Magica’s
Magic Mirror
For the last episode on the DVD, it’s interesting that
instead of one full episode, we have two short cartoons, and
this is the only episode in the entire series that’s like this. Interesting background aside, this cartoon at
the first half of the episode proves how well this show can work with
storytelling even with half the runtime.
It once again has Magica de Spell as the primary antagonist and a highly entertaining one through her many spells at that. In this case, she hands Scrooge a gold mirror
and entices him to work a magic spell on it.
The way he just accepts the mirror without considering who he’s talking
too is concerning since it’s hard to miss Magica’s distinct voice, but that
point is too minor to invest a lot of thought in. Now, the catch is that the mirror she gave
him is a magical one that’s connected to a similar-looking gold mirror where
Magica can project what goes on in front of it to be shown on the other mirror
making those with the other mirror think it’s showing the future. Much of the time Magica uses her magic
mirrors is spent on playing harmless pranks on Scrooge and the nephews which
not only supply a few good laughs, but also convince Scrooge that its prediction
powers are for real. That’s the motivation
Magica needs for her ultimate “prediction” which convinces Scrooge that one
major supplier of his fortune will be doomed unless he hands over his Number
One Dime to her. While Scrooge is an
easy target of Magica’s tricks, it’s Huey,
Dewey, and Louie who end up the wiser when their mischievous spying ways allow
them to catch Magica in the act. Then,
we get the well-known cartoon convention of messing with the hero or enemy’s
secret weapons to humiliate them, and while there’s some mild humor to Magica’s
trick getting exposed through Scrooge seeing nothing but makeshift props when
asking the mirror for the future, the final climax between them and Magica ends
just as it starts. Considering that
she’s a powerful wizard with a vast knowledge of spells, you’d think that there
would be a huge battle with creative spells thrown at the protagonists since
we’ve seen her do stuff like that before.
Instead, Magica’s magic beam bounces around for a while before hitting
her and sending her to the mountains.
This is no doubt a result of having this story be a short cartoon
instead of a full episode. If it was a
full episode, the climax would probably be a lot different and more
exciting. As it is, even with its flaws,
what we have is still a solid showing of character moments and humor. 9/10
Take Me Out
of the Ball Game
The second cartoon of the last episode on the Vol. 2 DVD is
far more down-to-earth than the last one, making it more beneficial of the
shorter-than-usual length. It follows
the common slice-of-life activity of little league baseball games and
struggling to win against the opposing team.
What sets this particular cartoon apart from others of the subject is
the character in charge of the team of focus featuring Huey, Dewey, Louie and
many prominent kid characters in the cast called the Junior Woodchucks, and
he’s the last person you’d expect to be a baseball coach. It’s the ever-proper butler Duckworth filling
in for the championship game against the opposing team of young members of the
Beagle family, the Beagle Brats, which when you think about it, doesn’t make
sense for them to have a baseball team when the Beagle family consists of
wanted criminals. Anyway, regarding
Duckworth and his coaching means, being a highly trained butler established to go this route by choice with no understanding of how baseball works, the
entertainment factor comes from how he applies his butler mindset to the
game. He demands the players to clean
themselves off when they slide into the bases, scolds them due to him not
understanding what it means to steal a base, and he demands the players be on
their best behavior even though they’re just trying to score runs and get the
other team out. The moments work because
it’s funny to see an activity like baseball be approached with a completely
different frame of mind, and it makes for an effective obstacle for the Junior
Woodchucks team to get through so not to make them completely unstoppable
against the Beagle Brats. Still, the
fact that they get thrashed by the opposing team so badly throughout the
cartoon makes you wish that they’d just hurry up and let Duckworth know that
getting dirty, stealing bases, and whatnot is what you’re supposed to do in
baseball. Thankfully, just when you
think that these facts will never get through Duckworth’s high-class head, the
Junior Woodchucks’ protests on their progress finally get him to think of the
right strategy through treating baseball like golf or keeping your eye on the
ball. As it turns out, this is the
moment that finally gets Duckworth to be seen as a credible coach with the
Junior Woodchucks catching up to the Beagle Brats feeling like it’s worth
praising after how poor they were coached to play before. Duckworth even makes a star out of Doofus,
the Junior Woodchuck struggling throughout the whole cartoon, by appealing to
his interests resulting in Doofus hitting the winning homerun, and bringing in
one last gag involving Scrooge, Launchpad, and Launchpad’s helicopter as the
cartoon ends. We do close the DVD with a
basic show that takes a while to get going, but through priding on strong
comedy and a commendable payoff, it’s a good finish to a nice set for a great
series nonetheless. 9/10
The Ranking:
The
Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 5: Too Much of a Gold Thing
Catch as
Cash Can Part 2: A Whale of a Bad Time
Catch as
Cash Can Part 1: A Drain on the Economy
Back to the
Klondike
Double-O-Duck
Raiders of
the Lost Harp
The
Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 2: Wronguay in Ronguay
The
Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 4: Cold Duck
Time
Teasers
Duckworth’s
Revolt
The
Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 1: Don’t Give up the Ship
Catch as
Cash Can Part 4: Working for Scales
Ducks of
the West
The
Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 3: Three Ducks of the Condor
Take Me Out
of the Ball Game
Merit-Time
Adventure
Back Out in
the Outback
Magica’s
Magic Mirror
Scroogerello
Catch as
Cash Can Part 3: Aqua Ducks
Luck O’ the
Ducks
Scrooge’s
Pet
Horse
Scents
The Golden
Fleecing
The Right
Duck
Final Thoughts
Now that all three discs of DuckTales Vol. 2 have been successfully covered, I can proudly say
that the series continues to impress, and I’m really glad that I decided to
look into this show. Just about
everything great about the show established from the first batch of episodes
from Vol. 1 is on full display here, thus remaining as engaging as ever. There’s
still a lot of creativity with the adventures which broaden the scope of where
Scrooge and others in the main cast go like the Andes Mountains, Antarctica,
the Klondike, Atlantis, the Wild West, and Australia. Each adventure location offers its own
distinct form of excitement and charm from the chemistry of the characters
embarking and almost always leaves you with a unique impression when it all
wraps up. While it is true that some
adventures aren’t as exciting as others, most of the time, you still get the
sense of a non-stop thrill ride filled with creativity, solid comedy, and
likable and memorable characters going through them all.
Speaking of characters, for the most part, all of the best
ones such as Scrooge, Launchpad, Mrs. Beakley, and practically all the villains
continue to delight whenever they’re on screen.
Even some of the weaker characters in the cast have their own standout
moments that enhance their appeal. A
good example of this idea involves the starring roles of Webby in this
set. While her overly girlish mannerisms
don’t make her the most interesting or enjoyable character, there were times
when her character seemed compelling enough to carry an episode. Her animal-loving traits showed a layer of firmness
and determination in episodes like “Back Out in the Outback,” and “Horse Scents,” and her wanting to prove her worth as a Junior Woodchuck in “Merit Time Adventure” gave the audience something of substance to root for regarding
her character. These moments of
greatness did not make Webby as good as the strongest characters by any means,
but the fact that there were times where she was worth caring for is still
worth noting. There were even episodes
giving more character to those who seemed to have very little prior, most
notably Duckworth who at first came off as nothing more than Scrooge’s
butler. Episodes such as “Duckworth’s Revolt” and “Take Me Out of the Ball Game” allowed time for depth to his status
as a butler and how much it means to him, as well as a way for him to apply his
primary traits to something as rowdy and active as baseball. While there are a lot of good character
moments, they didn’t exactly have a flawless streak. Huey, Dewey, and Louie continue to impress as
problem solvers and smart for the mischievous kids they are, but they’re still
the same character personality-wise, Doofus is still weak and slightly grating,
and there are times where Scrooge’s frustration with his co-workers and family
and Launchpad’s cluelessness can get too overbearing. Even at that, the characters are still
enjoyable enough to headline the show, and make it clear that it wouldn’t be as
fun and exciting without them.
While this DVD volume is just about as good as the previous
one, there’s one thing that makes it stand out from what came before, and that
is the multi-part story arcs. The two
present on this particular volume bring together all the best parts of the
series, allowing the adventure aspect to be bigger, grander, and more creative
while the characters are given some of their best moments. “The Treasure of the Golden Suns” serves as a
solid introduction to the main players and their principle personalities while
also building on little elements like the special ship, the unique coin, and the
treasure map building up to an intense finale that proves precisely why family
is more important than riches. It’s a
non-stop thrill after thrill that show off the appeal of all the characters
involved and what to expect from them in the series to follow. It really should’ve been the first in the set of
episodes on Vol. 1 for continuity and order’s sake, but there’s not much we can
do about that. The other story arc, “Catch as Cash
Can”, mostly builds itself on creative ideas to put Scrooge and his team
through and they’re all filled with great imagination and appeal for how well
they’re executed. We have Scrooge and
the boys chasing after Scrooge’s fortune in the sewers, a run-in with a robot whale which also ropes Donald along for the ride, and an engaging race of
carrying the island of Atlantis with balloons to a finish line. It’s practically the high point of the
creativity aspect of the show that most likely can’t be topped. It is bogged down by some frustrating moments
like incredibly dense antagonists like the Atlantians who think all
air-breathers are polluters, Scrooge saying the boys intended to making him lose harkening to his frustrations getting overbearing that I mentioned
earlier, and the fact that one of the parts end up recycled into the plot of a later episode. Nevertheless, I’ll always
remember the story arc for the good points which are incredibly good. In fact, the story arcs in general feature
the show at its biggest potential. It’s
a potential so big that it helps support my belief that this show truly is one
of the best.
DuckTales Vol. 2
greatly builds on everything that worked so well the first time around with all
its strengths turning out as strong as ever, and made even better by the first
two story arcs. It helps support the
belief that this is an animated TV series worth owning, so add it to your
collection if you haven’t already, and be sure to stay tuned for the eventual
look at Vol. 3, the unreleased remaining episodes, and even the reboot which
looks to continue this show’s good streak.
Highly Recommended
That's it for this set of reviews. For the next set, it's finally time to return to The Loud House to explore the episodes of its second season. Until then:
Stay Animated Folks!
