Time is Money Part 5: Ali Bubba's Cave (DuckTales Vol 3 Part 19) - 'Toon Reviews 25

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Time is Money Part 5: Ali Bubba’s Cave

Here’s one last race against time as Scrooge explores Bubba’s cave for the perfect diamond to buy it.  The results are a mixed bag with exciting moments and devaluing story directions. 

Most of the episode is an exciting fortune hunt in which Scrooge has the ambition, the boys have the wit, and Launchpad has the humor when it comes to his crash record.  The cave entrance is blocked by Flintheart Glomgold and the Beagle Boys, and from here, things get confusing with how they keep Scrooge from completing his purchase.  They can completely destroy Scrooge’s chances since the markers he left in the cave make it part of the purchase.  Flintheart can destroy the marks so even if Scrooge pays him in time, the cave won’t be buyable.  Instead, he and the Beagle Boys lounge in the diamonds and let Scrooge freely try to pay.  At least the series’ spirit is felt through our heroes finding another way to the cave.  Launchpad’s crashes humorously reveal an underground path, and to keep the diamond trek exciting, the group also runs from a strange monster. 

Meanwhile, there’s a subplot of Bubba returning to his time but feels more at home with Scrooge.  Amidst his caveduck mannerisms, these scenes are actually kind of cute through his limited vocabulary.  Bubba then uses what’s left of the bombastium to find Scrooge through child innocence particularly with the hijinks from the random times he ends up in.  He eventually gets to Scrooge and takes out that monster.  The paths now crossed lead to precision, wit, and ingenuity to find the diamonds and get through Flintheart’s last obstacle. 

However, in a huge twist, Scrooge doesn’t win.  He pays Flintheart with the diamond too late.  Honestly, he shouldn’t have been allowed to pay with it anyway.  Until the purchase, the diamonds belonged to Flintheart, so Scrooge was basically paying with his rival’s money.  Anyhow, this outcome is a striking formula shift. Scrooge is set up to truly get that family matters more than fortunes.  Then one of Scrooge’s stunts erupts all the diamonds out of the cave and onto the part of the island he does rightfully own.  While Fintheart losing the diamonds is fine, all of them landing on Scrooge’s island cheapens what could’ve been a mature resolution. It’s not even convincing that the diamonds would land in piles on that specific spot.  It’s still all right as a resolution, as is Scrooge investing in a dinosaur park for Bubba now part of his family. 

Speaking of Bubba, it works emotionally since this arc showed a lot of Scrooge warming up to him.  However, it ignores the legit importance of Bubba needing to go back where he came from.  What about the big hole in time?  Won’t all of time be messed up because of this?  It would’ve been fine if all those earlier fears were just in Scrooge’s head, but at least one moment made a big deal of this.  Since nothing bad happens with time here and anywhere else in the show, what was the point of bringing that up in the first place?  Plus, for all the heart of Scrooge’s farewell with Bubba in the last part, it’s wasted because of Bubba staying.  It makes the whole arc much less impactful than it could have.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad though.  There’s still plenty of exciting action and character moments, and its heart is in the right place.  It’s just held back by noticeable plot holes and plot points that appeal more to just kids than universal audiences.  It’s entertaining, but it’s safe to say that this is where the series starts losing steam.

B-

The Ranking

1. Once Upon a Dime
2. Duck in the Iron Mask
3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. McDuck
4. Spies in Their Eyes
5. Nothing to Fear
6. The Uncrashable Hindentanic
7. Dime Enough for Luck
8. Duck to the Future
9. Launchpad’s First Crash
10. Jungle Duck
11. Ducky Horror Picture Show
12. Time is Money Part 4: Ducks on the Lam
13. Time is Money Part 1: Marking Time
14. Time is Money Part 2: The Duck Who Would Be King
15. All Ducks on Deck
16. Till Nephews Do Us Part
17. Time is Money Part 5: Ali Bubba’s Cave
18. The Status Seekers
19. Time is Money Part 3: Bubba Trubba

The next DuckTales review is the start of another arc, "Super DuckTales."

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Back to School" and "Egg Story" from Hey Arnold.

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