All Ducks on Deck (DuckTales Vol 3 Part 12) - 'Toon Reviews 25

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All Ducks on Deck

Right after one episode featuring Donald Duck, we get another one.  This particular episode doesn’t feature one of his best roles, but it still has plenty of merit. 

While previous episodes explored Donald’s navy life, this one is about proving himself a capable navy member.  He also tries hard to make himself look like a hero to his nephews. An opening scene of a story of how he saved the navy from a giant octopus and dangerous reef shows this.  Right off the bat, you can tell he’s making this up with the memories of Donald not being looked upon highly. 

Buying into the tall tale, the ever impressionable Huey, Dewey, and Louie stow away in Donald’s duffle bag to see his medals at his air craft carrier.  Playing to their cleverness, the boys see Donald isn’t a big hero when they arrive.  They’re not mad about the lies and maturely understand he was trying to make his nephews proud.  It’s a more pleasing approach than what these plots would usually take, but the boys still end up boneheaded.  They try to help Donald look like a hero worthy of medals during drills.  However, their interventions are poorly thought out and make Donald look like an even bigger naval twit.  It doesn’t do kid characters justice if their offers at help only make things worse.  Since Huey, Dewey, and Louie are usually great problem-solvers, the sting is especially felt. 

While this is going on, Scrooge and Launchpad fly to a fishing town on Cat Island, shaped like a cat, to check on the business.  Suddenly, they’re imprisoned by the Phantom Blot, an obscure villain sure to please the biggest Disney fans.  The Blot is creepy looking, yet sounds like an egotistical child proclaiming to be the best villain ever.  This is an interesting take on a villain to say the least, especially since he has noticeable success, showing true villainy can come from unlikely places.  He has a world domination plan involving stealing a special invisible plane from the navy base with a mysterious Agent X. 

Agent X’s identity, however, supports the stereotype that if there’s a new character and a crime scene, the new character definitely did it.  A navy member named Plover who hasn’t appeared until now appears a lot in this episode.  Despite acting normal, he’s Agent X, and with the aforementioned trope, this isn’t surprising.  Think of how huge a reveal this would’ve been if there was buildup to Plover’s villainy in the navy’s previous appearances.  There also isn’t much depth to why he turned evil when shortly after flying the invisible plane to the Phantom Blot’s layer, they’re both captured.  At least their capture from Scrooge and Launchpad is entertainingly handled. 

As for Donald, this scheme gives him a chance at heroism when Scrooge and Launchpad are stuck on the invisible plane while returning it.  With the air craft carrier’s lights out, Donald gets creative and uses a flare gun to give Scrooge and Launchpad a signal they need to land.  It’s a solid redemption, but I wouldn’t call it perfectly handled.  The climax feels forced overall since an earlier scene showed the pilot needs a special suit to make the plane invisible.  Scrooge and Launchpad had no such suit yet the invisibility works.  Still, it’s a solid conclusion to the main conflict. 

While not the best episode co-starring Donald Duck, the wholesome family dynamics and thrilling action sequences help it stand as a good watch.

B+

The Ranking

1. Once Upon a Dime
2. Duck in the Iron Mask
3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. McDuck
4. Spies in Their Eyes
5. Nothing to Fear
6. The Uncrashable Hindentanic
7. Dime Enough for Luck
8. Duck to the Future
9. Launchpad’s First Crash
10. Jungle Duck
11. All Ducks on Deck
12. The Status Seekers

The next DuckTales review turns the spotlight over to any monster imaginable getting ready for a convention.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the start of a brand new review set for Hey Arnold.

If you would like to check out other DuckTales reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.