Thursday, September 14, 2017

'Toon Reviews 5: DuckTales Vol 1 Part 26

Bermuda Triangle Tangle











This episode gives us an interpretation of what it’s like in the Bermuda Triangle, the triangular area in the ocean where ships are said to have gotten lost.  It unfolds when Scrooge and the boys set out to uncover one of Scrooge’s cargo ships that was carrying a shipment of chunky peanut butter of all things had gotten lost in the Bermuda Triangle.  As it turns out, this portrayal of the Bermuda Triangle has the creative feature of being so over-grown with seaweed that you can actually walk around without falling into the ocean.  Plus, it’s also shown to contain a group of sailors who live there after the seaweed got caught in the motors of their ships, stranding them in the Bermuda Triangle.  With this in mind, it’s also worth noting that the episode has an interesting theme of different viewpoints of leadership.  To explain, the sailors of the Bermuda Triangle are led by a guy named Captain Bounty who has everyone live off of seaweed, work with seaweed, and insist that there’s no way to escape with all the boats stuck in the seaweed and incessant threats of attacks from a seaweed monster.  Scrooge disapproves of Bounty’s mindset and insists on at least trying to escape all while Captain Bounty insists that he’s ruling with the most care towards everyone’s survival.  What makes these viewpoints work is that they’re both easy to side with.  Of course, you’d want Scrooge to escape, but even if what Bounty wants to do is just give up, when he mentions trying to survive, you see where he’s coming from.  As it turns out though, practically everyone, including Bounty’s followers, want to try and escape the Bermuda Triangle, and when Bounty finds out, instead of revealing to be a bad guy to force his ideals, he listens to everyone’s feelings on the matter and understands them.  So, they ultimately free the ships, and in the process utilize some of Bounty’s survival tips, specifically calming the seaweed monster with a harpsichord in a light-hearted turn of events.  Then, to make the viewpoint of leadership theme remain strong, after Scrooge gets all the sailors, and his cargo ship back to civilization, Bounty, while having grown from this experience, hasn’t been completely changed by it, and the episode ends with him returning to live in the Bermuda Triangle he calls home.  It adds to the appeal of his character, and seems believable to real-life scenarios, which can only benefit the episode in a major way.  Not only is this episode fun and creative with its depiction of the Bermuda Triangle, but it’s written with themes and character moments that make it highly respectful for all in the audience. 9.5/10
The Ranking
  1. The Curse of Castle McDuck
  2. Home Sweet Homer
  3. Hotel Strangeduck
  4. Maid of the Myth
  5. Hero for Hire
  6. Top Duck
  7. Robot Robbers
  8. Much Ado About Scrooge
  9. Magica’s Shadow War
  10. Duckman of Aquatraz
  11. Launchpad’s Civil War
  12. Bermuda Triangle Terror
  13. Armstrong
  14. Sir Gyro de Gearloose
  15. Master of the Djinni
  16. Sphinx for the Memories
  17. Send in the Clones
  18. Sweet Duck of Youth
  19. Earth Quack
  20. Down and Out in Duckburg
  21. The Lost Crown of Genghis Kahn
  22. The Money Vanishes
  23. Where No Duck Has Gone Before
  24. Dinosaur Ducks
  25. Pearl of Wisdom
  26. Superdoo!
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last episode on the DuckTales Vol 1 DVD which is of the closest microscopic Disney adventure we had 2 years before Honey I Shrunk the Kids featuring "Micro Ducks from Outer Space."
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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