Considering the usual format of these types of
episodes, this one can best be described as refreshing.Not only does it feature the character most
tied to the series, Scrooge McDuck, in the lead, but it’s one that suits him
very well.At the same time, it also
makes for a very interesting conflict that those in the working class can
really relate to.
The story takes some
of Scrooge's most prominent traits of greed and cheapness, and crafts something that feels
right for the character on top of being interesting to dissect.After a general display of him being cheap,
it finds a center in one of his many businesses made notable for this episode,
a skateboard factory.Now, the work
environment doesn’t seem too bad, but there are points of concern,
such as everyone making sure they’re rushing to get work done the minute he
appears.However, their biggest concern
is Scrooge potentially selling off the factory to a man named Mr. Trumpcard.Given this character’s familiar resemblance,
it’s understandable why the factory would be concerned and dread him running
this business the same way they’d dread him being president.This is meant to depict Scrooge’s greed being
so out of line that he’s set up to go through something to show him sense.
Sure enough, he gets that when a skateboard
hits his head, and this blow is enough to make him forget who he is, subjecting
him to amnesia.From here, Scrooge is given
a mandated identity crisis that comes from amnesia.Not only does he have no regard for money or
how expensive things like food are in town, but is sincerely sad that he has no
idea who he is.He noticeably doesn’t
even have his Scottish accent, with his voice sounding more like the natural
voice of his original actor, Alan Young.Basically, there are several creative factors to make this identity
crisis stand out emotionally.
Soon, things start coming
together for Scrooge as he's offered a place to stay by Mrs. Crackshell and
later gets an idea that he’s meant to work at the skateboard factory.During his time there, there are notable ways
the episode ties into real-world working-class issues with things like very
short lunch breaks and no real benefits other than just working.As he gets an idea of the working class,
Scrooge goes on to inspire a revolution by convincing the workers to go on
strike.At first, it’s because of the conditions
he experienced, but he’s particularly pushed to his limit upon hearing about
the factory being sold to Mr. Trumpcard.All the while, it’s amusing to see Scrooge act like this, working at a
company he actually runs.
Things get
even more out of hand when Fenton Crackshell gets really involved in the
matter.With Scrooge missing, it’s
decided that he should be portrayed by Fenton to manage the passing of the
skateboard factory.After coaching him My
Fair Lady style, Fenton is convincing enough as Scrooge, accent and all,
and to add to that, he gets very into character with his most negative traits
too.It can be argued that Fenton gets a
little too in character, almost as if he forgets he’s meant to pretend to be
Scrooge.Everything comes to a head at
the time the skateboard factory is to be sold to Mr. Trumpcard.There’s a clash of mistaken identity with
Scrooge, without his memories, leading a revolt against Fenton who’s thinking
too much like Scrooge, all to amusing effect.Two characters who clearly don’t feel like themselves are going at each
other; it’s the basic definition of a comedy of errors.
It even comes to a notable climax when the
police try to subdue Scrooge by arresting him, and the energy of the situation
picks up as he runs through the factory trying to get away.This results in another bump on the head
which, as is the case with these sorts of storylines, is enough for Scrooge to
regain his memory.However, the climax
doesn’t stop there as Scrooge and Fenton get into a heated argument about who’s
the real Scrooge.As fun as the way
these two play off each other is, it’s at this point where Fenton is a bit
much, and it’s easy to wish he’d drop the act now that Scrooge is back.Thankfully, everyone comes to their senses
when Mrs. Crackshell uncovers that she was harboring Scrooge this entire
time.What’s more, Scrooge himself is
shown to have grown from the experience by cancelling the sale of the factory,
and opting to give the workers better treatment.
There has been a notable lack of the series’
more engaging setups at this point, but this episode is ultimately a breath of
fresh air.By taking a familiar amnesia
story and working in universal societal themes with solid character moments and
high energy, it reminds audiences of what makes this show the joy it is.
A
The Ranking
1.Blue Collar Scrooge
2.My Mother the Psychic
3.Allowance Day
4.The Big Flub
5.The Land of Trala La
6.The Good Muddahs
7.Dough Ray Me
8.A Case of Mistaken Identity
9.Bubba’s Big Brainstorm
10.Metal Attraction
11.Bubbeo and Juliet
The next review covers a creative look at a reboot episode featuring golf, talking ponies, and petrifying mist.
If you would like to check out other DuckTales reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
It might not seem pleasing that the Eds usually lose in the
end, but a big factor making this direction work is when they’re set up to
deserve it. Whether they go too far with annoying others, legitimately hurt
them, or overlook a specific detail, it only makes sense that they get some
comeuppance.Factors that make it an
issue are when they’re all punished when only one or two of them was truly in
the wrong, or if everyone just mistreats them unprovoked.Unfortunately, this cartoon is an instance
where this setup doesn’t work as the Eds are mistreated by everyone for no
good reason, and it comes off as a bit of a bore in the process.
Now, the first few minutes of the cartoon
have probably the best entertainment value.They follow the usual setup with the Eds preparing a scam for the
neighborhood kids, in this case, selling bubble wrap as mini trampolines.It stands out with Eddy dressing up as a
number of kids acting excited over what’s being promoted; and the actual
demonstration set off by Ed sending Double D bouncing on a bunch of bubble wrap
piles by popping some himself.This
action uses up all of the supply, so the Eds have to get some more.
This circumstance leads to the main plot when
they pass through Ed’s backyard to get more bubble wrap, and discover that
Sarah and Jimmy have set it up for their own purposes.They’ve turned the backyard into their own personal
club for “rich people” and designed it for members only, and it’s easy to tell
that the Eds are not among them.From
here, Eddy calls for the group to abandon their planned scam and set out on
joining this rich club, and it’s here where the cartoon takes a turn for the
worse.It becomes nothing but a drawn-out
routine of the Eds presenting themselves as rich to try and prove eligible for
the club, only for Sarah and Jimmy to turn them down or just ignore them.Without them doing anything to motivate such
mistreatment, everything they do is simply futile.Because they get nowhere as Sarah and Jimmy
remain very stubborn and judgmental, nothing of substance ever happens, making
the experience as dull as it is unpleasant.There’s at least one amusing sequence with the Eds trying to look rich
with a cardboard yacht, only for Ed’s antics to “sink” it, but other than that,
it’s pretty unremarkable.
The setup gets
even more frustrating when Sarah and Jimmy welcome the other “members” of their
rich club, basically every other neighborhood kid.This is a huge giveaway that their club isn’t
really exclusive and is neglecting the Eds for the sick sake of it.Some kids don’t even look rich with Jonny and
Plank just wearing colanders on their head, and Kevin arriving in his usual
clothes.It’s at this point when one
must wonder why Eddy is even bothering with trying to join this club when
they’re deliberately excluding him and his friends.They’re also clearly pretending to be rich
considering they use toy boats for yacht races, rocking horses for polo, and
the rich clothes are just costumes.An
argument can be made that this does tie into a deeper desire to just be
included with others and be well liked, which admittedly is commendable.However, with no real progress being made,
the experience is just a big frustration.
There is something to be gained when a heated discussion does bring a
slight change in direction.The Eds
ultimately do get accepted into the rich club like they were aiming for, but
while that seems like things will pick up, there’s unfortunately another catch.Rather than actual members, they’re assigned
to be total servants or busboys to the rest of the club and are assigned to the
most demeaning tasks.Literally the rest
of the cartoon is nothing but Ed being tasked to tie Kevin’s shoe; Double D
providing members shade and later providing food to Rolf who’s near impossible
to satisfy; and Eddy having to carry everyone around in a cardboard box on his
back.Basically, it’s just the Eds being
mistreated and nothing else all the way to the end.Nothing stands out as particularly funny, there
are no standout qualities other than the kids being relentless jerks, and
nothing big is gained from any of this.Making this especially known is the cartoon just kind of stopping
instead of reaching any natural conclusion.Eddy makes a comment about the situation after collapsing from
everyone’s weight, and then suddenly, the cartoon’s over.
When all is said and done, the cartoon ends
up being one that just exists, being fueled by an unremarkable story with
nothing of substance.There are solid
humor beats here and there, but they’re not enough to make up for a mostly dull
and unpleasant experience, especially one that’s unwarranted.
D
Here’s Mud in Your Ed
A major issue in the previous cartoon was that the Eds were
faced with ridicule and mistreatment, yet they did nothing to deserve it.This alone is a benefit to this cartoon where
there is a legit reason for them to have others turn against them, and really
only for the one Ed who’s in the wrong.At the same time though, it comes with making that Ed notably worse than
he usually is.
Everything unfolds with
things going ever so miserably for Jimmy.A pleasant leisurely activity with Sarah takes a nasty turn when Jonny
appears, and antics lead her to get involved in a very aggressive argument.As it’s never resolved, this moment is solely
meant to serve as a catalyst for Jimmy being extra intimidated and depressed.Once the Eds become aware of this, Eddy sees
this as an opportunity.
To feed into
Jimmy’s desire for happiness, Eddy devises the scam for the day; a theme park all
about smiles with some promising attractions to it.Considering the usual way the Eds’ scams work,
one might expect the cartoon to be an explore of exactly what the Eds created
for the scam.However, when Jimmy goes
in expecting a fun time with a huge dose of smiles, all he finds is a desolate
alley which isn’t a happy sight at all.In other words, this was all a cruel joke in which this scam actually
feels like a legit scam, and honestly, it’s very off-putting, even by the Eds’
usual standards.The way they typically
work is that they’re designed as legit attractions and products kids would want
to buy, and the time and effort put into each creation is clear.It feels like the Eds are actually trying to
deliver on what they’re promising their customers.There’s absolutely no reason why they
wouldn’t try putting together the attractions promised when they’ve proven
capable of the effort in the past.They’ve even done something like this through making a city with all sorts of attractions made entirely of cardboard.But no, this is all instead a cruel elaborate
trick to get Jimmy’s money just so the Eds can get a jawbreaker, because that’s
all that matters.
Now, to be specific,
Eddy is the only Ed who’s truly at fault for the whole thing, deliberately
organizing the whole thing to be a trick and nothing more.Ed just naively goes along with it due to his
lack of intelligence, and Double D is shown to be unaware of his true
intentions which makes this scam even worse.As out of line as Eddy is, these factors definitely set him up for some
welcome consequences for the rest of the cartoon, and it delivers with that,
albeit with more concerns.
A big cause
for this comes from Jimmy getting some much-needed sympathy from Rolf who’s
going around as a being from his culture known as a guardian pigeon.As Jimmy laments about his day, he gets his own
guardian pigeon in the form of Rolf who hears of Eddy's trick.He sets out to help Jimmy by getting back at Eddy, and
given the nature of that whole stunt, it all feels warranted.In fact, Eddy already starts getting some
comeuppance when he isn’t able to use Jimmy’s quarter to get a jawbreaker as Ed
ends up spending it on a rocket ride.Then again, it’s all because he gave Ed the quarter in the first place
which highlights another detracting factor to Eddy’s overall portrayal
here.
It becomes apparent when he comes
across a tree sprouting money that’s said to belong to Rolf.As part of his payback towards Eddy, Rolf
appears claiming ownership of this money tree, and says he’ll give away the
seed to it if Eddy gives all his possessions. Being easily desperate for cash, Eddy is quick
to comply, literally giving Rolf everything he owns in exchange for that seed
right down to leaving his bedroom bare and empty.
Now, the issue here is that a huge factor in
making all this work is Eddy having to be significantly unintelligent.It’s incredibly obvious that the money tree
is fake, and the money it grows are really soup labels with money symbols
painted on another side.Along with Eddy
letting Ed hold the quarter, it’s not hard to see that this is an incredibly
stupid mindset that really isn’t like him.In fact, one doesn’t even need to view the following scenes of Double D
investigating the tree, concluding that it’s fake to figure out that this is
the case.
As much of a downside to the
cartoon this is though, it works fine enough considering that Eddy feels worthy
of some sort of punishment.Jimmy’s
overt happiness over Eddy falling for the trick is most reflective of this
sentiment as is how attached he becomes to Rolf.Now, while Eddy may have been dumb enough to
fall for the trick, even when Double D shows him what the money really is, he
still has some sense.When looking at
the seed itself, he soon understands that it’s actually an empty spool which
makes him totally livid.
Just as Rolf is
about to have too much of Jimmy, Eddy prevents that sentiment from developing
further late at night, banging Ed on his door with rage in response to being
tricked.This whole scenario plays out
believably and feels entertaining, though the way Rolf deals with this isn’t
too remarkable.
He offers to give Eddy
the real money tree seed, though it’s clearly not a seed but a bolt.Eddy plants
it genuinely believing he’ll get a tree this time, and then the cartoon just
ends, no real resolution, just Eddy getting screwed over and nothing more.That said, Double D does have a pretty
amusing line to mark the abruptness of the ending, making for a clever fourth
wall break.Still, this abrupt ending
with nothing to show for it as well as portraying Eddy as too cruel and dumb ultimately
work against this cartoon.Thanks to
everything he gets feeling right and entertainment from featured character
dynamics and some funny lines, it’s still overall a solid watch.
B
Series Ranking
1.An Ed is Born
2.One
+ One = Ed
3.The Day the Ed Stood Still
4.A Glass of Warm
Ed
5.It Came from Outer Ed
6.Rent-A-Ed
7.Once Upon an Ed
8.Fa
La La La Ed
9.Urban
Ed
10.Ed…Pass it On
11.One
of Those Eds
12.Laugh
Ed Laugh
13.Dawn
of the Eds
14.Don’t
Rain on My Ed
15.Wish You Were Ed
16.Dueling Eds
17.Mirror,
Mirror On the Ed
18.Gimme, Gimme Never Ed
19.Ed-N-Seek
20.Keeping
Up With the Eds
21.Who
Let the Ed In
22.Avast
Ye Eds
23.Flea
Bitten Ed
24.Fool
on the Ed
25.Ready
Set Ed
26.The
Ed-Touchables
27.Who
What Where Ed
28.Dear
Ed
29.Momma’s Little Ed
30.Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?
31.Hot
Buttered Ed
32.Ed or Tails
33.Stop
Look and Ed
34.See No Ed
35.Shoo
Ed
36.Rock-a-Bye Ed
37.Little
Ed Blue
38.Ed
in a Halfshell
39.Scrambled
Ed
40.Pain
in the Ed
41.O-Ed Eleven
42.Vert
Ed Go
43.Ed
Overboard
44.Oath
to an Ed
45.Ed, Ed, and Away
46.Button
Yer Ed
47.An Ed in the Bush
48.Read
All About Ed
49.Rambling
Ed
50.Home
Cooked Ed
51.Honor
Thy Ed
52.Floss
Your Ed
53.Robbin’
Ed
54.Quick
Shot Ed
55.Look
Into My Eds
56.The Luck of the Ed
57.The
Good Ol’ Ed
58.Is There An Ed in the House?
59.Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
60.A
Boy and His Ed
61.Eds-Aggerate
62.Three Squares and an Ed
63.One
Size Fits Ed
64.Will Work for Ed
65.Boys Will Be Eds
66.High
Heeled Ed
67.Know-it-All
Ed
68.For Your Ed Only
69.Dim Lit Ed
70.Cry
Ed
71.Eeny
Meeny Miney Ed
72.A
Pinch to Grow an Ed
73.Pop
Goes the Ed
74.Hands
Across Ed
75.They
Call Him Mr. Ed
76.An
Ed Too Many
77.Sir
Ed-a-Lot
78.For
the Ed By the Ed
79.Over
Your Ed
80.From Here to Ed
81.A
Key to My Ed
82.Once
Bitten Twice Ed
83.X Marks the Ed
84.It’s
Way Ed
85.Here’s
Mud in Your Ed
86.In
Like Ed
87.A
Twist of Ed
88.A
Case of Ed
89.Thick as an Ed
90.My Fair Ed
91.To
Sir With Ed
92.Nagged
to Ed
93.Tag
Yer Ed
94.Stiff
Upper Ed
95.Sorry Wrong Ed
96.If
it Smells Like an Ed
97.Your
Ed Here
The next episode faces Eddy with a loss of ideas for scams, and we're introduced to Plank's parents.
Next time is more DuckTales reviews.
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