Produced and directed by Bob Hathcock and from a screenplay by Alan Burnett, the film features the series' cast of Alan Young, Terrence McGovern, Russi Taylor, and Chuck McCann, with Richard Libertini, Rip Taylor and Christopher Lloyd voicing new characters.

Scrooge McDuck travels to the Middle East to inspect a recently discovered treasure chest he is certain contains the treasure of the great thief Collie Baba, accompanied by Huey, Dewey and Louie, Webby Vanderquack, and Launchpad McQuack.

Although initially disappointed when the chest seems to contain only old clothes, Scrooge is excited when an ancient treasure map is found in the pocket of an old robe.

Ecstatic about his freedom, the Genie grants the four children 3 wishes each; to trick Scrooge, he poses as the boys' Woodchuck scout friend Gene.

Using the lamp's powers irresponsibly, their wishes include a baby elephant (which runs amok through Scrooge's mansion) and a giant ice cream sundae, among other things.

Fearful of a bird flying by at night, Genie tells them about Merlock, who used his wishes for eternal life and the destruction of Atlantis and Pompeii, which were both popular vacation spots; Merlock's magic talisman, which allows him to take various animal forms, also overrides the lamp's rules, granting him unlimited wishes.

The next day, Webby uses her last wish to bring all her toys to life, which forces the children to reveal Genie's true identity to Scrooge.

With Genie under his control again, Merlock wishes for Dijon to be turned into a pig for his disloyalty and then for the Money Bin to become a fortress, which flies into the air high above Duckburg.

The nephews use a slingshot to knock the lamp out of Merlock's hands, tossing it to Scrooge, who loses his grip and falls towards the earth.

Recovering the lamp, Scrooge uses his second wish to return himself, his family, and his Money Bin back to Duckburg.

While the children play with their newest friend, Scrooge discovers Dijon, recovered from Merlock's wish, stuffing his trousers with his money.

[11] Due to the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), several animators who worked on the film were stationed at Disney's newly founded London studio[10] and another location was established in Paris (under the supervision of Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi).

These references to Indiana Jones were thanks to Gary Krisel, then president of Disney Television Animation, who had an "obsessive fascination" with the series.

"[21] Detractors included Richard Harrington of The Washington Post, who criticized the film for its predictable plot twists,[2] while Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune noted the lack of credit for Carl Barks, adding: "'DuckTales' is not a movie that the founding father would have been proud to put his name on.

"[7] Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times faulted the lack of backstory, and regarded the character Dijon as a "cringing stereotype.

[32] A soundtrack album was released by Intrada Records in 2017, including David Newman's score, but not the film's end title version of the TV series theme.