'Toon Reviews 12: DuckTales Vol. 2 Part 2: Treasure of tue Golden Suns Part 2: Wronguay in Ronguay

The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 2: Wronguay in Ronguay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After getting the first taste of Scrooge McDuck and the nephews in the first part of this story arc, we move forward in the second part that not only has them progress towards a huge stash of gold, but also gives an introduction to Scrooge’s rivalry with Flintheart Glomgold.  As we’ve seen in the first DVD volume of the series, Flintheart’s main objective as an antagonist is to beat Scrooge as the richest duck in the world, and does so in some pretty dastardly moves sometimes going as far as to try and get Scrooge arrested.  Still, the rivalry is mostly comedic through how much banter the business rivals have during constant bets to see who can make the most money.  Such a bet is the major focus of this episode when Scrooge and Flintheart set out to see who can make the most money in two weeks, which Scrooge uses as an opportunity to hunt down the gold.  This also leads to the introduction of another prominent element in the series, Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s expert problem-solving skills, mostly relating to their Junior Woodchucks status achieved in the previous episode, which make them stand out from average kid characters.  It plays a huge role in Scrooge’s hunt for the gold since it’s them who uncover its location in Ronguay, South America, the meaning of the frequently repeated word, “monsapis,” and ways their ship works as a map.  The boys’ moments sell their appeal as competent adventurers especially when it encourages Scrooge to keep going when he’s briefly despondant, and also set up how they’d operate in the episodes to come.  We also get a good sense of the lengths Flintheart goes through just to one-up Scrooge such as rigging his plane to Ronguay with a bomb, leading him into quicksand caused by the torrential downpours that are monsapis, and laying low in the gold ship he eventually finds just to spring on him.  In addition to also giving an idea of what we’ll see of Flintheart for the rest of the show, we see more appeal to El Capitan.  Although he’s a standard greedy villain whose sole motivation is to get gold, his overdramatic tendencies on the subject make his single dimension something to laugh at don’t make this a huge issue.  It all leads up to an exciting climax on the ship of gold, which creatively includes gold planks and gold sails.  Even after apprehending Scrooge and the boys and taking the ship for himself, Flintheart shows some heart by leaving his rival with a single gold coin.  Giving even a bit of the treasure away infuriates the greedy El Capitan which sends him overboard and the treasure is sunk again.  In a clever turn of events though, Scrooge having the one coin Flintheart gave him has him win the bet and brings on a hilarious comeuppance point for Flintheart.  As an episode to set up the adventure norm of the series, this leaves us a lot to take away in terms of comedy, creativity, and character moments. 10/10

The Ranking:

1.      The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 2: Wronguay in Ronguay

2.      The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 1: Don’t Give up the Ship

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Scrooge's single coin brings on the next part of the story arc and we meet Launchpad McQuack for the first time in "Three Ducks of the Condor."

If you would like to check out other DuckTales reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 4: The Loud House Season 1 Episode 7

Picture Perfect

 

 

 

 

 

This cartoon is one of the strongest displays of the show’s theme of appreciating what you have in life.  It comes through in flying colors as we watch Lincoln strive to put together a perfect picture of his sisters and pets for his parents’ anniversary.  After his picture fails to meet his expectations when his sister’s fail to hold still and turn to their main interests, Lincoln sets out to take another one that he hopes will come out perfect.  We get a large set of funny moments of Lincoln getting his sisters outside to take another picture, each one demonstrating the appealing personalities of all 10 of the girls.  At the same time, we also start to see Lincoln go about making his picture perfect the wrong way that causes discomfort to the sisters.  He starts off tame with actions like swapping Lisa’s glasses and Leni’s shades and taking Luna’s guitar and Luan’s funny nose and glasses saying that they won’t get them back unless they’re in the picture.  Then he starts getting really ridiculous by changing his sisters’ appearances, complete with everyone wearing ugly red and green sweaters.  I think a line from Luna sums up Lincoln’s behavior perfectly: “This picture thing has changed you dude.”  Ultimately, Lincoln ends up getting the picture he wants, albeit unintentionally making his sisters feel bad for being themselves in the process, but after that is when the theme really comes into play.  As Lincoln goes through the house, he notices all his sisters enjoying themselves by doing what shows off who they really are, and gets more happiness from this portrayal of his sisters than their “perfect” portrayal in the picture.  It’s actually a moving scene that gets its message across without any actual dialogue which really gives this cartoon some value.  Finally, it’s followed up by a noble act from Lincoln where instead of his “perfect” picture, he presents Mom and Dad with the old picture that perfectly shows off who his sisters really are and define what life in the Loud House is all about.  Truly, it’s a fitting way of showing that for all its quirks and what not, the life you live is truly worth appreciating.  With that, I call this cartoon another strong entry of this season. 9.5/10

 Undie Pressure

 

 

 

 

 

By now, you can tell that all of the Loud siblings are very distinctive when it comes to personalities, but this cartoon is a great example of how even though they’re very different, there are common ties between them all, and that makes their sibling bonds a lot stronger.  With that in mind, we’re in for an amazing experience from this show.  It all unfolds when Lola gets annoyed by Lincoln’s habit of reading comics in his underwear which leads to everyone betting that they can go without resorting to their habits than longer Lincoln can.  From then on, we’re treated to more awesome moments that show off why the Loud siblings are such a lovable bunch.  Some siblings lose the bet almost immediately, but then we’re treated to most of them trying so hard to not do their habits only to eventually crack under pressure and do what makes them feel comfortable.  By the end, when Lincoln and Lola are only left standing, you’re already tense with anticipation to see who will win, especially since Lola, striving to not look at herself in a mirror as part of the bet, begins to come off as demented and monster-like which is very fitting of her frightening side introduced in “Sound of Silence.”  The tension just escalates when both she and Lincoln resort to extreme means of winning the bet with Lola making Lincoln feel uncomfortable in the pants area by turning up the heat, and Lincoln polishing every surface in the house for Lola to potentially look at herself.  Each part of the bet is really a lot of fun with no dull moments in sight all thanks to the characters we’re exposed to.  Eventually, the bet comes to an amusing end when Lincoln loses in a highly clever way with Lily turning out victorious since she didn’t cry the entire time, something that even the audience most likely would not have been able to pay attention to.  However, there’s a really strong moment of sibling love that closes everything off.  Lola sees Lincoln, who’s now required to always read comics with his clothes on, feeling uncomfortable and she feels bad for him.  It’s here where we’re introduced to another side of Lola’s character, and one we wouldn’t expect to see from someone like her at that.  She’s able to show genuine sympathy when her siblings are in emotional turmoil and take it upon herself to do something about it.  That’s just what she does when she buys Lincoln the special undies he would’ve gotten if he won the bet, and later lets him off the hook, saying that since all the sisters can’t give up what they like, Lincoln shouldn’t give up his.  It’s a revelation like this that really sells the appeal of the Loud siblings’ relationship, and succeeds at being a perfect end to a practically perfect cartoon.  This is one that’s big on the entertainment, as well as the deepness of the characters’ bonds; it’s impossible not to love what goes on here. 10/10

The Ranking

1.      Undie Pressure

2.      Project Loud House

3.      Space Invader

4.      Driving Miss Hazy

5.      Left in the Dark

6.      Picture Perfect

7.      No Guts No Glori

8.      Sound of Silence

9.      A Tale of Two Tables

10.  In Tents Debate

11.  The Sweet Spot

12.  Heavy Meddle

13.  Get the Message

14.  Making the Case

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode of the season which gets in some summertime fun with "Linc or Swim" and features a starring role for Lily in "Changing the Baby."