We’re going to be wrapping up this set of reviews with this
episode since it’s the last one on the DVD set, and it’s a fun little (pun
intended) adventure to end on. I say
“little” because it involves a great deal of getting shrunk down and witnessing
how different, and more dangerous, the world can be at such a small
stature. It kicks off with Scrooge
desperately needing to sell a surplus of wheat, and gets a buyer in the form of
a team of alien ducks who are very small.
The fun really starts after the aliens take the wheat, but accidentally
leave behind an equally small shrinking machine. The main conflict of the episode unfolds when
Scrooge messes around with the machine to enlarge one of his gold nuggets, and
gets himself, the boys, and Webby shrunk which, while believable due to
Scrooge’s greedy characteristics, is still not the best way to get the plot
going given how much of a competent adventurer he’s established himself
as. Despite that, the rest of the cartoon
is another one to greatly benefit the animation medium by greatly visualizing a
different perspective of the world with our main heroes stuck in a different
size. For one thing, the episode never
holds back when showing the dangers of being so small. We see Scrooge and the kids easily getting
sucked up by the vacuum, running into rats that can do more than just bite them
in a storm drain, and get caught in a spider web. These are life-threatening perils that give
this episode some edge and gets you to take it seriously. Equally impressive are the many ways the
characters come up with ways to get around their obstacles and reach the only
duck who can possibly help them, Gyro.
They include using a matchbox for a raft to get through a puddle and later
lighting it to scare away the rats, using a skateboard to speed through
Duckburg, and getting a pigeon to fly them out of the park to Gyro’s barn. These moments feature these characters at
their best in terms of problem-solving and creative thinking which helps in
making this a good episode to close this set.
Everything ultimately works out in the end with Gyro and the aliens
getting everyone back to their normal size, but the episode’s interpretation of
how the world looks from a small perspective will be remembered. In the end,
we get an exciting and creative story willing to go for life-threatening stakes
with likable characters at the helm. It
helps seal the deal in making this set of episodes a great introduction to this
show. 9.5/10
The Ranking- The Curse of Castle McDuck
- Home Sweet Homer
- Hotel Strangeduck
- Maid of the Myth
- Hero for Hire
- Top Duck
- Robot Robbers
- Much Ado About Scrooge
- Magica’s Shadow War
- Duckman of Aquatraz
- Launchpad’s Civil War
- Bermuda Triangle Terror
- Armstrong
- Micro Ducks from Outer Space
- Sir Gyro de Gearloose
- Master of the Djinni
- Sphinx for the Memories
- Send in the Clones
- Sweet Duck of Youth
- Earth Quack
- Down and Out in Duckburg
- The Lost Crown of Genghis Kahn
- The Money Vanishes
- Where No Duck Has Gone Before
- Dinosaur Ducks
- Pearl of Wisdom
- Superdoo!
Final Thoughts
If I could briefly describe why DuckTales is such an awesome animated TV series judging by the 27
episodes on this DVD, it would be because it successfully captures the essence
of the best Disney classics and incorporates it into a serial format. The appeal of the Disney classics is that
they’re some of the most memorable stories ever written for being told with a
timeless, universally appealing charm with creative elements that make the
works stand out, and lovable characters whether their good guys or bad
guys. These are the kinds of story qualities
that stick with you for life, and are
pretty much the same qualities you get from the episodes of
this show. The stories revolve around
subjects that clearly cater to the mainstream action-adventure crowd such as
treasure-hunting, magic spells, ghost-hunting, sea voyages, meeting dinosaurs,
space travel, superheroes, robot fights, and getting shrunk, but they never
really feel like the typical plotlines you can watch on any old cartoon
show. The stories, and the adventures
that make them up, are filled with creative scenarios that get you invested
until the end which include obstacles to make the characters’ adventure
more challenging, explanations for certain occurrences in life, and even a few
plot twists here and there. As a result,
no two episodes are alike and easily stand out from each other. That way, you’re always able to enjoy the
episodes in many different ways.
Combining with the creativity and distinctiveness of the stories are the cast of characters we follow. Scrooge McDuck is a highly entertaining lead for this show. It’s not only unique to have an old, rich duck go on these adventures, but he has a lot likable qualities to make him shine as a character. He may be greedy, but that flaw is never shown to go too far, and is actually handled in a way that brings out some humor whenever he senses an opportunity to be cheap, and cleverly use it to resolve a good chunk of the conflicts in the episode. Plus, he still proves to be a great and loving family man and friend through his relationships with the grand-nephews and employees. The rest of the characters have a ton of appeal too. Launchpad McQuack is the best source of character-driven comedy from the show for always being there for the people in his life despite constantly messing up spectacularly and essentially being a naïve child in a man’s body, making him an interesting folk to play hero. Gyro Gearloose’s appeal comes from the gadgets he invents that drive the plot, but he still has an amusing personality by being so smart with inventing, but being clueless when it comes to keeping them safe. Huey, Dewey, and Louie work off the co-stars well while also greatly balancing being impressionable kids and skilled problem-solvers, even if they don’t really have much distinct traits to stand out individually. There’s also lots to love with the antagonists with the nice and amusing family dynamic of the Beagle Boys, the dirty-playing business rival who’s not stubborn enough to work with the enemy when he has to, Flintheart Glomgold, and the over-the-top creative and charismatic wizard, Magica de Spell. Even weaker characters like the overly cutesy and girly Webby, and the chubby, usually ineffective Doofus Drake have enough charm and likability to follow through an episode. The creative storytelling and distinct cast of likable characters are the biggest strengths of the episodes which helps in making them come off as timeless works that everyone, and not just the action-adventure crowd, can enjoy alongside the great, energetic animation and catchy music (to say nothing about what may be the catchiest theme song ever), which are the qualities of any great animated work. In fact, since these strengths are clearly given the most focus, this show is worth being called one of the best in my book, and I greatly look forward to exploring the rest of the show.
So, if you’re interested in checking out DuckTales if you haven’t already, go buy this DVD. You won’t regret it. The featured episodes are sure to get you
hooked with the show as they did with me, so much so that I’m eagerly
anticipating getting Volumes 2 & 3, as well as the remaining 25 episodes
that haven’t been released on DVD.
Basically, it’ll be one of those shows you can’t get enough of and will
stick with you for life, like any great Disney product would be.
Highly Recommended
We have officially gone through the entire DuckTales Volume 1 DVD. Reviews of the episodes that make up the Volumes 2 & 3 DVDs and the 25 remaining ones will definitely be posted here in the future. Next time though, we'll be looking into the episodes of the first season of what I consider to be the best animated series of the modern era. Feel free to guess what it is until the first review of that season is uploaded. Until then:
Stay Animated Folks!
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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