Friday, September 15, 2017

'Toon Reviews 5: DuckTales Vol 1 Part 27 + Final Thoughts

Micro Ducks from Outer Space











We’re going to be wrapping up this set of reviews with this episode since it’s the last one on the DVD set, and it’s a fun little (pun intended) adventure to end on.  I say “little” because it involves a great deal of getting shrunk down and witnessing how different, and more dangerous, the world can be at such a small stature.  It kicks off with Scrooge desperately needing to sell a surplus of wheat, and gets a buyer in the form of a team of alien ducks who are very small.  The fun really starts after the aliens take the wheat, but accidentally leave behind an equally small shrinking machine.  The main conflict of the episode unfolds when Scrooge messes around with the machine to enlarge one of his gold nuggets, and gets himself, the boys, and Webby shrunk which, while believable due to Scrooge’s greedy characteristics, is still not the best way to get the plot going given how much of a competent adventurer he’s established himself as.  Despite that, the rest of the cartoon is another one to greatly benefit the animation medium by greatly visualizing a different perspective of the world with our main heroes stuck in a different size.  For one thing, the episode never holds back when showing the dangers of being so small.  We see Scrooge and the kids easily getting sucked up by the vacuum, running into rats that can do more than just bite them in a storm drain, and get caught in a spider web.  These are life-threatening perils that give this episode some edge and gets you to take it seriously.  Equally impressive are the many ways the characters come up with ways to get around their obstacles and reach the only duck who can possibly help them, Gyro.  They include using a matchbox for a raft to get through a puddle and later lighting it to scare away the rats, using a skateboard to speed through Duckburg, and getting a pigeon to fly them out of the park to Gyro’s barn.  These moments feature these characters at their best in terms of problem-solving and creative thinking which helps in making this a good episode to close this set.  Everything ultimately works out in the end with Gyro and the aliens getting everyone back to their normal size, but the episode’s interpretation of how the world looks from a small perspective will be remembered.  In the end, we get an exciting and creative story willing to go for life-threatening stakes with likable characters at the helm.  It helps seal the deal in making this set of episodes a great introduction to this show. 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. Micro Ducks from Outer Space
  15. Sir Gyro de Gearloose
  16. Master of the Djinni
  17. Sphinx for the Memories
  18. Send in the Clones
  19. Sweet Duck of Youth
  20. Earth Quack
  21. Down and Out in Duckburg
  22. The Lost Crown of Genghis Kahn
  23. The Money Vanishes
  24. Where No Duck Has Gone Before
  25. Dinosaur Ducks
  26. Pearl of Wisdom
  27. Superdoo!

Final Thoughts
If I could briefly describe why DuckTales is such an awesome animated TV series judging by the 27 episodes on this DVD, it would be because it successfully captures the essence of the best Disney classics and incorporates it into a serial format.  The appeal of the Disney classics is that they’re some of the most memorable stories ever written for being told with a timeless, universally appealing charm with creative elements that make the works stand out, and lovable characters whether their good guys or bad guys.  These are the kinds of story qualities that stick with you for life, and are pretty much the same qualities you get from the episodes of this show.  The stories revolve around subjects that clearly cater to the mainstream action-adventure crowd such as treasure-hunting, magic spells, ghost-hunting, sea voyages, meeting dinosaurs, space travel, superheroes, robot fights, and getting shrunk, but they never really feel like the typical plotlines you can watch on any old cartoon show.  The stories, and the adventures that make them up, are filled with creative scenarios that get you invested until the end which include obstacles to make the characters’ adventure more challenging, explanations for certain occurrences in life, and even a few plot twists here and there.  As a result, no two episodes are alike and easily stand out from each other.  That way, you’re always able to enjoy the episodes in many different ways. 


Combining with the creativity and distinctiveness of the stories are the cast of characters we follow.  Scrooge McDuck is a highly entertaining lead for this show.  It’s not only unique to have an old, rich duck go on these adventures, but he has a lot likable qualities to make him shine as a character.  He may be greedy, but that flaw is never shown to go too far, and is actually handled in a way that brings out some humor whenever he senses an opportunity to be cheap, and cleverly use it to resolve a good chunk of the conflicts in the episode.  Plus, he still proves to be a great and loving family man and friend through his relationships with the grand-nephews and employees.  The rest of the characters have a ton of appeal too.  Launchpad McQuack is the best source of character-driven comedy from the show for always being there for the people in his life despite constantly messing up spectacularly and essentially being a naïve child in a man’s body, making him an interesting folk to play hero.  Gyro Gearloose’s appeal comes from the gadgets he invents that drive the plot, but he still has an amusing personality by being so smart with inventing, but being clueless when it comes to keeping them safe.  Huey, Dewey, and Louie work off the co-stars well while also greatly balancing being impressionable kids and skilled problem-solvers, even if they don’t really have much distinct traits to stand out individually.  There’s also lots to love with the antagonists with the nice and amusing family dynamic of the Beagle Boys, the dirty-playing business rival who’s not stubborn enough to work with the enemy when he has to, Flintheart Glomgold, and the over-the-top creative and charismatic wizard, Magica de Spell.  Even weaker characters like the overly cutesy and girly Webby, and the chubby, usually ineffective Doofus Drake have enough charm and likability to follow through an episode.  The creative storytelling and distinct cast of likable characters are the biggest strengths of the episodes which helps in making them come off as timeless works that everyone, and not just the action-adventure crowd, can enjoy alongside the great, energetic animation and catchy music (to say nothing about what may be the catchiest theme song ever), which are the qualities of any great animated work.  In fact, since these strengths are clearly given the most focus, this show is worth being called one of the best in my book, and I greatly look forward to exploring the rest of the show.

So, if you’re interested in checking out DuckTales if you haven’t already, go buy this DVD.  You won’t regret it.  The featured episodes are sure to get you hooked with the show as they did with me, so much so that I’m eagerly anticipating getting Volumes 2 & 3, as well as the remaining 25 episodes that haven’t been released on DVD.  Basically, it’ll be one of those shows you can’t get enough of and will stick with you for life, like any great Disney product would be.
Highly Recommended
We have officially gone through the entire DuckTales Volume 1 DVD.  Reviews of the episodes that make up the Volumes 2 & 3 DVDs and the 25 remaining ones will definitely be posted here in the future.  Next time though, we'll be looking into the episodes of the first season of what I consider to be the best animated series of the modern era.  Feel free to guess what it is until the first review of that season is uploaded.  Until then:


Stay Animated Folks!
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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