For this episode, the story takes us to Australia, and it turns out to be well-constructed, if too cute for its own
good. Scrooge and the gang are called
down to Australia when it’s reported that his sheep ranch down there is being
attacked by strange glowing UFOs called willywisps. With this setup, you’d think that the focus
would be on everyone trying to figure out how to fight back against the
willywisps. It’s not just that they ruin
the sheep’s wool threatening the existence of the ranch. They’re also powerful enough to take out
planes. It just opens up so many mysteries
to the troublesome anomalies. However,
playing with the audience’s expectations, the plot is not what one would
expect. The most focus is on
Webby of all characters, especially relating to her feminine quality of loving
animals. Since Australia is known for
being home to many unusual animals like kangaroos, koalas, and warthogs, that
opens up many possibilities for new friends for Webby. Her befriending moments would be fine if they
were in small scenes that don’t get too many focus, but these moments go on for
a very long time which gives the episode an overly cute tone that doesn’t
really fit the series. It starts taking
up the space when Huey, Dewey, and Louie are assigned to look after Webby even
though she’s usually treated as one of the kids and doesn’t need them looking
after her, and she wanders off to chase after a kangaroo before the boys even have a
chance to keep an eye on her. From there,
Webby and her cutesy girlish ways are suddenly the most important thing in the
episode. We have her chase the kangaroo
through the Australian woods, talking with it along with a koala and baby
warthog, and a whole forest of animals tending to her after she gets chased by
warthogs. It just makes what happens
less interesting than it could have been which isn’t what one would want to see
going into an adventure series, especially since it’s separate from the
main mission, for the most part, and Scrooge has to call it off to
find her. Even if Webby taking up the
focus isn’t that interesting, the episode is still admirable for what it
is. The warthog chase is exciting and
intense enough to engage the audience, putting Webby’s love for animals against
her. However, when the animals comfort
her at night and later rescue her prized Quacky Patch doll, it’s a nice moment that helps
her regain her love for something since it honestly would’ve been sad for Webby to give
up a part of herself because of one bad experience. Plus, all her cutesy moments with the animals
lead her to play a significant role in the willywisp plot. While it’s Huey, Dewey, Louie and Launchpad
who ultimately find out that they’re really special glowing boomerangs and take
them out with real boomerangs followed up with a humorous one-liner relating to
how boomerangs always come back, Webby and her Australian animal friends take
care of the man who set them up. They
find out one of the ranch’s employees was working behind Scrooge’s back and
used the willywisps to scare everyone away so he could get to the opal
discovered in the ranch’s wells. So, in
the end, Webby taking up the focus for her cutesy ways turned out to be worth
it. For that, even if it’s not that
interesting, it still stands as a noteworthy entry with likable qualities from
the characters, creativity, and story, not to mention being a solid Disney
Australian adventure three years before The
Rescuers Down Under. 9/10
The Ranking:
1. The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 5: Too Much of a Gold Thing
2. Catch as Cash Can Part 2: A Whale of a Bad Time
3. Catch as Cash Can Part 1: A Drain on the Economy
4. Back to the Klondike
5. The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 2: Wronguay in Ronguay
6. The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 4: Cold Duck
7. Time Teasers
8. The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 1: Don’t Give up the Ship
9. Catch as Cash Can Part 4: Working for Scales
10. Ducks of the West
11. The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 3: Three Ducks of the Condor
12. Merit-Time Adventure
13. Back Out in the Outback
14. Catch as Cash Can Part 3: Aqua Ducks
15. Scrooge’s Pet
16. Horse Scents
17. The Golden Fleecing
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode featuring a new treasure for Scrooge to uncover and the return of Magica de Spell, "Raiders of the Lost Harp."
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