This episode probably shows the worst possible outcome of Scrooge
losing his fortune out of all the episodes on this DVD set. We’re led into it by a
collection of scenes that demonstrate Scrooge’s greed. True, they consist of him raising rent on a
suit shop that gives buy-one-get-one-free sales, refuses to loan money to fix a
ship due to lack of security, and doesn’t give money to a charity when he can’t
get change for a 1000 dollar bill, but these scenes have a certain charm from
how Scrooge works out a reason to be cheap each time. As a result, Scrooge’s display of greed is
enjoyable, and though he’s clearly in the wrong, the moments never feel mean-spirited. This especially good because after this
scenes, Scrooge’s filthy rich lifestyle comes crashing down when some guy named
Fritter O’way comes along and claims possession of Scrooge’s entire fortune. Apparently, long ago, Scrooge’s ancestor lost
some marbles (get it?) that belonged to Fritter’s ancestor at sea, and since
that broke a delivery deal between the two, several years later, Scrooge has to
compensate for his ancestor’s blunder.
From here, the rest of the episode features Scrooge and the staff of
what used to be his mansion struggling to adjust to the life of the poor. Just the thought of seeing them have to
scrape for food, living under bridges, and living under the assumption that
they’ll be treated differently now that they’re poor, even by their friends
(though it’s hard to believe given how friendly and loyal they are), is
actually kind of sad. Scrooge and
company’s lifestyle has always been enjoyable when they were rich, so to see it
taken away is hard for the audience to adjust to as it is for the
characters. What’s more, when Scrooge
starts having a mental breakdown over being poor and starts asking random
people to help him become rich again, the moment isn’t just good for a few
laughs, you also feel sorry for him.
With all these moments intact, it’s great that they lead to a fun climax
of Scrooge and his comrades setting out to sea to retrieve the lost marbles
that caused all this trouble. We see
Scrooge being pursued by sharks as he dives deeper toward the marbles, gets his
oxygen line cut after reaching the marbles prompting another awesome moment
from Mrs. Beakley who dives in to save him, the ship everyone’s using getting
caught in a hurricane while Fritter comes to try and stop the marbles from
reaching him, and Scrooge using some amusing wits to get Fritter to safety and
win back his fortune all at once. The
climax is truly fun with many exciting moments to resolve everything, and also
to lead to Scrooge learning to be less greedy, at least for now. With a daring and sympathetic tone at its
core, this is another engaging and fun entry for this show. 9/10
The Ranking
- Hotel Strangeduck
- Maid of the Myth
- Hero for Hire
- Robot Robbers
- Magica’s Shadow War
- Duckman of Aquatraz
- Armstrong
- Sir Gyro de Gearloose
- Master of the Djinni
- Sphinx for the Memories
- Send in the Clones
- Down and Out in Duckburg
- The Lost Crown of Genghis Kahn
- The Money Vanishes
- Where No Duck Has Gone Before
- Dinosaur Ducks
- Superdoo!
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the gang goes the Shakespearean route in "Much Ado About Scrooge."
If you would like to check out other reviews on this blog, click here for the guide to all the reviews posted so far.
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