Right at the start, this episode offers a lot of promise for
greatness by establishing a plot of Scrooge planning on turning an old
abandoned castle, said to be haunted by the ghost of a scientist named Ludwing
von Strangeduck, into a hotel.
Ultimately, what we get in this episode really lives up to the
potential. We lead into the plot with a
nice collection of gags of every member of Scrooge’s staff adjusting to the
hotel environment as well as some enjoyable moments from the guests, the
Duchess if Swansylvania for her charming elegance, and Benzino Gasolini for his
flamboyant energy livening the scenes he’s in.
Things really start to get going when an invisible figure who claims to
be Strangeduck signs into the hotel and spends a lot of his time scarring
everyone by pulling off stunts that look like certain objects like books,
bedsheets, candles, and cooking utensils are controlling themselves and later
on trying to attack everyone. There’s a
strong mystery element present throughout this whole episode with everything
that happens constantly making you guess about Strangeduck and his
motives. He has no gravestone, seems to
enjoy causing trouble, and often gives an evil laugh, but why is all this the
case? This tone is effectively captured
as we spend most of our time watching Huey, Dewey, and Louie investigate the
hotel and its surroundings, being quick to point out anything strange
happening. They also point out how the
guests may have a role in what’s going on with the Duchess suspiciously
snooping around, and Benzino leaning towards being the ghost since he never
shows up when it goes haunting. All
these investigations lead to an exciting climax where everything that happens
keeps on building up in intensity.
First, Scrooge and the boys discover invisible paint which explains the
ghost’s abilities and invisibility. Then
the ghost steals the Duchess’ jewels and fights Duckworth in an attempt to
lower the drawbridge. Then Scrooge finds
out and engages in a pretty intense fistfight with the ghost while the boys try
to use the invisible paint to help. So
much happens in this climax, and every bit of it is fun and exciting to
watch. The way everything is resolved is
satisfying as it answers all lingering Strangeduck questions, subverts what
could have been an obvious outcome, gives credibility to the
Duchess as a character, and offers a humorous follow-up to Scrooge’s constant
claims that ghosts don’t exist. Once
again, this ending bit has a lot to it, and everything just works. That’s really a good way to describe this
episode. It’s an interesting story with
a lot to offer which makes for a great sense of mystery, comedy, and
characterization. Because of all this,
I’d say this episode is the strongest work I’ve seen of the show as of now. 10/10
The Ranking
1. Hotel
Strangeduck
2. Robot
Robbers
3. Magica’s
Shadow War
4. Armstrong
5. Master of
the Djinni
6. Sphinx for
the Memories
7. Send in the
Clones
8. Where No
Duck Has Gone Before
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode as we close Disc 1 of the DVD set with Scrooge and the gang taking part in a race to "The Lost Crown of Genghis Kahn."
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