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Daytrip of Doom
With the series tone and family dynamics now established in the premiere, episodes are now open to explore everything at play. It all begins with a simple slice-of-life story like this exploring different facets. First, there’s Scrooge adjusted to being closer to family ever since he moved everyone into his mansion as he spends the episode mostly nonchalant to their presence. More prominent is Mrs. Beakley trying to maintain order as Donald uses his own houseboat as his living quarters without taking up any space or power in the mansion. However, the main plot is about the kids with Huey, Dewey, and Louie attempting a day of fun as Webby tries to join in.
The catch is that Webby is far too energetic and action-oriented to approach even the littlest situation the way average kids would. The opening demonstrates this greatly with her treating a game of darts as a serious war. All the while, Webby is certainly a ton of fun with how she approaches common pastimes.
Anyhow, she’s invited to join the boys on a trip to an arcade called Funzo’s Fun Zone, which seems like an ideal place to bond with her new friends. However, Webby’s eccentric ways still are troublesome. Her first mishaps are over little things like failing at haggling which exposes Louie trying to get free fruit punch and causing Dewey to lose high scores on a valuable game. Then, just as the boys are still about to accept her eccentricities, Webby accidentally causes major damage to the facility leading to them all getting banned from Funzo’s.
At the same time, more trouble brews for them in the form of the series’ adversaries; in this case the most common from the original series, the Beagle Boys. In terms of their characterizations in the reboot, they’re seen as more cunning and calculating than the old show’s more comedic portrayal. Still, they seem to think too much alike with little to no traits to tell them apart, which was never an issue in the original. Still, one of the Beagle Boys, Bigtime, stands out for being ironically short and wanting credit for a big heist. He organizes a plan to capture Scrooge’s nephews and Webby as a way to get to his fortune, and successfully locks them up shortly after Funzo bans them. Bigtime’s desire for credibility is made even easier to see when he contacts his mother, Ma Beagle, to impress her with what he’s accomplished; despite his efforts she’s still not impressed. By the way, this portrayal of Ma Beagle is very in line with the original, but even more cold-hearted.
Still, a ransom note is sent out and is intercepted by Donald and Mrs. Beakley which brings a turning point in their subplot with Donald finally asking for her help. This is an effective setup for the climax as is a heartfelt scene of Webby lamenting over failing to be a normal kid only to be further reassured by her friends to be normal her own way. For that, she pulls off a very dark and elaborate stunt to intimidate Ma Beagle where she uses the play area of Funzo’s to lead the beagle matriarch into a trap. It’s ultimately an inventive scheme playing to the characters’ personalities and nature of the established setting. The same can be said for the takedown of the other Beagle Boys where Donald finally shows capability by using his temper to beat them up without needing Mrs. Beakley’s guidance.
In the end, everyone gets a better understanding of each other and bonds are strengthened. This may be one of the simpler stories, but it still demonstrates much to admire about the main family of the series.
A
Series Ranking
1.
Daytrip of Doom
2.
Escape To/From Atlantis
3.
Woo-oo
The next review covers Scrooge's obsession of scaling this world's version of Mt. Everest, Mt Neverrest.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Thai Feud" and "Adventures in Catsitting" in Amphibia.
If you would like to check out other DuckTales reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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