'Toon Reviews 5: DuckTales Vol 1 Part 12

Sir Gyro De Gearloose

From what I’ve seen of Gyro Gearloose so far, I’d say that he’s a fairly enjoyable character mostly because of his shtick of pulling off great inventions, only for them to be made a little too well or causing all kinds of chaos when they fall into the wrong hands.  He’s not the best character, but it’s easy to tell that we’re in for quite a time when he’s involved in an episode.  Here, we see a new side to Gyro’s character.  He’s tired of everyone turning to him as a gadget man and wants to be liked for something else, so he invents a bathtub that can send him back to time periods that might have been such as a time period where he might have been a famous knight.  Ultimately, he, along with Huey, Dewey, and Louie end up back in time in the kingdom of Quackelot ruled by King Artie.  Throughout their stay, it’s easy to feel for Gyro when he tries to prove himself as a knight, but ends up getting everyone in the kingdom to worship him as a gadget maker.  It’s made clear through scenes of Gyro creating a catapult to stop a black knight, or a cider hose to stop a fire-breathing dragon, and even a wheel to hold up his lance, that Gyro simply can’t escape what’s been established as his major talent which is one he’s sick of.  What makes these moments strong is that it’s believable that many people would feel this way.  As for the worshiping, Gyro’s gadget-making gets the attention of a wizard named Moorloon, who grows to want to impress King Artie and his court with gadgets as opposed to magic which, like Gyro’s gadget-making, is his true talent.  Now, while Gyro’s attempts to become a knight never go too far, Moorloon ends up making a deal with enemy ruler, Lessdred, which gets Quackelot invaded showing off a nice difference in consequences to actions depending on the extremes one goes to.  Anyway, both Gyro and Moorloon reach a solid conclusion to their arcs when they decide that no one can be good at everything, and save Quackelot by sticking to what they know best with Gyro inventing a magnet-based gadget to attract the armor of Lessdred’s men and Moorloon powering it with his magic.  By the way, the outcome of Gyro’s gadget is sure to get a laugh out.  This message of sticking to what you know is a common one in shows, but I feel it’s one people of all ages should be aware of.  That, along with Gyro’s character development, and the medieval atmosphere of the whole adventure make this another strong entry to invest me in this show. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Hotel Strangeduck
2. Robot Robbers
3. Magica’s Shadow War
4. Duckman of Aquatraz
5. Armstrong
6. Sir Gyro de Gearloose
7. Master of the Djinni
8. Sphinx for the Memories
9. Send in the Clones
10. The Lost Crown of Genghis Kahn
11. The Money Vanishes
12. Where No Duck Has Gone Before
    

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the show tackles another common subject for adventures with "Dinosaur Ducks."

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