Sunday, August 20, 2017

'Toon Reviews 5: DuckTales Vol 1 Part 5

Robot Robbers


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The episodes of this show are mostly self-contained, meaning that they don’t usually rely on continuity between them except with story arcs.  That said, one of the biggest strengths of this one is that it ties in nicely to the events of the previous episode demonstrating the show’s willingness to break from the norm every now and then.  It’s about Scrooge discovering that his business rival, Flintheart Glomgold, has commissioned giant robots to be built so to have the better construction crew, and Scrooge disapproves of these robots being built because of what happened with Armstrong.  Now, the previous episode’s appeal mostly revolved around the strong man vs. machine theme which to me seemed like a little addition to help it stand out.  What you really need to make an episode appealing is an interesting story with a lot of strong character moments, and those elements are stronger here.  Scrooge and Flintheart’s rivalry is a major comedic highlight for its well-written banter that sets up visual gags and features a cool chemistry of greed with Scrooge’s greed being the more considerate.  The story and characters are further enhanced when Ma Beagle takes control of one of the robots and uses them to bust her sons, the Beagle Boys, out of jail.  We’re then treated to a lot of fun moments of the Beagle family using the robots to terrorize Duckburg on their way to their main goal, robbing Scrooge’s money bin, which also shows off some nice family values which is especially hard to expect from a gang of robbers.  Things keep on building to even more entertainment as Scrooge and Flintheart find themselves forced to team up to stop the Beagle family and their robot rampage where they come up with some clever ways to fight back, including a follow-up to an earlier gag.  Then after the Beagle Boys are defeated and Ma Beagle escapes in another nice display of family love between the enemies, we get a confirmation that even though they can work together fine, Scrooge and Flintheart will remain rivals as we close out with one last humorous bickering between them.  To me it’s for the best because this duo is perfectly fine with them fighting them to be the richest.  As you can see, everything associated with the characters and storytelling is filled with so much to get you invested.  The little moments of fun put together make the story really humorous and exciting, the continuity nods to the previous episode are welcome, and Scrooge, Flintheart, and the entire Beagle family have a lot of likable traits that enhance their performances.  10/10
The Ranking
1.      Robot Robbers
2.      Armstrong
3.      Sphinx for the Memories
4.      Send in the Clones
5.      Where No Duck Has Gone Before
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode featuring the only other appearance of Magica de Spell on this DVD in "Magica's Shadow War."
If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.

No comments:

Post a Comment