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The Status
Seekers
You’d think that as the richest duck in the world, Scrooge
would not be bothered by what other people think. Then, this episode acts like none of that
matters.
Scrooge may be rich, but he’s also
a good friend and family man allowing himself to have a good share of fun such
as playing muddy games of football or going to the hotdog cart for lunch. These activities aren’t approved by high-class
citizens of Duckburg who berate Scrooge for not having good status or acting how
rich people are allegedly supposed to act.
This is the biggest problem with the episode. Scrooge takes what the snobs say to heart and
forces himself to do what they do for better status. It just doesn’t feel right that Scrooge would
care so much about harsh judgements of him.
The episode acts like he has no status, but it also points out that he’s
the richest duck in the world. How is
that not status? Since wealth is a big
deal in this show, he should have status that none of the snobs will ever top. Scrooge has also made himself known through
interviews, fortune hunts, widely publicized adventures around the world, huge
investments, and more. This should make
him very popular, and how he casually acts shouldn’t take that away. This
leaves major frustration throughout the episode.
At least there’s still a legitimately
exciting adventure we’ve come to expect from the series. As Scrooge plans to join the snobs at their
club, the Status Seekers, he learns that you get in through offering something
of significant wealth. Even though
Scrooge has a lot of these things, he opts for claiming ownership of an
artifact called the Mask of Kuthululu, and all the Status Seekers chase after
it. From there comes the adventure which
is as fun to watch as the fortune hunts have always been. Scrooge surprises the competition through
turning his boat into a submarine (which also should prove his status but
somehow doesn’t). Along the way, one Status Seeker, the leader Charles Upstuck III, and
high class versions of the three main Beagle Boys, try to stop him. This leads to banter and creative ways to get
out of their enemies’ bad acts from Scrooge’s crew.
There’s also an imaginative outcome for when
they finally get to the mask. When they find out status on the island it’s
located in is measured by how fat the ruler is, Scrooge and his team offer
him a jar of peanut butter of all things to get it. This also applies when an earlier plan aids
in Scrooge’s favor later on with a huge jellyfish landing on Charles and the
Beagle Boys just as they’re about to blast him. At the same time, it could’ve been avoided
if the sub just went underwater.
So,
Scrooge ends up the leader of the Status Seekers, but episode’s prominent
frustration comes again. Everyone tells Scrooge what he can and can’t do
even though he’s the leader, and Scrooge continues to give into their peer
pressure by turning on his true friends.
Yes, he sees sense when he and his friends fight for the Mask of Kuthululu from
Charles and the Beagle Boys when no one else does and makes the whole club look stupid.
However, since Scrooge truly already does have great status, he really should’ve saw
sense in the first place.
As a result,
this episode is a perfect example of established character traits needing to be
cast aside for the plot to work which goes against everything you know. The
featured adventure is really fun and entertaining, but the catalyst for the
plot and the frustration it brings is too big to ignore. If you’re looking for the show at its best,
this episode has no such status.
C-
The Ranking
- Duck in the Iron Mask
- The Uncrashable Hindentanic
- Dime Enough for Luck
- Duck to the Future
- Launchpad’s First Crash
- Jungle Duck
- The Status Seekers
The next DuckTales review is a much more creative venture as Magica de Spell traps Scrooge and the gang in their biggest fears.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is a Hilda episode, "The Troll Rock."
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