The Disney people in France offer the first Uncle Scrooge McDuck animated feature, produced and directed by Bob Hathcock from a script by Alan Burnett. While the animation isn’t top drawer, the plot and characters are fairly diverting. Scrooge with his niece, three nephews, and an apparent derivation of Gyro Gearloose named Launchpad fly to North Africa and uncover a lost treasure, including a magic lamp containing a genie (a subdued version of Daffy Duck) who grants them three wishes apiecewhile villain Merlock and his Arab servant Dijon plot to get the goodies back. Ideologically speaking, this seems a lot more self-aware than the Disney cartoon features of the 40s and 50s; the plot’s charting of the Arab takeover of Scottish-American wealth makes the story seem more up-to-date than the Indiana Jones epics, and Scrooge’s miserliness is also a bit kinder and gentler (a la Bush) than it used to be, perhaps in keeping with the same overall strategy. With the voices of Alan Young, Richard Libertini, Christopher Lloyd, and Rip Taylor. (JR)