWN
A sprawling coastal city glistens in the early light.
Seagulls cry. The harbor bustles with ferries and fishing boats.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Duckburg. City of dreams, dollars, and ducks. Where fortunes are made — and stolen — faster than you can say “what the blazes!”
We pan up from the docks to the gleaming skyline. A massive bronze statue of SCROOGE McDUCK stands proudly in the square, cane in hand.
EXT. McDUCK MANOR – MORNING
A grand estate overlooking the city. Gleaming gates. A vintage Rolls-Royce with duck feet insignia rolls up the driveway.
Inside, the mansion hums with life.
INT. McDUCK MANOR – TROPHY ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Ancient treasures from around the world — idols, gold coins, and relics — line the walls.
SCROOGE McDUCK (70s) — trim, fiery-eyed, in a sharp red coat — polishes a solid gold pocket watch.
SCROOGE
(to himself)
Aye, the sun’s up and the markets are open — time tae make another million!
INT. KITCHEN – SAME TIME
HUEY, DEWEY, and LOUIE (early teens) are in organized chaos. Pancakes fly, coffee brews, and an old TV runs a news report.
TV ANCHOR (ON SCREEN)
…police have few leads on the recent spree of armored car robberies, believed to be the work of the Beagle Boys gang—
DEWEY
(grinning)
Think Uncle Scrooge knows them?
HUEY
Yeah, from all the times they tried to rob him.
LOUIE
Hey, that’s called networking in business.
MRS. BEAKLEY (60s) enters, stern and sharp.
BEAKLEY
Breakfast. Then school. And no “networking.”
LOUIE
(sighs)
Fine. But if the Beagle Boys hit the Money Bin, I’m saying “told ya so.”
INT. SCROOGE’S OFFICE – MORNING
Scrooge is pacing before a massive window overlooking Duckburg.
GYRO GEARLOOSE, eccentric inventor, holds a strange humming device.
GYRO
It’s a magneto-anti-theft field! Repels anything made of metal within fifty yards.
SCROOGE
And how much will it cost me?
GYRO
Well, accounting for materials, prototype loss, emotional trauma—
SCROOGE
Fifty dollars. Final offer.
GYRO
You drive a hard bargain, Mr. McDuck.
Scrooge smiles. Behind them, the phone rings. Scrooge picks it up.
SCROOGE
McDuck Enterprises. Ye steal it, ye buy it back twice the price.
INTERCUT – EXT. DUCKBURG BANK – SAME TIME
CHIEF O’HARA (human, gruff cop) stands outside a bank cordoned off with police tape.
O’HARA
McDuck! The Beagle Boys hit again. They got clean away. Same M.O. as last time.
SCROOGE (ON PHONE)
Blast those mongrels! They wouldn’t dare if I still had me vault open for tours!
O’HARA
This time, they didn’t just steal cash. They took a… map.
SCROOGE
A map?! What kind of—
He freezes. Eyes narrow.
SCROOGE (cont’d)
—oh, feathers and fortune. That cannae be…
EXT. MONEY BIN – MIDDAY
The towering Money Bin looms like a fortress atop Killmotor Hill. Security guards swarm.
Scrooge and Gyro arrive in a vintage car. Huey, Dewey, and Louie sneak out of the backseat, following unseen.
SCROOGE
(to Gyro)
If it’s what I think it is, we’re in for more trouble than a goose in molasses.
INT. MONEY BIN – ARCHIVE VAULT
Scrooge swipes a security badge and descends a steel staircase into a vault of relics.
He stops before a display case. Inside: a missing space where a parchment once lay.
SCROOGE
(blanching)
The map tae the Treasure of the Golden Gander…
GYRO
I thought that was just a legend!
SCROOGE
Every legend starts with a receipt.
EXT. DUCKBURG – BACK ALLEY – DAY
The BEAGLE BOYS — Bigtime, Burger, and Bouncer — slink through an alley. They’re bruised, dirty, but grinning, clutching an old scroll.
BIGTIME BEAGLE
Boss’s gonna flip when he sees this!
(snickers)
We’ll be richer than McDuck!
MAGICA DE SPELL (O.S.)
Correction.
A shadow falls across them. From the smoke steps MAGICA DE SPELL, a sultry sorceress in a trench coat, raven perched on her shoulder.
MAGICA
I’ll be richer than McDuck.
The Beagles gulp. Magica’s eyes gleam.
MAGICA (cont’d)
Hand over the map, boys… or I’ll turn you into a matching set of handbags.
EXT. MONEY BIN – ROOFTOP – SUNSET
Scrooge stands on the roof, looking out over the glowing city. The nephews join him, wind whipping their feathers.
HUEY
Uncle Scrooge… what’s the Treasure of the Golden Gander?
SCROOGE
Aye, lad. Legend says it’s the nest egg of the first fortune ever hatched. Whoever finds it — their wealth never runs out.
DEWEY
So… endless money?
SCROOGE
And endless trouble, if it falls in the wrong hands.
He tightens his grip on his cane.
SCROOGE (cont’d)
And I’ll be plucked before I let Magica De Spell get it first.
INT. MAGICA’S HIDEOUT – NIGHT
A candlelit warehouse filled with occult trinkets and stolen tech.
Magica spreads the stolen map across a table. It glows faintly.
MAGICA
Soon, the Gander’s fortune will be mine… and Scrooge’s Number One Dime shall power it.
She cackles. Lightning flashes outside.
EXT. DUCKBURG – SKYLINE – NIGHT
Thunder rumbles over the city.
Scrooge’s Rolls speeds through rain, Gyro driving, the boys in back.
SCROOGE (V.O.)
Adventure, danger, profit. That’s the McDuck way.
The car vanishes into the night — toward peril, profit, and destiny.
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT I
FADE IN:
ACT II
EXT. DUCKBURG HARBOR – NIGHT
Rain lashes the deck cranes and stacked containers. Sodium lamps smear light on wet steel.
A battered FISHING TRAWLER throttles away from the pier.
On the dock, SCROOGE, GYRO, and the NEPHEWS sprint, soaked. DEWEY points.
DEWEY
That’s them! Beagle Boys, twelve o’clock — well, like… eight o’clock and drifting!
SCROOGE
After them! Gyro, yer contraption!
Gyro pulls a shoebox-sized device from his trench. It hums.
GYRO
Mark I Magneto-Repeller. Or possibly Attractor. I may have misread my own handwriting.
He slaps a switch. The device WHUMS. Every tool on the dock trembles — and ZINGS toward the trawler, clattering against its hull.
LOUIE
I’m guessing that’s the Attractor.
The trawler sags under the junk weight.
HUEY
They’re not getting far.
Across the pier, BIGTIME, BOUNCER, and BURGER BEAGLE shove the throttle. The engine COUGHS, GRINDS — then DIES under the scrap heap.
BIGTIME
Why does science hate us?
From the shadows: MAGICA DE SPELL watches, umbrella elegant, raven perched. She flicks her wrist — purple sparks. The heap of metal flies OFF the trawler like confetti.
MAGICA
Buona notte, gentlemen.
The trawler surges forward.
SCROOGE
Magica! After her!
Gyro frantically twists dials; the device EXPLODES in a puff, covering him in glitter.
GYRO
Don’t… breathe the glitter.
HUEY
We need a boat!
SCROOGE
We have a boat!
He gestures to a tiny SEA-FOAM GREEN PADDLEBOAT with a flamingo on the bow.
DEWEY
…That is not a boat. That is a lifestyle choice.
SCROOGE
Row, lads!
They cram in. Scrooge rows with furious economy; the nephews paddle like maniacs. They actually gain on the trawler.
LOUIE
Note: cardio works.
A wave lifts the paddleboat; they SLAM into the trawler’s stern. Scrooge hooks his cane on the rail and swings aboard, nimble for his age. The boys follow. Gyro wheezes up last, glittering like a disco ball.
EXT. FISHING TRAWLER – CONTINUOUS
A rooftop brawl on a rocking deck. The Beagle Boys swing chains and fishnets. The nephews duck and weave.
BOUNCER lunges at HUEY. Huey flips open his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook.
HUEY
Page 73 — “Improvised Levers.”
He jams a mop under a crate; lever-action sends Bouncer tumbling into a bait barrel.
BOUNCER
Shrimp went up my nose!
DEWEY skids under BIGTIME’s legs, yanking shoelaces. Bigtime faceplants.
DEWEY
Have a nice trip!
LOUIE brandishes a flare gun.
LOUIE
No one move — I am unpredictable.
Across the deck, SCROOGE duels BURGER, cane vs. anchor chain.
SCROOGE
Where’s the map, ye lummox?
BURGER
I ate it!
Beat.
BURGER (sheepish)
…It looked like a tortilla.
Scrooge stares, aghast.
SCROOGE
You gastronomic barbarian.
A crackle. MAGICA steps from the wheelhouse, eyes glowing. She holds the MAP, intact — shimmering with runes.
MAGICA
Relax, McDuck. I kept the original. The Beagles only got the placemat version.
She twirls her fingers; spectral ropes bind Scrooge and the boys.
MAGICA (cont’d)
The Treasure of the Golden Gander awakens tonight, under the storm. But it requires the most… sentimental of currencies.
She taps Scrooge’s chest with a nail.
MAGICA (whisper)
Your Number One Dime.
SCROOGE
Over me dead beak.
MAGICA
Don’t tempt me.
The trawler lurches. SIRENS in the distance. CHIEF O’HARA’s patrol boats approach.
O’HARA (MEGAPHONE, O.S.)
Cut the engine and step away from any sorceresses!
Magica scowls. She snaps her fingers — vanishing in a storm of purple cinders. The spectral ropes dissolve.
Bigtime, Bouncer, and Burger look around — then dive overboard with life rings labeled “PROPERTY OF CITY OF DUCKBURG.”
DEWEY
Are they… stealing their own rescue?
SCROOGE
Let them go. We have bigger bogeys.
He eyes the sky, worried.
INT. MCDUCK MANOR – WAR ROOM – LATER
Maps, relics, chalkboards. A CITY MAP pinned with red string, converging on the OLD DUCKBURG AQUEDUCTS.
Gyro hacks at a laptop covered in warning stickers.
GYRO
I triangulated Magica’s energy signatures with municipal ley lines and pizza delivery routes.
HUEY
Why pizza?
GYRO
It’s science. And I’m hungry.
SCROOGE
So where is she?
GYRO
If the map is legit, she’s headed underground — the catacombs beneath Old Duckburg. Entrance points here, here, and… here.
He circles the OLD FOUNTAIN SQUARE.
LOUIE
Tourist central. Great. Nothing says stealth like being photobombed by a busload from Toontown.
DEWEY
We need gear. Flashlights, rope, snacks, emotional resilience—
SCROOGE
We’ll take the Gearloose Grab-Bag and me cane. That’s all we’ll need.
GYRO
I also have a prototype Pocket Parachute, Hyper-Scooter, and Perception Inverter Goggles which—
SCROOGE
We’ll take it all.
EXT. OLD FOUNTAIN SQUARE – NIGHT
Rain has slowed to a mist. Street performers pack up. The fountain’s angel statue dribbles water.
Scrooge presses carved ducks on the fountain rim in a sequence. Stone grinds. The base rotates revealing a spiral stair.
DEWEY
Secret stairs in a public fountain. Love this city.
They descend.
INT. OLD DUCKBURG CATACOMBS – CONTINUOUS
Arches of ancient brick. Knee-deep water glows with bioluminescent algae.
HUEY checks the Guidebook.
HUEY
“Beware of sudden drops, crypt bats, and metaphorical pitfalls.” That last one’s vague.
Gyro hands out helmet lamps.
GYRO
Also — each helmet doubles as a balloon animal.
He twists one; it squeaks into a poodle on his head.
LOUIE
Ten out of ten.
Echoing footsteps ahead. Voices.
BIGTIME (O.S.)
C’mon, burgers-for-brains, the witch said meet at the big bird statue!
BOUNCER (O.S.)
I thought we weren’t supposed to say her name.
BURGER (O.S.)
Can we stop for snacks?
Scrooge signals: quiet. They duck behind a pillar as the Beagles trudge past, dripping.
DEWEY
If Magica’s meeting them, maybe we can tail and find the treasure first.
SCROOGE
Or we can outflank ‘em. These tunnels predate most city blocks. There’s a shortcut.
He taps an inscription; a panel slides, revealing a narrow passage.
INT. NARROW PASSAGE – CONTINUOUS
Single-file squeeze. The walls hum faintly.
GYRO
Hearing that? Harmonic resonance at 54 hertz. Means we’re close to a geologically significant… thing.
HUEY
“Thing” is not a scientific term.
GYRO
It is after midnight.
They pop out into—
INT. SUBTERRANEAN CHAMBER – MOMENTS LATER
A vast circular vault. In the center: a colossal GOLDEN GOOSE STATUE (the “Gander”), wings half-spread, eyes inlaid with opals. Runes circle the floor like a compass rose.
LOUIE
Hello, you beautiful bank account.
SCROOGE
Aye…
He steps forward reverently.
From the far arch, Magica strides in, raven circling. The Beagles straggle behind, muddy and confused.
MAGICA
You’re early, McDuck. Rude.
SCROOGE
You’re trespassing on civic property.
MAGICA
Please. The city trespassed on my destiny.
She unfurls the MAP; the runes on the floor ignite, tracing lines to the statue.
HUEY
The compass rose isn’t pointing north. It’s pointing at—
GYRO
—emotional resonance. The treasure calibrates to the seeker’s first earned coin.
Magica smiles, stalking closer to Scrooge.
MAGICA
Your dime, Scrooge. Give it freely, and you may keep your heart. Refuse, and… well, I never liked that statue anyway.
Scrooge clutches his hat brim — where the NUMBER ONE DIME is pinned inside.
Beat. The nephews look at him, scared but trusting.
SCROOGE
You’ll get it when ducks fly.
MAGICA
…You live in Duckburg.
She gestures. The Beagles, compelled, lunge. Chaos. The nephews tangle them up with rope and a collapsing ladder (thanks, Gyro — who absolutely did not mean to collapse the ladder).
Magica and Scrooge circle the golden goose, cane vs. magic.
MAGICA
You think wealth is your armor. It’s your leash.
SCROOGE
Wealth is a tool. Family is the treasure.
Magica’s eyes flick to the boys — then back, annoyed.
MAGICA
Spare me your greeting-card theology.
She blasts the floor; a rune-arc knocks Scrooge backward. His hat flies. The DIME gleams midair, then CLINKS across the runes, stopping at the goose’s claw.
DEWEY
No no no—
Magica reaches — LOUIE dives, slides on algae, and SNATCHES the dime first.
LOUIE
Not today, eyeliner!
Magica growls. She raises both hands. The runes brighten to blinding.
GYRO
Everybody down!
He yanks the POCKET PARACHUTE; it opens — indoors — becoming a nonsense canopy that catches falling debris and a very confused bat.
The runes surge. The goose statue’s eyes ignite. The chamber trembles. Water sloshes over the edge channels — revealing gears beneath the surface.
HUEY
It’s a mechanism!
GYRO
The map is a key! It’s power-up time!
Magica slams the map onto a pedestal. It locks in, becoming a dial. She turns it; gears CLACK. The goose’s chest opens, revealing a GOLDEN NEST — empty, except for ancient ashes and a slot the size of a coin.
MAGICA
Final call, McDuck.
SCROOGE
Boys.
He kneels to the nephews, urgent.
SCROOGE (low)
We cannae let her harness it. If the legend’s true, the Gander gives fortune… but takes in equal measure. Curse o’ balance. Remember?
HUEY
So if she powers it, something else gets drained?
DEWEY
Like the whole city’s luck.
LOUIE
Which would be bad for business.
A rumble. The ceiling cracks. Underground rivulets spill in.
GYRO
We’re on a clock. A very damp clock.
SCROOGE
Louie — the dime.
Louie swallows, hands the dime to Scrooge.
Scrooge looks across to Magica — a lifetime of rivalry between them — and steps toward the slot.
Magica softens, almost gentle.
MAGICA
At last.
SCROOGE
On me terms.
He flips the dime into the slot — and wrenches the dial the opposite way.
MAGICA
NO!
The runes flash GREEN instead of purple. The goose chest roars — and a TORRENT OF GOLDEN LIGHT blasts upward — not toward Magica, but outward along canals in the floor, racing down tunnels — radiating toward Duckburg.
HUEY
He reversed the polarity of the fortune flow!
GYRO
How did you—
SCROOGE
Read the footnotes.
Magica staggers, screaming, as the current whips around her; her magic dissolves into feathers and sparks. The Beagles’ stolen cash — from a dozen robberies — suddenly tugs loose from their pockets and FLOATS toward the canals, sucked away like leaves in a current.
BOUNCER
My retirement fund!
BURGER
Your retirement fund was a burger punch card.
The chamber shakes harder. The goose statue CRACKS along its neck.
GYRO
Bad news — the feedback loop’s going to tear this place apart!
DEWEY
Exit, anyone?
LOUIE
How about “up”?
Gyro slaps the HYPER-SCOOTER — a fold-out platform with a propeller. It whirs to life. The nephews hop on; it wobbles, then steadies.
HUEY
Weight limit?
GYRO
Yes!
Stone starts to fall. Scrooge looks at the dime slot. The dime is FUSED in, glowing.
SCROOGE
Go! I’ll fetch me dime!
HUEY
No way we’re leaving you!
SCROOGE (hard)
That’s an order.
He braces his cane, tries to pry the dime loose. Sparks.
Magica, coughing, tries one last spell — a shadowy hand reaching for Scrooge’s hat — but DEWEY flings the PERCEPTION INVERTER GOGGLES onto her face. Her perspective flips; she reels backward, hexes ricocheting harmlessly.
DEWEY
Ha! Now left is right and up is existential crisis!
MAGICA
I hate your family!
She rips the goggles off, hurls them — the lenses SHATTER, unleashing a hiccupy time-lag that momentarily freezes her between frames.
GYRO
Did not expect that feature.
The goose’s chest CAVES. The chamber floods with golden light and water.
O’HARA (O.S., faint)
Anyone alive down there?!
SCROOGE
Boys! Out, now!
The nephews and Gyro launch the Hyper-Scooter; it whines upward through a ventilation shaft, carrying them like a wobbling elevator.
Scrooge pries at the dime, teeth gritted. It won’t budge.
Magica, panting, lunges. The platform sputters — loses altitude.
LOUIE
We’re not making it without ballast!
He jumps OFF, splashing next to Scrooge.
HUEY/DEWEY
Louie!
LOUIE (to Scrooge)
You helped us believe in the McDuck way. Now believe in the Louie way. Which is… opportunistic heroism! I’ll distract her!
Louie pelts Magica with marbles from his hoodie pocket. She skids, slips, whacks her shin on a rune-stone.
MAGICA
OW!
SCROOGE (moved)
Ye daft, brave lad.
The scooter rises with Huey, Dewey, and Gyro — barely.
Scrooge sets his cane against the dime and whispers.
SCROOGE (soft)
You were my first, little penny. Hardest nickel I ever earned. You taught me the worth o’ work. Time to teach one more lesson.
He pulls a TINY SPRING-LOADED WEDGE from the cane tip, plants it under the dime, and cranks.
CLICK.
The dime POPS free — and the light collapses inward like a breath held too long.
MAGICA (horrified)
No—!
The goose statue IMPLODES, sending a shockwave through the chamber. The canals SLURP the last of the stolen fortune and wink dark.
Silence. Then — RUMMMMMBLE. The ceiling starts to GO.
SCROOGE grabs Louie. They sprint.
INT. FLOODING TUNNEL – SECONDS LATER
Water surges. Scrooge and Louie dash, waves nipping at their heels.
Ahead — a collapsed arch. No way through.
LOUIE
Alternative plan?
Scrooge glances up — an old maintenance ladder leading to a rusted grate.
He jams his cane into the grate — won’t budge.
SCROOGE
On three! One—two—
LOUIE
Three!
They heave. The grate gives — O’HARA and two OFFICERS above, hauling them out as water BLASTS past their feet.
EXT. OLD FOUNTAIN SQUARE – CONTINUOUS
They tumble onto the wet cobbles. Huey, Dewey, and Gyro crash-land nearby on the sputtering Hyper-Scooter, which promptly explodes into a tasteful puff of confetti.
GYRO
It died doing what it loved — violating warranty terms.
Scrooge, soaked, checks his hat. The NUMBER ONE DIME — safe. He exhales.
HUEY
Uncle Scrooge! You did it!
DEWEY
But… what happened to the treasure?
Around the square, phones buzz. News alerts. A nearby tourist gasps.
TOURIST
Hey! The banks are reporting anonymous deposits! And the city’s infrastructure fund just… doubled?
O’HARA
Looks like someone paid back the city with interest.
Scrooge smiles, quiet and proud.
Across the fountain, a WET, FURIOUS MAGICA crawls up a storm drain, hair frazzled, mascara in rivers. She glares at Scrooge.
MAGICA
This isn’t over.
SCROOGE
It never is.
She snatches a fallen rune-stone shard — and flings it. It HITS Scrooge’s cane, knocking it into the fountain.
Magica vanishes in a bitter puff of smoke, raven cawing after her.
LOUIE
That felt petty.
SCROOGE
She’s a sore loser. And an even sorer winner.
O’HARA
We got half the Beagles in custody. Other half went out with the tide. We’ll trawl ‘em.
HUEY
And the catacombs?
GYRO
Unstable. I’d give them a C-minus for structural integrity.
O’HARA
We’ll cordon it off. City’ll love that.
Scrooge looks out over the square — citizens checking accounts, laughing, hugging as unexpected deposits appear. A busker plays a triumphant riff.
DEWEY
So… win?
SCROOGE
Aye. For now.
He palms the dime. It flickers faintly — like it still hums with the Gander’s residual power.
He frowns.
SCROOGE (low, to Gyro)
Tell me true, lad. We didn’t just smash a statue. We turned a key in something bigger.
GYRO (equally low)
You reversed a flow toward the city — but energy like that doesn’t just vanish. It echoes. There’ll be… side effects.
SCROOGE
What kind?
GYRO
Lucky breaks. Unlucky ones. Strange attracts strange.
SCROOGE
Story o’ me life.
He squares his shoulders.
SCROOGE (to the boys)
Home, lads. We dry off, have cocoa, and prepare for Round Three.
LOUIE
Cocoa, then Round Three. Priorities.
They head toward the waiting Rolls.
Behind them, unseen in the shadows — the BEAGLE BOYS, shivering, watch with narrowed eyes.
BIGTIME
Listen up. The witch wants the dime. McDuck wants the dime. Whoever gets it, we get paid. So tonight… we take the shiny nickel.
BOUNCER
It’s a dime, boss.
BIGTIME
Then we take the shiny dime. Quiet-like.
They slip away.
INT. MCDUCK MANOR – NIGHT
Warm lamplight. The storm has passed. The city’s glow twinkles through rain-streaked windows.
MRS. BEAKLEY ushers in blankets and cocoa. The boys burrow into them.
BEAKLEY
If you track one more subterranean river into my parlor, I will sell your skateboards on the internet.
DEWEY
We don’t have skateboards.
BEAKLEY
Then I will buy them… and sell them.
She eyes Scrooge’s hat, concerned.
BEAKLEY (soft)
You okay, Mr. McDuck?
SCROOGE
Aye. Thank you, Beakley.
She nods, exits.
HUEY
Uncle Scrooge… do you think Magica will try again tonight?
SCROOGE
If I were her, I’d be licking my wounds. But she’s not me. She’s worse.
He sets his hat and dime on the mantel — only for GYRO to immediately pick the dime up with tongs and drop it in a LEAD-LINED TEA TIN.
GYRO
Just until I can neutralize the residual glamour. No offense to your sentimental metallurgy.
SCROOGE
None taken.
LOUIE
So we’re safe?
GYRO
Statistically safer than moments ago.
DEWEY
I don’t love that phrasing.
A CREAK overhead. All glance up.
SCROOGE
The attic?
Another creak — then a THUD.
SCROOGE (grim)
We’re not safe.
He gestures; the boys nod, suddenly energized. Adventure posture.
SCROOGE
Positions. Quiet as church mice.
LOUIE
We are ducks.
SCROOGE
Then quiet as ducks in church.
They spread out — Gyro with a flashlight contraption, Huey with a guidebook-turned-shield, Dewey with a lacrosse stick, Louie with… a throw pillow.
Scrooge takes a candlestick like a sword.
They creep up the stairs.
INT. MCDUCK MANOR – ATTIC – CONTINUOUS
Dark shapes. Old trunks. A moonbeam across dust motes.
A SHADOW moves.
Scrooge signals. On three — they RUSH, flipping on lights.
REVEAL: WEBBY VANDERQUACK (early teens), in night-ops gear, perched atop a trunk, a grappling hook gun across her lap, eyes wide.
WEBBY
Uh. Hi. Don’t shoot?
Beat. The boys deflate.
DEWEY
Webby! We thought you were a thief.
WEBBY
I am a thief. Of secrets!
She grins, sheepish and thrilled.
WEBBY (cont’d)
Also — your front gate security was off by, like, a lot. I came to warn you.
SCROOGE
About?
WEBBY
Magica’s not retreating. She’s regrouping. She’s after the dime — but she needs something else: a “counterbalance.” She’s trying to steal the Goose’s feather.
HUEY
The what now?
Webby pulls a battered field notebook.
WEBBY
The Golden Gander myth isn’t only a nest. It’s a pair: the nest and the feather. Balance. Carl Barks’ early journals mention a feather reliquary — it was dug up when they built Duckburg Union Station. Displayed in the Transit Museum. For years.
She flips to a newspaper clipping: “RAIL HISTORY EXHIBIT OPENS.”
GYRO
Union Station closes at midnight.
WEBBY
Magica has keys that aren’t keys.
SCROOGE
Then so do we.
He snatches his hat and cane.
SCROOGE (to the room)
We defend the city’s luck. We keep the dime. We stop Magica from getting the feather. And we root out any Beagle skulking in me pantry.
LOUIE
Why the pantry?
SCROOGE
Because I would.
He sweeps to the door. The family follows, energized.
The LEAD-LINED TEA TIN sits on the mantel — pulsing faintly.
In the vent above the fireplace, unseen, TWO BEAGLE EYES watch.
BIGTIME (whisper, O.S.)
Shiny dime, shiny dime…
The vent cover slides quietly shut.
EXT. DUCKBURG UNION STATION – LATE NIGHT
An Art Deco cathedral of steel and glass. Rain beading on the archways. A massive clock ticks toward 1:00 A.M.
Scrooge’s Rolls pulls up. The team disembarks — Webby armed with grappling hook, Gyro with a duffel of nonsense, the nephews in stealth hoodies.
HUEY
Transit Museum entrance is on the east concourse.
WEBBY
There will be guards. Cameras. Possibly ghosts. I did the tour twice.
DEWEY
Do ghosts validate parking?
SCROOGE
Stay sharp.
They slip inside.
INT. UNION STATION – CONCOURSE – CONTINUOUS
Grand space, echoing footsteps. A lone JANITOR sweeps, earbuds in. Security monitor glows.
WEBBY
Camera blind spot every thirty-two seconds when the feed resets. On my mark…
The team moves in bursts, freezing between rotations. It’s goofy and tense and weirdly balletic.
GYRO trips, drops a device — it sprouts tiny legs and runs away.
GYRO (hissing)
Come back! Don’t be independent!
They reach the museum doors.
SCROOGE
Webby?
Webby picks the lock in two seconds, gives a proud smile.
WEBBY
I take electives.
They slip into—
INT. DUCKBURG TRANSIT MUSEUM – CONTINUOUS
Dim halls; displays of vintage tickets, rails, and a gleaming RELIQUARY CASE on a dais — inside, a single IRIDESCENT FEATHER, faintly glowing.
DEWEY
That is either priceless or going to molt on me.
An icy whisper.
MAGICA (O.S.)
Don’t worry, I’ll keep it warm.
She steps from the shadows, flanked by TWO SHADOW-DOUBLES — illusionary clones that flicker.
LOUIE
Okay, that’s new.
MAGICA
Round two. I learned from round one.
She flicks her hand; the reliquary CASE POPS. The feather levitates toward her.
SCROOGE
Not this time!
He flings his cane; it hooks the case lid, slamming it shut. The feather drops with a CLINK — alarms squeal.
GYRO
I can fix that!
He slaps a device on the alarm panel. The device screams louder.
GYRO
I cannot fix that!
SECURITY LIGHTS flash. Footsteps echo — GUARDS converging.
Magica snarls, eyes blazing.
MAGICA
Enough games.
She lifts both hands — a spell building like a storm surge.
WEBBY
Split the clones!
Webby grapples to the mezzanine, swings, and kicks through a clone — it bursts like smoke. The real Magica staggers.
HUEY rifles the Guidebook.
HUEY
“Counter-Illusions: Don’t fight the shadow, fight the source.”
DEWEY and LOUIE flank, pelting Magica with… snow globes from the gift shop. She shields, cracks forming in her aura.
Scrooge dashes for the feather — and BIGTIME BEAGLE drops from a banner, tackle-hugging him.
BIGTIME
Hi, we’re robbing you!
SCROOGE
Get off, ye bargain-bin mastiff!
They tumble across the floor. BOUNCER and BURGER crash in through a side door, knock over a diorama labeled “THE GOLDEN AGE OF RAIL,” which is ironic.
BURGER
I found the snack car!
He bites a wax hotdog.
BURGER (spitting)
This museum is lies!
Chaos crescendos.
Magica, growling, yanks the feather with a violent pull — it zips into her palm. The glow intensifies. Her power stabilizes.
MAGICA (exultant)
Feather… dime… destiny.
She looks to Scrooge’s hat — then stops, frowning.
MAGICA
Where is it.
SCROOGE (proud)
Safe.
MAGICA
You wouldn’t bring it after tonight’s lesson. Unless—
She looks at the nephews. They stiffen.
MAGICA (smiles)
You hid it at home.
SCROOGE
You won’t set foot in me manor again!
MAGICA
I don’t have to.
She whirls her hand; shadows slither across the floor like snakes — then spear into the cracks of the museum tile, racing off in all directions.
GYRO (horrified)
She’s sending a shadow-path! It will find the dime!
SCROOGE
Boys—!
WEBBY fires her grappling hook, yanks a TRANSIT MAP off the wall and slams it onto the floor.
WEBBY
Block the tile cracks! Make a moat!
They unravel posters, spill sand from a “Beach Train Exhibit,” scatter marbles. The shadow snakes hit the barriers and splinter, writhing.
MAGICA
You can’t stop all of them.
DEWEY
Maybe not. But we can stop you.
He hurls a snow globe. Magica bats it aside — straight into the reliquary case, shattering it. The feather ripples brighter.
HUEY
That’s—bad?
GYRO
Very!
The GUARDS finally burst in — then immediately get tangled with the Beagle Boys.
O’HARA (O.S.)
Freeze! Put down the — is that a wax hotdog?
BURGER
It was!
Scrooge charges Magica. She blasts him. He skids, hat tumbling — empty.
Magica laughs, breathless.
MAGICA
You taught me something tonight too, Scrooge. Fortune favors the prepared — and the cruel.
She vanishes in a cyclone of shadow and featherlight, cackling, leaving the museum a mess of lights, alarms, and outraged historical signage.
Beat of stunned silence.
DEWEY
Did we… lose?
SCROOGE
Not yet.
He turns — face set, fierce — to O’Hara.
SCROOGE
Chief, get every unit to McDuck Manor. Now. She’s going for the dime.
O’HARA
Moving!
He speaks into his radio, barking orders.
Scrooge whirls to the kids and Gyro.
SCROOGE
Home. Fast as lightning.
GYRO
I have a faster-than-lightning prototype!
He holds up a tiny skateboard with a desk fan.
GYRO
It’s not very fast.
SCROOGE
Car. Now.
They bolt.
EXT. MCDUCK MANOR – PRE-DAWN
A bruised sky. Police cruisers streak up the drive. Scrooge’s Rolls fishtails to a stop.
They pile out — Scrooge ahead with surprising speed for a septuagenarian duck.
The front door is… open.
SCROOGE (calling)
Beakley?
No answer.
They push in.
INT. MCDUCK MANOR – PARLOR – CONTINUOUS
Stillness. A single teacup on the table, steaming.
On the mantel — the LEAD-LINED TEA TIN — OPEN. Empty.
HUEY
No…
A NOTE pinned to the curtain with a rune-tipped hairpin:
“Balance, then bounty. Sunrise on Killmotor Hill. — M.”
Scrooge reads it, jaw tight.
SCROOGE
She’s taking the dime to the Money Bin.
DEWEY
Why there?
GYRO
It’s the biggest concentration of wealth for a thousand miles. If she unites dime and feather at sunrise… she’ll flip the city’s fortune for good.
LOUIE
As in, for bad.
WEBBY
We have, like, thirty minutes.
SCROOGE
Then every second counts.
He turns to face his legacy — the gigantically silhouetted MONEY BIN, visible through the window on the far hill, ominous against the waking sky.
SCROOGE (V.O.)
Fortune. Family. Featherheads who want both. Time to settle the account.
He adjusts his hat brim.
SCROOGE
To the Bin.
They move out with purpose — a ragtag, resolute line of silhouettes — into the paling night.
The camera lingers on the empty tea tin, the faint feather-glow still clinging to the note.
The clock ticks.
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT II
FADE IN:
ACT III
EXT. KILLMOTOR HILL – PRE-DAWN
A bruised blue horizon. Wind scrapes across scrub grass. At the summit, the MONEY BIN looms like a monolith, its steel walls cold and wet with dew.
Police cruisers form a perimeter. CHIEF O’HARA briefs officers, radio crackling.
O’HARA
Maintain distance. No one goes in without my say. The witch is inside, and I don’t want anyone turned into lawn furniture.
SCROOGE, HUEY, DEWEY, LOUIE, WEBBY, and GYRO hurry up the last slope.
O’HARA (to Scrooge)
We sealed the ground floor, but she slipped in through the ventilation stack. I didn’t know sorcery could crawl.
SCROOGE
It can do a lot when it wants me dime.
GYRO
Also, vents are kind of security colanders.
WEBBY
How many entrances?
O’HARA
One we control, three she does. The vents, the roof maintenance hatch, and the underground trolley spur you never decommissioned.
SCROOGE
I like a quick exit.
HUEY
We need the opposite: a quick entry. And a plan for the sunrise timing.
DEWEY
Is the sunrise… punctual?
GYRO
Cosmologically, very.
SCROOGE
Right. This is a siege we win by brains, not brawn. Gyro—tools.
Gyro drops his duffel. Out tumble: suction-cup gloves, a roll of reflective film, three hockey pucks with antennae, and something labeled DO NOT TURN ON.
LOUIE
I’m drawn to that one.
GYRO
Don’t be.
WEBBY (checking binoculars)
Rooftop hatch is ajar. Movement inside. And—uh oh.
She refocuses. BEAGLE BOYS—BIGTIME, BOUNCER, BURGER—crawl along the east buttress, duct-taped together like a three-duck rappel team.
BIGTIME
Quiet-like, boys.
They immediately clatter a wrench down the slope. The cops don’t see.
SCROOGE
Those gallows geese again…
HUEY
We can use them. Distraction phase?
SCROOGE (grim smile)
Aye. Let thieves trip witches.
INT. MONEY BIN – MAIN VAULT FLOOR – DAWN
An atrium of industrial catwalks and conveyors surrounding the central vault shaft. The SUNRISE licks the rim of the skylights.
On a platform above the vault mouth, MAGICA DE SPELL arranges the FEATHER in a silver cradle and sets Scrooge’s NUMBER ONE DIME in a bronze socket. Runes etched into the steel faintly glow.
Her RAVEN hops and caws.
MAGICA
Hush, Poe. A lifetime of failures has a flavor. It tastes like victory at last.
She turns a dial. The runes brighten. The air hums.
A shadow flickers—BIGTIME’s head pops up over the catwalk.
BIGTIME (whisper)
I can see the shiny dime!
BOUNCER (whisper)
Me too! Can we just… ask for it?
BIGTIME
We are criminals, Leonard.
The Beagles creep closer.
Magica’s eyes narrow. She doesn’t turn.
MAGICA
If you touch that dime, I will age you into dust so old it remembers hula hoops.
The Beagles freeze. Then BURGER sneezes.
MAGICA
…And there it is.
She flicks two fingers. The Beagles levitate, feet churning air, then drift to dangle from a beam like holiday ornaments.
BURGER
Do we count as decorations?
BIGTIME
We count as compromised.
EXT. MONEY BIN – ROOF – CONTINUOUS
WEBBY anchors a line. DEWEY slips on suction gloves. HUEY tapes reflective film across a skylight.
HUEY
If we angle the first light beam through the film, we can stagger Magica’s timing.
GYRO
I can modulate the angles with the Harmonic Pucks—but someone has to place them on live steel. With magic… thrumming.
LOUIE
I volunteer to be someone else.
SCROOGE
I’ll go.
WEBBY
I’ll go with you.
DEWEY
Me too.
HUEY
Me three.
LOUIE
You know what, I’m feeling guilty, I’m in.
SCROOGE
All right, herd of goslings—listen.
He kneels, urgent.
SCROOGE (low)
We cannot destroy everything she touches. The curse is balance. We must change the terms. That means I may have to do something I swore I’d never do.
Beat.
DEWEY
Give up the dime?
He doesn’t answer—just meets their eyes. They nod, sober.
SCROOGE
Positions.
INT. MONEY BIN – UPPER CATWALK – MOMENTS LATER
Webby and Dewey slide under the skylight frame, easing it open. Gyro passes up the HARMONIC PUCKS.
GYRO
Press the center once to lock onto the sun vector. Twice to confuse it. Three times and it becomes a speaker that only plays polka.
DEWEY
Noted.
Huey signals the angle. Dewey slaps a puck onto the beam—WHUM—the light refracts into a shimmering triangle on the floor below, missing Magica’s ritual circle by inches.
MAGICA
Who dares interrupt—
SCROOGE steps from a maintenance door on the opposite catwalk, cane in hand, coat fluttering in the draft.
SCROOGE
Me.
MAGICA
Finally. I prefer audiences for my triumphs.
SCROOGE
Ye always wanted what I had. But you never wanted to pay for it.
MAGICA
I paid. With years. With failure. With rage. Now the city pays me back—with interest.
She turns the dial. The runes ROAR to life. The SUN clears the horizon.
HUEY (whisper)
Now!
Webby slaps the second puck—PING—the beam bends, the ritual circle misses alignment by a hair. Magica frowns, adjusts.
MAGICA
Cute.
She snaps—her raven flares, casting a second phantom light. The circle stabilizes.
DEWEY
She has a light backup?
GYRO
Birds are solar.
LOUIE
That’s not science.
GYRO
At dawn it is!
SCROOGE
Magica! Tell me—what happens when the dime’s owner gives it up willingly?
She pauses. Just a blink.
MAGICA
Then its fortune transfers clean.
SCROOGE
Exactly.
He takes off his hat. Holds the empty brim above the circle. Then, calmly, he lifts the Number One Dime from its socket—Magica gasps—and balances it on his palm over the runes.
The whole Bin HUMS.
MAGICA (soft, hungry)
Yes… Give. Give it to the Feather. To me.
SCROOGE
I’m not giving it to you.
He looks up at the skylight—at the kids, at Webby, at Gyro. A lifetime in his eyes. He breathes out, steady.
SCROOGE (to the city)
Duckburg… this belongs to you.
He steps out of the circle and tosses the dime—upward, toward the refracted light.
Time slows. The dime spins, catching sunrise.
WEBBY snaps her grappling hook—the line twangs—she bumps the reflective film, tilting the beam so the dime passes through the focused light triangle.
The dime flares—a clean, bright GOLD WHITE instead of purple. The runes REWRITE THEMSELVES, shifting from extraction to distribution.
MAGICA (horrified)
No—
A WAVE OF LUCK ripples out from the Bin—racing across Duckburg, lighting streetlamps, flickering through laundromats, hospitals, corner stores. Slot machines cough out coins only where debts are due; overdue library fines evaporate; a bus’s failing brakes miraculously hold; a city worker’s grant application pings APPROVED.
Inside the Bin, the Beagles’ dangling rope unties itself and drops them… into a safety net labeled “McDuck OSHA.” They bounce, stunned.
BOUNCER
That was… nice?
BIGTIME
I don’t know how to process this.
Magica shrieks, yanking at the dial. The FEATHER burns in its cradle. She slams her hand on the sockets—SHOCK—her palm sears with a GANDER SIGIL.
MAGICA
You changed the clause! You turned fortune into public utility!
SCROOGE
Aye. The Number One Dime’s lesson was never hoarding. It was earning—and giving. The first coin I kept is now the first coin I let go.
MAGICA
Then I’ll take it back the old-fashioned way.
She erupts in shadow, lunging. Scrooge braces—she blasts him—he’s blown back—
DEWEY
Uncle Scrooge!
Webby fires her hook—catches Scrooge’s coat—Huey and Louie haul, Gyro hits DO NOT TURN ON.
GYRO
Cover your sinuses!
A BUBBLE OF SILENT AIR blooms, absorbing Magica’s next blast. It pops—WHOOMP—a vacuum thump—sucking her spell back into her palm. She staggers.
MAGICA
What is that?
GYRO
Negative decibel field. It eats noise and—apparently—some magic. Side effect: you may taste peppermint.
BURGER
I do!
SCROOGE charges. Cane vs. sorcery, he feints—she swings—he hooks the Feather cradle and yanks it free.
MAGICA
No!
HUEY slaps the third Harmonic Puck—it begins blasting POLKA. Everyone winces. Even the raven.
DEWEY
Why is polka always the nuclear option?
MAGICA (reeling)
Enough!
She rips a rune shard from her belt, hurls it—WEBBY snatches it midair, flips it, and pins Magica’s sleeve to the steel with her hook line.
WEBBY
Pinned ya!
MAGICA tears free with raw force—but she’s slowed. O’HARA’s officers storm the catwalks.
O’HARA
Hands where I can see them! And no shadow stuff!
Magica snarls—and smiles.
MAGICA
Arrest me, parade me, call me a cab; I’ll be gone before you file the paperwork.
A WAVE OF CROWS bursts from the rafters—an occult smokescreen. When it clears—
She’s gone. The FEATHER lies dull on the floor, its glow cooled to a warm ember. The DIME clinks onto the platform, plain metal now—no hum.
Silence. Then the Beagles, in the OSHA net, slow clap.
BIGTIME
Not bad, old duck.
SCROOGE ignores them, eyes on the dime. He kneels, picks it up, weighs it.
HUEY
Is it… still magic?
SCROOGE
It always was. Just not the flashy kind.
He slips it under his hat brim.
LOUIE
So… we won?
O’HARA
We’ll call it a provisional W. Boys, you’re under arrest.
Officers wheel the OSHA net toward the service elevator. The Beagles wave, vaguely cordial.
BURGER
If you ever need subcontractors for legal work, we will… learn legal work!
BIGTIME
We will consider learning legal work.
They’re trundled away.
DEWEY
And Magica?
WEBBY
She’ll be back.
SCROOGE
Aye. And we’ll be ready.
EXT. KILLMOTOR HILL – MORNING
Sun fully up. Duckburg sparkles. Sirens fade. A FLOCK OF PAPER RECEIPTS drift down from the sky—refunds, credits, tiny bureaucratic miracles.
A CITY HALL AIDE arrives, breathless, with a clipboard.
AIDE
Mr. McDuck! On behalf of the Mayor, the Council, the Water Department, and the Library, which is thrilled, we want to thank—
SCROOGE
Thank Duckburg. It earned this.
AIDE
We still brought a plaque.
He holds it up: “CITIZEN OF FORTUNE.”
Scrooge eyes it, then glances at the kids.
SCROOGE
Make it say “Citizens.”
The aide nods, touched.
GYRO checks a meter.
GYRO
Residual luck radiation back to baseline. The Feather’s dormant. We should store it properly. Somewhere safe.
SCROOGE
I know just the place.
INT. MCDUCK MANOR – TROPHY ROOM – LATER
Quiet. Sun through tall windows. The FEATHER now rests in a crystal case beside humble keepsakes—photos, a dented pickaxe, a faded map with coffee rings.
BEAKLEY enters with a tray.
BEAKLEY
Cocoa. Toast. And a respect for silence if anyone wants to nap in a museum.
The kids collapse onto a rug. Webby admires the feather.
WEBBY
It looks… lighter.
HUEY
Or we do.
DEWEY
I feel twelve percent lighter.
LOUIE
Because you drank all the cocoa.
Scrooge lingers by the case, hat in hand. He looks at the Number One Dime under the brim—plain, scuffed, perfect.
SCROOGE (soft)
First coin I ever earned. First one I gave away.
WEBBY
You… gave it to the city.
SCROOGE
For a minute. Turns out that was enough.
GYRO
Quantum philanthropy.
SCROOGE
Don’t dress it up. Giving’s just good accounting.
He tucks the hat back on, turns to the kids.
SCROOGE (brightening)
Right! Time to work.
DEWEY
We just saved the city.
SCROOGE
And there’ll be another city tomorrow.
LOUIE
Can “work” be pancakes?
BEAKLEY
It can be pancakes after school.
DEWEY
We have school after a city-saving sunrise battle?
BEAKLEY
Heroism is no excuse for truancy.
HUEY
She does have a point.
They groan, smiling.
O’HARA appears in the doorway, hat in hand.
O’HARA
For what it’s worth, McDuck—good hustle. We’ll keep an eye out for your witch. And your Beagles. And your inventor’s… inventions.
GYRO
They’re perfectly safe if you don’t touch, look at, or think about them.
O’Hara leaves, bemused.
SCROOGE looks out the window—Duckburg bustling, brighter than yesterday.
SCROOGE (V.O.)
Fortune’s a funny bird. It lands where it will, and it leaves you when you least expect. But if you’ve got family, grit, and a good cane… you’ll never be poor.
He smiles.
SCROOGE
Who’s up for a modest celebratory dive?
DEWEY
Into the money?
SCROOGE
Into the pool. The money’s for business.
LOUIE
I like both kinds of dives.
They head out, chattering.
The camera settles on the crystal case. The FEATHER gives the tiniest twinkle—as if pleased. In the fireplace grate, a single black feather—Magica’s—whirls and vanishes up the chimney.
EXT. DUCKBURG – DAY (EPILOGUE MONTAGE)
— A BAKER discovers her broken mixer works again just long enough to finish a wedding cake.
— A BUSKER plays; a gust flips open his case and a lotto ticket blows in. He shrugs, laughs, keeps playing.
— BIGTIME, BOUNCER, BURGER in a jail workroom, stamping license plates. Burger stamps one that reads “SORRY.” He looks apologetic.
— A SHADOW slips along an alley wall and disappears into a storm drain. A whisper: MAGICA (V.O.)
Balance is a ledger. I only need a different pen.
INT. MCDUCK MANOR – FRONT HALL – SUNSET
The family gathers for dinner. Laughter. Clatter. Life.
Scrooge pauses by the coat rack, adjusts his hat brim—the DIME safe inside. He pats it once, fond.
SCROOGE
Onward.
He steps into the warm light.
FADE OUT.
THE END
(…for now.)
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