In an adventure-based show, especially one
with a sizable cast, one might expect to see mysteries pop up every so often.This episode presents such a mystery with its
own brand of standout twists and unique touches, making this mystery a
memorable experience.
The whole thing
kicks off with a reveal that it’s Scrooge’s birthday, but there’s a catch as
seen from much of the McDuck mansion staff leaving.Scrooge is not keen on parties and a big
reason for that comes with a reveal on the status of one notable missing
character in this reboot.In the
original DuckTales, one figure on the McDuck mansion staff was
Scrooge’s butler Duckworth (who is oddly not a duck). Considering how this
reboot has brought back a lot of familiar faces, it’s hard not to wonder why
Duckworth hasn’t appeared at this point.It turns out that he was part of the reboot’s canon, but is now
deceased, and his passing is a big reason why Scrooge is against parties as no
one could throw one like Duckworth.
Those new to knowing this fact, Huey,
Dewey, and Louie, however, are keen of giving their uncle a party out of
consideration anyway.In actuality though,
it’s really Huey who wants to go through this plan, insistent that it’s what
Scrooge needs to heal from the loss of his butler.This is also an exercise of Huey’s prominent
individual character trait of being overly strategic.He has a whole agenda on what makes the
perfect party with entertainment, guests, and an itinerary for all events.While he does have the right idea for sure,
the episode highlights a number of notable drawbacks to his plan.For one thing, even though the point is to
throw a perfect party, it’s hard to expect that when it’s so haphazardly thrown
together with little time.At least, for
entertainment’s sake, there are some funny bits from this misguided plan with
Louie only managing to invite Scrooge’s enemies; and Dewey serving as a DJ only
to have his head stuck in a helmet for most of the episode, only being able to
communicate with a synthesizing keytar.The
real issue though is how Huey is clearly inconsiderate of Scrooge’s
desires.Sure, he’s unaware of
this and means well, but Scrooge clearly isn’t enjoying the affair, and it was
explicitly stated that he doesn’t like parties.From an audience perspective, it’s glaringly obvious that Huey is making
the party more about him than the person the party is for.But the whole point of parties for someone is
to be considerate of what they want, which overall becomes very
distracting.
Before it has a chance to
take away any good from the viewing experience, things get interesting when the
lights go out, and Scrooge is mysteriously gone when they come on.From there, the whole episode goes into an
entirely mystery-based direction as the nephews try to figure out who was
responsible Scrooge’s disappearance.Since all the guests are his enemies, and the costumes they wear to the
party can’t hide their identities, the logical belief was that it was one of
them.All the while, the entire mystery proves
to be an effective showcase of Huey’s over-analyzation, hyper-fixation, and
strategizing skills, further showing the nephews’ individuality.
His first suspect is a magician whose magic
trick Scrooge took part in before his disappearance, but he turns out to be a
Beagle Boy named Black Arts.There’s an
interesting twist where for all his talk and flare for the mystical, he was here
specifically to help Ma Beagle steal the deed to Duckburg.The other guests are chosen out of process of
elimination, and each have a different motive.Mark Beaks had come to get humiliating footage of Scrooge for his social
media accounts, but this move raises suspicions for the remaining guest picked
up from his recordings.That guest being
Flintheart Glomgold, although his intentions weren’t to kidnap Scrooge, but to
just flat out kill him, further showcasing his more demented side in this
reboot.With all the guests seemingly
innocent, Huey shows a more irrational side by saying it has to be one of them
anyway.However, it does turn out that
another guest was in on the whole scheme all along, making for a clever play on
expectations.
As the lights go out,
causing all the guests to go missing this time, Black Arts Beagle remains, and
goes on to summon a ghost.This results
in a chase through a painting leading to an uncharted room in the mansion that
nicely raises the stakes.During this
time, there’s room for shining character moments as Huey points out that the
only one clever enough to kidnap Scrooge is Scrooge himself.This proves true as they find their uncle in
a surveillance room having watched the whole event that he planned himself, for
someone who hates parties would go on to sabotage their own.If that’s not enough, the summoned ghost
happens to be Duckworth himself who helped hide Scrooge away.Not only that, but this proves to be a
creative way of keeping this character part of the cast while having the reboot
be its own thing.Ultimately, the
conclusion to this whole mystery proves satisfying with Huey becoming more
considerate of Scrooge’s feelings on parties, and Duckworth remaining part of
the cast.
This episode ends up being a
fun creative takes on mysteries with a good dose of surprises, interesting
character reveals, and range of personalities (even if some can be
frustratingly misguided at times).
A
Series Ranking
1.The House of the Lucky
Gander
2.The Beagle Birthday
Breakout
3.The Impossible Summit of
Mt. Neverrest
4.Terror of the Terra-Firmians
5.McMystery at McDuck
McManor
6.The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra
7.Daytrip of Doom
8.The Great Dime Chase
9.Escape To/From Atlantis
10.Woo-oo
11.The Infernal Internship
of Mark Beaks
The next episode is a nice array of creative world building and character moments during a golf game.
Next time, it's back to Ed Edd n Eddy Season 4 with "Stiff Upper Ed" and "Here's Mud in Your Ed."
If you would like to check out other DuckTales reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
When stories involve superheroes, a common
thing for them to deal with is their secret identity, mainly making sure it
stays secret for the protection of themselves and others.Sometimes, the matter exists for the purposes
of drama in their relationship with loved ones or to create a personal drama in
simply how hard it is to keep it secret.In the case of this episode, the matter of the secret identity of this
featured superhero, Gizmoduck, is central to a story about jealousy of someone
else mistaken to be him.Ultimately, the
execution is mixed.
With how popular Gizmoduck has become at this point, Huey,
Dewey, and Louie become curious as to who he really is.Through an investigation, there's a chance
encounter with Scrooge and Launchpad, the latter of whom they come to believe
is definitely Gizmoduck.Fenton Crackshell
also happens to be there, and despite being cool with keeping his status as
Gizmoduck secret before, he becomes visibly upset at this assumption.Scrooge tries to assure him that it’s better
the nephews think Launchpad is Gizmoduck to protect his identity, but to no
avail.
It’s at this point where the plot
of the episode is established with Fenton setting out to prove that Launchpad
is not Gizmoduck, and the results have a good deal of frustration and
contrivance.The frustration comes from
how it’s already well established to the audience that Launchpad isn’t
Gizmoduck. To have the world around Fenton stick to believing falsehoods doesn’t
sit right.
Following Fenton putting up
with ridiculous reasons for the nephews’ claims such as a piece of metal at
Launchpad’s allegedly being part of Gizmoduck, there’s a Gizmoduck party.It seems like an easy place for Fenton to
show up as Gizmoduck while Launchpad appears as himself, all set to disprove
the theory.However, as Gizmoduck,
Fenton has to put up with all sorts of ineptness from people thinking that he’s
wearing a costume.Some fans who are
also wearing a Gizmoduck costume even have quirks that seem to be more
impressive than that of the real hero which is kind of sad.Then there’s an incident with fireworks where
Fenton rushes to dispatch a box of them when they’re accidentally lit while
everyone else, including Launchpad, runs away.Fenton finishes the job, but everyone still believes Launchpad is
Gizmoduck when he comes back all banged up.Is that really enough to be so sure? How do they know that this outcome
is definitely what happened?
Because of
this setup, Launchpad is then constantly bombarded with people who are more
convinced than ever that he’s Gizmoduck, something he’s desperate to deny.In that regard, it’s interesting that both he
and Fenton are on the same page to prove that’s not the case despite the
latter’s jealousy.It seems like they
have a chance when Launchpad is captured by the Beagle Boys, and Fenton comes
to rescue him as Gizmoduck.However,
since he and Launchpad weren’t both there when Gizmoduck got the Beagle Boys
arrested, this does nothing to break the belief.Also, since a lie detector used on the Beagle
Boys says they’re telling the truth, now this false belief is 100% confirmed,
dragging things out even more.
It’s at
this point where the episode becomes very monotonous with its story where just
when it seems to be getting somewhere, something always keeps it going.It would be appropriate for the audience to
just want it to get to a resolution.Thankfully, that turns out to be well-handled.Launchpad, in an interview where the crowds
expect official confirmation that he is Gizmoduck, ends up saying the password
to get the Gizmoduck suit on himself.His inexperience on how to actually work the suit leads into several
mishaps and eventually a spectacle of a runaway through the series.The most standout element though is Fenton’s
role in this circumstance.Even though
he’s not the one with the power, it’s nice to see Fenton’s natural wits be what
saves Launchpad from every mishap his mishandling of the suit causes.Then, after much ineptness from the public,
there’s something rewarding with them noticing Fenton’s heroic efforts in
addition to finally realizing Launchpad can’t be Gizmoduck.There’s even some solid humor with Huey,
Dewey, and Louie now considering Fenton a likely candidate albeit shockingly
placed below Mrs. Beakley of all characters.While a good laugh to end the episode on, it’s perplexing to see how
Fenton is upset about people not knowing his identity, a mark against this
story as a whole.
This secret identity
story has a fair share of things to hold it back from the long time everyone
believes a fallacy, and contrivances to keep it going.Still, it’s entertaining, and a solid number
of moments have good heart, humor, and character, so while it’s far from great,
it’s certainly not bad.
B
The Ranking
1.My Mother the Psychic
2.Allowance Day
3.The Big Flub
4.The Land of Trala La
5.The Good Muddahs
6.Dough Ray Me
7.A Case of Mistaken Identity
8.Bubba’s Big Brainstorm
9.Metal Attraction
10.Bubbeo and Juliet
The next review steers us to the reboot where Scrooge goes missing during his birthday party.
If you would like to check out other DuckTales reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
When this show has a creative idea for a setup, it usually
takes advantage of its fullest potential, usually making for a very memorable
experience.This cartoon’s attempt at
being out of the norm involves taking inspiration from the popular superhero
genre mixed with this show’s unique aesthetic.In the process though, it costs one of the series’ main driving forces
some appeal and reason to get behind it.
It starts, as usual, with the Eds pulling off one of their scams which
seems to be a legitimately impressive product.The item they’re selling is a small dispensing machine that can shoot
out any random object one may need called a thingamajig.With an enthusiastic sales pitch and
convincing demonstration, everyone is impressed with the thingamajig and is
quick to buy one.
Then comes a very
unfortunate catch when it turns out that only one thingamajig exists which was
made for the demonstration, and the ones the kids buy are boxes of useless
junk.In other words, this whole thing
is a total rip-off.Now, some might
think this is par for the course of the ways of the Eds, but a deeper meaning
is lost when looking deeply.Their scams
are actually how they attempt to get attention and respect from the group who
typically outcasts them.The biggest
proof of this is how their scams put in a lot of actual effort to be something
truly grand and exciting that kids will like.In this case, they’re flat out tricking the kids into buying something
that seems cool, but never intended to live up to its promise.Basically, the scam feels like a legit scam,
and the focus seems to just be on money and jawbreakers instead of respect,
particularly from Eddy’s perspective.
Although
this is a detracting factor, this direction does serve as a solid setup for the
show trying out the superhero genre.After getting the kids’ money, Eddy is ambushed by such a superhero who
takes back the money, and returns it to the kids who are quick to gloat about
it.The superhero in question is called
Captain Melonhead, a figure with half a watermelon on his head, bunches of
acorns to leave in his path, and typical comic book dialog.He’s certainly a well-realized and creative
superhero that also fits well in the aesthetic of this show.
Things get even more interesting when Eddy,
bothered by Captain Melonhead stealing the back money he previously scammed the
other kids out of, decides to fight back.After luring Captain Melonhead with a fake scam, Eddy dons an alter ego
of his own, and even the narrative makes it feel more like a villain than a
hero.Stripping himself down to his
underwear and donning nothing but a cape and mask, Eddy becomes Professor Scam,
an alias that’s perfectly in line with petty revenge over money.
His role now realized, there’s a faceoff with
Captain Melonhead to further enhance the superhero genre and demonstrate
Captain Melonhead’s abilities.Eddy
tries ripping off the melon on his head, but Captain Melonhead suddenly has
another as there’s two halves to every melon; Eddy somehow shoots glowing
dollar signs from his mind, but Captain Melonhead’s melon perfectly shields himself
from them; and most creatively, he throws an acorn like a grenade, resulting in
an entire tree quickly growing in Eddy’s mouth.Moves like this not only feel fresh and new for the show, but astound
with embracing an appealing cartoonish tone.
While Captain Melonhead seems unstoppable, one thing to break him is a
threat to his sidekick Splinter the Wonder Wood.Similar to an interrogation move from way earlier in the series, Eddy threatens to use a water gun on Splinter to wash
out his face.It’s his devotion to his
buddy that moves Captain Melonhead to surrender, leading to the climax of this
whole confrontation.
It furthers the
cartoonish approach to the superhero genre with Eddy, still as Professor Scam,
aiming to dunk Captain Melonhead in a vat of gravy.
At this point, something should be mentioned
of how this clash of the designated hero and villain is approached, and not just
by the other kids posing as bystanders.Regarding the other Eds, Double D has been vocally against Eddy’s
actions from the start especially those that have now gone for a villain
approach, but then there’s Ed.Typical
for his nature, Ed feels more neutral by having no strong opinion of Eddy’s
actions and just wanting to have a good time.By now, he’s just enjoyed the comic book feel of the Captain Melonhead
and Professor Scam confrontation like a superhero scene come to life.However, when his gravy is threatened, Ed
becomes distraught, showing capability of realizing when Eddy’s plans have gone
too far. This makes it sting even more that he and Double D are roped in as
Professor Scam’s henchmen.However,
there is triumph when Ed is the one to bring on the resolution, using the
earlier thingamajig to shoot something to help break Captain Melonhead from his
ropes.With the hero free, he officially
beats Professor Scam once and for all to the amazement of the other kids
watching.
Before wrapping up, one more
point to bring up is Captain Melonhead’s identity.Throughout the whole cartoon, none of the Eds
can tell who he really is.Even the ever-intellectual
Double D is completely clueless about it.The thing is that it’s completely obvious to guess who Captain Melonhead
is from the way he talks and his stature, and a character who can already be
described as having a melonhead.Just
the look of his sidekick alone is enough to make a good guess, and in the end,
a simple nonchalant remark reveals exactly that; it’s Jonny.However, the bluntness of the reveal does
make it seem funny, like making it obvious and the Eds not able to figure it
out feel part of the joke, so their cluelessness is put to good use.
Ultimately, even with the deeper meaning to
the Eds’ usual actions lost, the final product is an incredibly fun take on a
popular genre with an entertaining animated aesthetic.
A-
A Case of Ed
When crafting a group dynamic, certain characters can have
different points of view and senses of morality, and even conflict with each
other.However, in order for the dynamic
to really work, there should also be a sense of heart which in the very least
shows that they all care for each other despite everything.In the case of the Eds, they have seemed to get along well as a team
despite all their differences in the earlier part of the series.At this point though, their differences have
become so prominent that it often compromises the heart between them and
ultimately their appeal as a group. It started feeling it was going too far in Season 3, but at this
point, it’s becoming a factor big enough to bring down a whole cartoon, such as
this one.
A common blow to the Eds’
dynamic involves portraying the more eccentric Eds, Ed and Eddy, as bad guys,
and the more restrained Double D as the only sympathetic one.It’s a sure way to take away the depth and
appeal to this group, which in the past have shown to stick up for each other
no matter what.Having only
one character worthy of sympathy simply feels wrong.
Now, as for this cartoon in question, it’s
about Eddy and Ed enjoying themselves by tormenting Kevin who’s been grounded. They
may be unprovoked in doing so, but considering how much Kevin tortures the Eds, regardless if they deserve it, there’s not much to complain about here.Plus, it makes for some amusing moments; the
most successful one being Ed having his toes with faces drawn on them acting
out discussing Kevin being grounded.There is, however, something to complain about when Double D
arrives.He’s picked up a bunch of books and happily shares their information with his friends.Eddy is bothered that Double D shows more
interest in the books than joining him and Ed in tormenting Kevin, even though
he really shouldn’t be surprised by this.Instead of just accepting that Double D isn’t into this, Eddy decides to
get back at him in a completely disproportionate way with Ed going along with
the scheme willingly.
One of Double D’s
books has facts about all kinds of diseases, but one of those diseases called
the lackadaisy-cathro disease gets his attention.Its symptoms coincidentally seem to match
with Double D’s usual character traits such as obsessing over small details, habitual
cleanliness, and weakness in the legs.His resulting fear of having this disease feels pretty irrational
considering nothing bad has ever come from these traits, but it’s also not out
of character to be this obsessive.
It’s
here though when the cartoon takes a turn for the worse when Eddy sees this as
an opportunity to get back at Double D for not joining him and Ed in tormenting
Kevin.The two pose as doctors to
diagnose Double D’s “condition,” and it’s clearly not in the best intentions.At the same time, it’s concerning that Double
D, whose main trait is intellect, just goes along with these fools serving as
doctors instead of going to an actual doctor.He even questions if one of them is legitimate when he should already be
able to tell that they clearly aren’t.He
should also be able to tell that things like egg beaters and cans depressing
tongues are not suitable doctor tools.Really, this is all a means for Eddy and Ed to mess with Double D with
no regard for his feelings, though it doesn’t go too far yet.
It does eventually go too far when Eddy
claims that the most fatal sign of the lackadaisy-cathro disease is people
getting the urge to kick Double D in his back.Double D is relieved to not have that symptom, but then Eddy discretely
puts a “kick me” sign on his back and then kicks him.This is enough to really put Double D over
the edge and convince himself he’s not long for this world.Taking advantage of a friend’s paranoia and
making him believe something so horrifying is nothing short of a new low for
the two Eds.It’s enough to make one
question the legitimacy of the dynamic’s friendship and wonder what to make of
any sign of care they had in the past.The only semblance of heart is Ed being distraught over the forthcoming
demise of Double D, but that’s due to a lack of his own intelligence.Once Eddy reveals Double D isn’t really sick,
Ed is right back onto willingly going along with Eddy’s immoral ways.
As for Double D himself, as he laments his
condition, he has a moment with the other neighborhood kids that brings up some
things worth analyzing.They greet
Double D warmly and offer him to join them for fun, suggesting that they see
he’s a different person worthy of sympathy without the other Eds.As Double D offers them his possessions, they
show concern for his distress.Then,
after one of them kicks him, causing him to really break down, they point out
the “kick me” sign, making it clear that someone’s tricked him this entire time.The takeaway from all this is that it feels
suggested that Double D truly is better off with the other kids.They’re caring of his well-being and are
willing to actually help him, unlike Eddy and Ed who delight in messing with
him without regard for his feelings. The sad thing is that at one point, they
were caring of his feelings despite their flaws.It begs the question if the main dynamic the
show has centered on this entire time is worth supporting.
The overall conclusion of this cartoon
further proves this with Double D confronting Eddy and Ed for their
actions.Working in its favor is that
Double D comes out on top while the real instigators get what they
deserve.At the same time, Kevin is
allegedly let out of his grounding for good behavior, and is free to beat up
Eddy and Ed for messing with him.They
run away and lock themselves in Eddy’s house thinking Kevin can’t get them, but
that proves inaccurate as Double D gives Kevin Eddy’s spare house key.There’s satisfaction from all this with
Double D never getting being roped into the punishment of his supposed friends.
At the same time, this is a
huge cartoon to question the appeal of the Eds’ dynamics fueling a belief that only
Double D is worthy of sympathy.There’s
little to convince the audience that there’s real heart between them like there
usually is, and there are even suggestions that the one good Ed is better off
with others.In that regard, it’s kind
of uneasy to sit with this one, but it is helped majorly by the right Ed ending up unscathed while the other Eds who actually caused the problem are
punished.The fairness keeps this
cartoon solid enough overall, but the big blow to the dynamic that drives the whole
series costs it quite a bit of appeal.
C+
Series Ranking
1.An Ed is Born
2.One
+ One = Ed
3.The Day the Ed Stood Still
4.A Glass of Warm
Ed
5.It Came from Outer Ed
6.Rent-A-Ed
7.Once Upon an Ed
8.Fa
La La La Ed
9.Urban
Ed
10.Ed…Pass it On
11.One
of Those Eds
12.Laugh
Ed Laugh
13.Dawn
of the Eds
14.Don’t
Rain on My Ed
15.Wish You Were Ed
16.Dueling Eds
17.Mirror,
Mirror On the Ed
18.Gimme, Gimme Never Ed
19.Ed-N-Seek
20.Keeping
Up With the Eds
21.Who
Let the Ed In
22.Avast
Ye Eds
23.Flea
Bitten Ed
24.Fool
on the Ed
25.Ready
Set Ed
26.The
Ed-Touchables
27.Who
What Where Ed
28.Dear
Ed
29.Momma’s Little Ed
30.Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?
31.Hot
Buttered Ed
32.Ed or Tails
33.Stop
Look and Ed
34.See No Ed
35.Shoo
Ed
36.Rock-a-Bye Ed
37.Little
Ed Blue
38.Ed
in a Halfshell
39.Scrambled
Ed
40.Pain
in the Ed
41.O-Ed Eleven
42.Vert
Ed Go
43.Ed
Overboard
44.Oath
to an Ed
45.Ed, Ed, and Away
46.Button
Yer Ed
47.An Ed in the Bush
48.Read
All About Ed
49.Rambling
Ed
50.Home
Cooked Ed
51.Honor
Thy Ed
52.Floss
Your Ed
53.Robbin’
Ed
54.Quick
Shot Ed
55.Look
Into My Eds
56.The Luck of the Ed
57.The
Good Ol’ Ed
58.Is There An Ed in the House?
59.Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
60.A
Boy and His Ed
61.Eds-Aggerate
62.Three Squares and an Ed
63.One
Size Fits Ed
64.Will Work for Ed
65.Boys Will Be Eds
66.High
Heeled Ed
67.Know-it-All
Ed
68.For Your Ed Only
69.Dim Lit Ed
70.Cry
Ed
71.Eeny
Meeny Miney Ed
72.A
Pinch to Grow an Ed
73.Pop
Goes the Ed
74.Hands
Across Ed
75.They
Call Him Mr. Ed
76.An
Ed Too Many
77.Sir
Ed-a-Lot
78.For
the Ed By the Ed
79.Over
Your Ed
80.From Here to Ed
81.A
Key to My Ed
82.Once
Bitten Twice Ed
83.X Marks the Ed
84.It’s
Way Ed
85.In
Like Ed
86.A
Twist of Ed
87.A
Case of Ed
88.Thick as an Ed
89.My Fair Ed
90.To
Sir With Ed
91.Nagged
to Ed
92.Tag
Yer Ed
93.Sorry Wrong Ed
94.If
it Smells Like an Ed
95.Your
Ed Here
The next episode follows the Eds struggles to join a rich club that excludes and humiliates them, unprovoked, and Jimmy teaming up with Rolf to get back at Eddy with their own scam.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is more DuckTales.
If you would like to check out other Ed Edd n Eddy reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
