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Bubba’s Big Brainstorm
It’s technically a break from the norm to have Bubba the caveduck in the spotlight again after a number of Gizmoduck and nephew starring roles. However, his lack of real intrigue as a lead still persists as this episode features problems that arise regardless of whether or not something is done with his boisterous caveduck ways.
The conflict starts with everyone wanting to do something about Bubba’s recent string of bad grades which already begs a lot of questions. Since he’s from the Stone Age and not as evolved as people in modern times, it’s a given a school in this age wouldn’t be a good fit for him. In fact, why is he even a classmate? This is even brought up later on, but nothing comes of this claim.
Anyway, Bubba is given an invention by Gyro Gearloose called a thinking cap, and it instantly works in making him smarter. This makes his entire persona change, not only having a larger intellect for his studies, but also speaking with a more sophisticated tone and vocabulary. It’s effective in lowering his more scrappy tendencies and guarantees him better grades, but there’s also a mixed perception on this new Bubba. He easily fulfills his goal of better grades up to the point of getting the teacher to quit and go back to college. However, Huey, Dewey, and Louie see Bubba’s lack of rambunctiousness as a problem despite the fact that he’s much less destructive to others now. It’s hard to really agree with them that this is a problem. At the same time, it seems that being smart inherently gives Bubba major attitude issues as he ends up majorly boastful with what he knows and talks down to everyone else. Both personas of Bubba are clearly problematic, yet the setup presents one as good and one as bad with no mention of a compromise. In some cases, it’s debatable which is seen as good or bad. From Scrooge’s perspective, he thinks nothing of the old Bubba, but sees nothing but value in the new Bubba, particularly how his new intellect can help increase his fortune. This mindset shows a lack of consideration, but it does at least get better later on.
Anyway, Bubba’s newfound genius ways lead Scrooge and the nephews to a treasure that belonged to an ancient civilization of geniuses called the Ancient Thinkas. The stereotypically depicted natives of this tribe ambush them and trap them in their temple for trespassing, but this actually poses as an opportunity to find the treasure. Bubba deduces that the Ancient Thinkas stored their treasure in the temple, and the way to uncover it is to make their way through. There are some close calls when getting through the temple’s obstacles, but Bubba continues to prove effective whether he’s decoding a rhythmic alarm on a door; using an equation to find a correct direction; or guessing simple riddles.
His intellect is productive, but it shows a continuous lack of consideration for the well-being of others. This is especially apparent when Huey, Dewey, and Louie are attacked by a monster and Bubba thinks nothing of it. This marks a welcome turning point to Scrooge’s way of thinking where after seeing merit in the new Bubba, he claims the caveduck is now all brain and no heart. In other words, he’d rather have the old Bubba back, which ultimately proves that the appeal of his character is still present. For that, Bubba gives up the thinking cap, allowing his old intelligence and caveduck mannerisms to return and save the boys with a simple whack with a club and brute force to the monster.
After this productive example of the old Bubba, the treasure of the Ancient Thinkas is revealed to be a collection of books on the natives’ history. As a notable yet not too subtle tie to Bubba, they became so smart that they forgot their survival skills, though that seems hard to believe for the current generation of Thinkas. Amidst the confusion of how all this works, everything is resolved with Scrooge aiming to profit off the treasure by selling the books, and the boys happy to have the old Bubba back.
That said, the story could have been stronger if the conclusion involved Bubba finding a balance between his old caveduck ways, and his useful knowledge. They both clearly have good and bad points, but painting one side as all good and the other as all bad, the appeal is noticeably weakened. This means the episode doesn’t go all out with its concept, but for the good points it still makes and moral value winning out, it’s overall a work with enough brain and heart.
B
The Ranking
1. My Mother the Psychic
2. Allowance Day
3. The Land of Trala La
4. The Good Muddahs
5. Dough Ray Me
6.
Bubba’s Big Brainstorm
7. Metal Attraction
8. Bubbeo and Juliet
The next review returns us to Fenton who comes up with a new business idea full of Pep.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews, we turn to the reboot to look into "The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra."
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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