Tuesday, August 13, 2013

DUCKTALES RETROSPECTIVE: Episode 48, "The Right Duck"

In order to fully enjoy most comics and animated cartoons, some degree of "suspension of disbelief" is usually a necessity.  We don't expect the logic in shows about talking Ducks with bins full of cash to resemble that of the "real world."  (Of course, given how screwed up the world can appear to be sometimes, the simpler logic of cartoons and comics is frequently quite refreshing, especially when it's based on the works of a master storyteller like Carl Barks.)  BUT, even the most fanciful of animated confections has to pay at least some attention to wider reality.  That, in its essence, is the major beef I have with "The Right Duck," the closest DuckTales equivalent to Barks' own unfortunate extraterrestrial misfire, "Island in the Sky."

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mRpTLJvO0cA/TYbKuFQNc_I/AAAAAAAABu4/PZzXiIx0erY/s1600/island1.jpg

I know that a number of folks (including some who haunt this blog) love "Island," and the story, considered strictly in context, is a fairly effective piece of sentimentality, with Scrooge demonstrating compassion for the humanoid aborigines onto whose Edenish planetoid the old miser originally planned to move his money for safekeeping.  It's the context itself that bothers me -- this whole notion that Duckburg has suddenly become this off-the-wall foreshadowing of The Jetsons.  At least in a story like "Monsterville," the "futurization" of Duckburg is carried out in a conscious fashion.  In "Island," it just springs into existence from nowhere in particular.  Where's the logic?

The situation in "The Right Duck" is slightly different, of course, arising out of a reasonable (if somewhat contrived) premise: Launchpad picks up on an offhand remark by Doofus and decides to become an astronaut to "prove to Mr. McDee what a great pilot [he is]." But Ken Koonce and David Weimers then proceed to throw literally everything they know, or SHOULD know, about space travel right out the window and produce a script that, in its basic level of intelligence and respect for its audience, resembles nothing so much as the "childlike scrawl" that LP submitted to the Duckburg space agency as an application.  GeoX's description of the resulting ep as "just plain dumb" seems a bit of an understatement, to be honest.  Given that K&W will put forth an infinitely superior parody of another film genre just two episodes down the road, the lack of care with which "The Right Duck" was slapped together seems infuriatingly mystifying.

In all honesty, the episode doesn't begin too terribly badly -- at least, once we get past the iffy reason for Scrooge's "firing" of Launchpad (note that Scrooge doesn't even originally look upset when LP runs out of gas and falls into the pool -- he only explodes after LP has safely emerged from the copter).  The "astronaut training" business is reasonably well grounded in the reality of what human astronauts have to face, so the slapstick gags resulting from Ronnie the chimp's sabotage (or, in the case of the G-force simulator, LP's attempt to turn the tables) are completely acceptable.  K&W slip up badly, however, when they have Dr. von Geezer suggest that drafting LP as an "idiot" pilot means that DASA won't have to send Ronnie into space.  Um, guys, the whole idea of having chimps as test pilots is to AVOID having to send humans into space in order to beta-test unproven aircraft.  Why would DASA have a vested interest in protecting Ronnie anyway?  Is he some sort of "superchimp" like the "simps" in Arthur C. Clarke's novel RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA?


I don't think that K&W's choice of a name for Ronnie was a coincidence.  I suspect that they might have been referring to a certain future President who once starred opposite a chimpanzee, especially since Ronnie winds up ruling Mars after Emperor Ping the Pitiless has been kicked to the celestial curb.  The fact that the duo included an out-of-nowhere rib of George H.W. Bush ("Presidents have better things to do than play horseshoes!") in a TaleSpin episode ("Bearly Alive") lends further support to my hypothesis, I think.

The ep begins to fall fast, and hard, once LP and Doofus accidentally find themselves aboard a "Voyager probe" headed for Mars.  Even BEFORE the episode had presented us with the proposition of a stereotyped Martian civilization -- domed cities, green skins, antennae, and all -- I found myself tearing my hair out over K&W's complete and utter ignorance of what an unmanned space probe is supposed to look, behave, or move like.  I'm not talking about piddly stuff, such as the historical fact that the Voyager craft were originally sent to explore the outer planets and enter interstellar space.  No, K&W's "unmanned" probe has windows, seats, and a manual guidance system.  Even if you allow for the fact that the robot probe belched out of the "Voyager"'s vitals is meant to "collect data und specimens" and return them to Earth, there would be NO NEED WHATSOEVER for the DT "Voyager" to look like anything remotely resembling one of the Apollo spacecraft that went to the Moon.  (The really infuriating thing is that K&W's inclusion of the gags involving Von Geezer's recorded message suggests that they knew something about the details of the Voyager missions, so the silly simplifications may have been a result of willful neglect, as opposed to garden-variety benightedness.)  Even the real Voyagers didn't travel as quickly as their DT equivalent, the speed of which allows Doofus to crack that lame gag about possibly missing supper.  I mean, kids shooting off bottle rockets probably have more of a grasp of the elementary principles of space flight than K&W display here.

There's little I can say about DT's depiction of the Martians; it is every bit as cut and dried as that seen in the infamous Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964).  With the possible exception of the amusingly paranoid Ping the Pitiless, the sticky-fingered robot probe disgorged by the "Voyager" displays more personality than any other inhabitant of the Red Planet, surreptitiously swiping the clothes of the guards tasked with imprisoning it...

... and then showing out-of-the-blue consciousness by helping Launchpad, Doofus, and the "lifers" in "Ping's Pit for the Pitiful" to escape:

You just know that the wandering whatsit will figure in the ultimate defeat of Ping, which shows a good sense of continuity, if nothing else.  Would that K&W could have been as consistent in its depiction of Doofus' attitude towards Launchpad, which is supposedly the central character-based focus of the episode, but instead "morphs" more times than one of the energy beings from Salusasius Delta (don't ask).  Greg made several comments about this issue; let me go into a bit more detail concerning the various phases of the relationship:

1.  Doofus starts by backing LP's astronaut ambitions to the hilt, as you would expect.  Check out the quasi-rapturous look on Doofus' face in the opening DASA scene:

2.  When Von Geezer finally spills the beans about the reason for LP's employment, Doofus is more concerned with stopping LP from blasting off than with arguing over Von Geezer's description of LP as an "idiot."

3.  Doofus is "glad" that Launchpad is a "smart pilot" when the two get caught in the "Voyager" probe.

4.  Doofus reacts to LP's inept attempts to get them out of Ping's Pit by wondering aloud whether Von Geezer might have been right after all.

5.  Doofus encourages his "hero" to ride the Martian bomb-rocket back to Earth and "warn them about Ping's attack."

6.  Doofus channels Von Geezer in angrily explaining why LP got to be an astronaut in the first place.

7.  Doofus claims that Launchpad will save the day because he's "the best."

8.  Well, maybe not...  (Plug your ears!)

9.  Doofus proclaims, "I knew you'd come through!" when Launchpad locates the steering mechanism (again... on an unmanned rocket carrying a "thermonuclear detonator"??).

10.  The final embrace at the testimonial for Launchpad.

Doofus' "awful, passive-aggressive whining" may have been the single lowest point of all of this, but the overall lack of coherence is even more maddening.  It would have been better had the episode followed the template of, say, "Merit-Time Adventure" and kept Doofus in consistent "rapture" mode until stage 8., at which time Doofus' sudden loss of faith in his "role model," as inexpertly acted as it might still have been, would have had more of a meaningful impact.

Scrooge's brief role is, as intimated by GeoX, in unfortunate line with the ep's dumbness as a whole: the business involving him hiding valuables from a Martian invasion (wouldn't he have prioritized securing his Money Bin above all else?) is embarrassing.  Also, given that he apparently knows that Launchpad has taken a trip to Mars (his spies aren't just on Mount Vesuvius anymore, it would seem -- either that, or he finances DASA), Scrooge really ought to have considered the possibility that LP was responsible for the terrible "flying skills" displayed by the pilots of the Martian rocket.  Scrooge does get one fairly clever bit, though, when he channels the radio announcer from Orson Welles' War of the Worlds (1938) while describing the opening of the rocket hatch.

As Greg says, "The Right Duck" is certainly better than Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers' "Out to Launch," if only because it ISN'T a total snoozefest.  Its logic is equally as shaky, though the shambles probably could have been partially salvaged had Koonce and Wiemers deigned to do even a smidge more homework regarding space travel, had avoided falling back on lazy, out-of-date tropes about Mars, and had tried to characterize Doofus more in the "Hero for Hire" mode.  "The Right Duck" isn't a complete disaster; like an ultramarathon race who's just finished a race, it's just sort of lame all over.

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"DuckBlurbs"

(GeoX) [In] the training sequence[,] Launchpad is judged to be incompetent even though it's obvious that all of his "failures" are mechanical in nature and not remotely his fault...

This logical breakdown is most apparent during the "simulated space-walk in water" test.  Dr. V.G. and his assistant, looking down into the water as they are, should be able to see that Ronnie has deliberately sabotaged Launchpad's space suit.

(GeoX) Two Martians die offstage. Is this the first time death has occurred in a Ducktales episode? 

Interestingly, the on-screen death we'll be seeing in two eps' time also occurs in an episode played for laughs.  It's amazing what a difference some authorial care can make.

(Greg)  So we logically go to the space building which is called D.A.S.A. (Take one guess what the D stands for.) as the male receptionist greets him to the Duckb[u]rg Aeronautics and Space Administration. Basically N.A.S.A in Duckb[u]rg which is funny considering that this takes place in America according to Carl Barks' vision. I guess Duckb[u]rg has a local space program. Wonder if Scrooge had anything to do with it? Hmmmm...

See my comment above.  The notion that Duckburg runs some sort of quasi-independent space program has a long history: see, for example, Barks' story "Raven Mad" (WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #265, October 1962).

(Greg)  So we go to a shot of the planet Mars as the space rocket lands down and Doofus realizes that he will miss supper. Okay; we then cut to a far shot of the alien city as we cut to inside the throne room of the King of Mars as we see green dogspeople wearing purple outfits. Man; even the aliens are like humans only greener...  They spread out and form a line and then declare to their king who is a thinner dogsperson with the same purple outfit but with a red cape and a ruby crown on his head. I'm guessing the guards in question are Terry McGovern and Frank Welker. They call him Ping The Pitiless which absolutely sucks as a name and title. He is voiced by Ronnie Schell...

... and, Greg, you should immediately turn in your Canadian citizenship card for neglecting to mention that Schell was the voice of the immortal Peter Puck!  (BTW, "Ping the Pitiless" wasn't plucked out of thin air; it is a riff on FLASH GORDON's Ming the Merciless.)

 
(Greg) After the commercial break; we return to the building of DASA as we head to Mission Control with Von Geezer pacing back and forth while the rest of the science guys are on the computers are having heart to heart talks. I wonder: dogspeople are the smart ones; ducks are the unemotional ones and the pigs are just pigs. What's wrong with this picture?

I think that Duckburg's equivalent of the Fair Employment Practices Commission might find something wrong with the fact that ALL of the employees of DASA appear to be dogfaces.

Next: Episode 49, "Scroogerello."

15 comments:

kenisu said...

I was going to leave this comment in episode 47, but I refreshed the page and saw you put up a new post, so I'll leave this here. I'm really glad to see you back, Chris, and that (I'm guessing) everything went well.

I haven't read this post yet, so this may be off-topic, but I have to tell you about this. The DuckTales Remastered game was released today, and I've been playing it like a mad thing. Since it's always been a pretty short game, I'm almost done with it, and I can tell you, even though I know you're not a gamer, the cinematic sequences would probably be as fan-squealy for you as they've been for me. There are direct references to "Send in the Clones", "Earth Quack", and so much more stuff from the show.

I can't even tell you how satisfying it is to see this cartoon, which has lain in obscurity since the '90s, have so much careful attention paid to it. I keep finding myself going, "Hah! That's a reference to (name episode here)! And I'm the only one in the room who knows that!"

Launchpad even says "funny, it's usually me the girls go for" at the end of the Himalayan stage, when [SPOILER] the Abominable Snowwoman gets a crush on Scrooge. If that line in particular isn't a bonus for people who remember the TV episode "Lost Crown of Genghis Khan", I don't know what is.

Chris Barat said...

Ken,

I AM planning on getting the PC version of the game. Do you need special equipment (besides a mouse) to play it on your PC? (You see how much I know about vidgames... ones that don't involve putting quarters in slots, that is.

Chris

Pan Miluś said...

BAH! I can't whait next year when the game "Duck Tales 2 - Rise of Doofus" will come out! It will finally put Doofus in a proper light.

(BTW -> I sometimes wonder do people prefer Bubba over him... ?)



I have a sugestion for You to debate in the upcoming review of "Scroogearello" - For some strange reasons Bebob (I like this name way more then "Bugle") is depicted as a Disco Beagle and not Beating Beagle (from what I recall Geox was confuse by this in his review) While some would call this a writers lack of knowing much about the Bitnik culture or idea that this was meent to be a diffrent character.

My awnser is simple : This is Scrooge's dream and his old! For him bitnik and disco is the same thing! Young people with their "tunes" this days! BAH!


I wish they would use this Beagle more. He appears to be the smartest one after BigTime and BankJob...

kenisu said...

I've been playing the Wii U version, so I wouldn't know. If I had to guess, there's probably a setup where you can assign actions to keyboard commands. I don't see why they wouldn't go to the trouble of implementing that.

Actually, I *really* wouldn't know. Most of the games I play are on consoles, and I think the last PC game I ever touched was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, like 9 or 10 years ago. But I remember for a fact that that one didn't require any equipment other than the standard stuff. My guess is that all or most PC game developers nowadays make sure to implement a button-mapping system so you can use your keyboard and mouse if you don't want to bother with a controller.

And were you a consultant or something for the development team? Your name shows up in the ending credits under "Special Thanks".

Anyway, now that I've read this post, I do have something slightly more on-topic to say. I have to admit, as a novice writer, it sort of shakes me up a bit when I'm reading reviews of my favorite TV shows, movies, or books, only for the characters or episodes I typically don't see (much of) a problem with get critically panned. If I'm unable to catch the flaws in other writers' work, how can I possibly hope to catch the flaws in my own and become a successful storyteller?

I remember the bizarre, unsettling feeling "The Right Duck" gave me when I was 5 (partially because there's so little of Scrooge and the nephews, so it felt out-of-place somehow, and partially because, well, much of it doesn't take place on Earth). And revisiting this one as I did several months back for my music cue-sheet project, now that I was able to use my "adult senses" to make peace with those strange feelings, I found I rather liked it. Maybe that's just the nostalgia talking, I don't know. Plus, the fact that I was focusing on the music and not enough on the story could have caused me to overlook the latter's flaws.

I just want to make it clear that I don't want you to change your opinion or anything. I love reading your reviews, positive or negative, and that a sour entry is the fault of each episode's writer(s), not of the reviewers'. It's simply that the recent stream of "bad" episodes has me second-guessing everything I thought I knew about effective storytelling for TV, and that has a profound enough effect on me that I can't help but at least give it mention.

Of course, there are plenty of things about the show, both individual moments and as a whole, that get under my skin personally. Some of the humor I can't believe I thought was funny once upon a time (the token phrases "Now I know how a ____ feels", "I've heard of ____, but this is ridiculous", and the occasional groaner of a pun come readily to mind), and it still sort of bothers me, for instance, that the aliens in "Super DuckTales Part 5" pop up out of nowhere and steal the Beagle Boys' thunder, when the "big bads" of the serial were established to be the Beagles to start with. If the five episodes are supposed to be both self-contained AND create one narrative whole when pieced together, shouldn't the aliens have been at least alluded to in Part 1, or the Beagles turn out to be working for them in some twisted manner? And don't get me started on the slew of logic breaks in "Duck to the Future".

Anyway, I've gotten long-winded again. I'd just like to know something about a future review, if you could give me a heads-up: is "Nothing to Fear" a keeper or a stinker in your book?

Joe Torcivia said...

Kenisu writes:

“I have to admit, as a novice writer, it sort of shakes me up a bit when I'm reading reviews of my favorite TV shows, movies, or books, only for the characters or episodes I typically don't see (much of) a problem with get critically panned. If I'm unable to catch the flaws in other writers' work, how can I possibly hope to catch the flaws in my own and become a successful storyteller?”

Always remember that all reviews are in the eye of the beholder (or reviewer) – and, now that everyone has a voice on the Internet, that has never been more true… and there have never been more varying opinions to choose from.

I’ve never formed an opinion based upon what someone else has written, but employ my own tastes and sensibilities to do so.

That said, Chris is one of the best reviewers I’ve ever been associated with – and together we go back just about as far as DuckTales itself. He does a magnificent job reviewing this series in retrospect – as he (and I) did back when it was “current”.

But, I don’t always agree with him – and that doesn’t make his views any less valid than my own. I find that I am far more critical of DT now, than I was then. A combination of no longer being enthralled with the “mere notion” of such a series after too many years of “bad animated programming”, Disney-decision-making vs. Barks’ original visions, and the fact that other series (mostly from Warner / DC) have surpassed it in overall quality.

The great DT eps are still great – but the flaws of the lesser ones have become far more glaring (fairly or unfairly) due to the reasons cited above. You’ll see that occasionally in my comments here.

A review should function as a useful and informative “tool” to be used as follows:

The best way to allow a reviewer to “influence” you is to become familiar with his or her views – and then gauge them against your own. For instance, if you were to regularly read my Blog, you’d get to know my likes and dislikes fairly quickly (as I know Chris’). *IF* those likes and dislikes turn out to be similar to your own – and if I recommend something, you may very well enjoy it too. If not, then you may not.

That’s the bottom line when it comes to reviews of all stripes!

As for being a writer, this is how I approached writing scripts for Gemstone and Boom! Disney comic books… Believe in yourself, and your knowledge of the characters. Know what you CAN do within a given context, and what you CAN’T. If you have that down, your storytelling (or your enhancements to the stories of others) will work. Especially, if you have an editor who respects and cares about the product as I did in David Gerstein. Good luck!

Chris Barat said...

Ken,

"And were you a consultant or something for the development team? Your name shows up in the ending credits under "Special Thanks"."

WHA-A-A-A-A-T??

I did have contact with one guy who worked on the game and commented on the blog, but I don't consider that to be ANY sort of input in the development of the game. Program designer? The last video games I played were for TV Colecovision!!

"It's simply that the recent stream of "bad" episodes has me second-guessing everything I thought I knew about effective storytelling for TV, and that has a profound enough effect on me that I can't help but at least give it mention."

We're about to hit a string of good-to-excellent eps, so keep your chin up. Also remember that all of these reviews are basically just my own opinion. Or, more specifically, the opinions that I put down on paper with Joe Torcivia about 20 years ago and am now revisiting. I haven't had much cause to change my mind about many eps (so far), but the flaws and highlights seem more vivid to me now. Eps like "The Right Duck" bug me even more now because of what I know the show was CAPABLE of in its finest moments.

"Nothing to Fear"? I like it fine. Not one of my biggest faves but it's decent enough.

Chris

Chris Barat said...

Pan,

My own experience re: Doofus vs. Bubba is that people dislike Bubba more. Doofus wasn't exactly an inspired character, but he was never accused of being the "Scrappy Doo of DUCKTALES," as Bubba has been. The real issue with Bubba was that he should have been a one-shot character, rather than a permanent addition to the cast. Once you've got him and keep him, NOW what do you do with him?

I think that Bugle and Bebop were always meant to be the same character, but that certain writers chose to characterize the "musical aspects" of the character in different ways, and the editors simply neglected the differences. It might be a generational thing too, depending upon how old the writer happened to be.

Chris

Pan Miluś said...

I guess Scrooge could put chains on Bubba and have him work in his diamond mine...

kenisu said...

Joe:

"A combination of no longer being enthralled with the “mere notion” of such a series after too many years of “bad animated programming”, Disney-decision-making vs. Barks’ original visions, and the fact that other series (mostly from Warner / DC) have surpassed it in overall quality."

I gotta say, though: the past decade or so, we've been having an endless mud puddle of cheaply-animated cartoons without any real heart to them, save for a few shining moments like Avatar: The Last Airbender. I have been dying for a series of DuckTales's caliber to step into the light again, and give the competition a run for its money, so that we wind up with a new renaissance of golden animation. And I hate feeling so powerless right now, because I just keep getting this nagging sensation it's not going to happen until *I* actively do something about it, by pouring some real heart into my own creative works and getting it out there, and not giving up until I succeed in hitting the mainstream. It sounds like I'm being ambitious beyond plain common sanity, but it's a truth I guess I have to face myself.

Chris:

"WHA-A-A-A-A-T??

I did have contact with one guy who worked on the game and commented on the blog, but I don't consider that to be ANY sort of input in the development of the game. Program designer? The last video games I played were for TV Colecovision!!"

Program designer? I was wondering if maybe they had consulted you over some of the finer points and nuances of the characters and episode storylines. They certainly did enough research, anyhow, that their work shines through. And I know "research" is kind of the wrong word here, since most if not all of the team members watched the show when they were younger, but some 25 years away from even your favorite cartoon is enough to dull your memories of what it was like.

(What I'd like to know is, did they rewatch the series from beginning to end? If so, how did they get their hands on the last 25 episodes? Especially since every interaction I've had with dev team members suggests to me Disney didn't give them many more resources than just the voice actors, and they had to go seek out the episodes themselves. I shudder to think it's possible Disney actually left them in the cold, so that they'd have to go dredge up low-quality, illegally uploaded episodes, just to be well-versed in the full DuckTales story.)

"'Nothing to Fear'? I like it fine. Not one of my biggest faves but it's decent enough."

That's a relief. :D After the "Treasure of the Golden Suns" serial, "Nothing to Fear" is my favorite ep. It certainly has its flaws, but it does contain one of the few scenes in the whole series that succeeds in warming my heart enough that I actually start crying (it's the part where the real Scrooge and the real nephews embrace, after being convinced by fake mockeries of the other party that their love isn't reciprocated).

Chris Barat said...

Ken,

"I gotta say, though: the past decade or so, we've been having an endless mud puddle of cheaply-animated cartoons without any real heart to them, save for a few shining moments like Avatar: The Last Airbender. I have been dying for a series of DuckTales's caliber to step into the light again, and give the competition a run for its money, so that we wind up with a new renaissance of golden animation."

I've recently been catching up with MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC (have watched season one and the first five eps of season two) and find myself liking that show more and more. Due to its somewhat formulaic nature, I don't think that it operates on the same level as the best WDTVA or Warners series, but it's on the "shelf" below that, I think. There is more than enough in there for adults to enjoy. It is certainly not lacking in Heart, which I think is the main reason why a generation raised on more cynical and snarky cartoons has embraced it so fervently. KIM POSSIBLE was the last contemporary show that I enjoyed as much as MLP.

"Program designer? I was wondering if maybe they had consulted you over some of the finer points and nuances of the characters and episode storylines. They certainly did enough research, anyhow, that their work shines through. And I know "research" is kind of the wrong word here, since most if not all of the team members watched the show when they were younger, but some 25 years away from even your favorite cartoon is enough to dull your memories of what it was like."

The fellow didn't ask me anything about "finer points of forgotten eps," so I'm still mystified as to why I deserved "special thanks."

Chris

Jenny said...

I think they should let Bubba freeze back in the ice or let him get caught in cave in or something.Ok maybe I shouldn't be so mean to a cave kid but he got on my last nerve .They put him in ever espoide of the show and he played no real purpose .I hope in the new game he will disappear somewhere and we get rid of him again.Didn't they learn the first time we really didn't want to see him . They should say they found a way to send him back to his own time and then he is just gone.

I watched this show as kid and as a parent the diglog of Bubba smashing Webby's Quacky Patch doll in the game made me cringed .Ok it's just a cartoon/comic/video game what ever so none if it is real or really even happening but just thinking about sending Webby into that room while Bubba swings that club around uncontrably and the two getting into a fight where Bubba/Webby could easily beat each other within inch of there life.I am know they show much worse things on TV/video/comic whatever .But Alan Young always seem like this great uncle/parent maybe it was his voice not sure that he would just let two kids be in the room one of which is swinging around a weapon and he just gose back to worrying about treasure hurting not caring that two kids might be in the room bashing there heads in.ok so I am seriously over reacting to a video game and will labeled as the nut who said to much about a fake situation that could never have been real to begin with lol.It just doesn't seem at all like his charther on the cartoon.

And as for Webby would Scrooge adopt her already everyone knows he is uncle/daddy .This conpect of her being of Miss Beakley's granddaughter was great to explain her presentance on the show but Scrooge pays more attention to her then Miss Beakley dose and it seem more like Miss Beakley was more like a housekeeper then a nanny .No one is saying Webby will ever call Scrooge daddy and he will always be her uncle same as he is to the boys but this conpect of she is part of the family and not related dosen't make a tone of sense.the little girl is crying inside to be part of this family but not as the fourth nephew let her be Scrooge's niece . It seems more realase maybe she stop always have this sad look on her face.And maybe he will feel the need to spend more time with her which cure her need for attention .

Anyway I liked the game enough and hope the next one will be just as good.

Lynn Barker said...

The problem with Bubba is he didn't make sense in Duckburg .They should just take him to the lost world and give him to the back to the cave ducks to raise.

Chris Barat said...

Lynn,

Yep, when I do the review of Time is Money, you will see that I hold pretty much the same opinion.

Chris

Lynn Barker said...

Thanks Chris I will read it .I am glad to hear I am not the only who felt that way about bubba

I don't think even Webby's sweetness can teach Bubba to be kind and patience .Epically with how fragile they presented Webby to be you picture Webby telling Bubba his actions aren't polite and he just begins smacking her out cold which won't take much just because it's his Instincts to do so.Bubba seem to hang out with the boys more in the series but still if the wrong thing happened I can see Bubba cold coacking one of them accidentally if he was trying to club something and one of them got in the way.I wonder if Scrooge really wants to run to the hospital after hearing Bubba almost killed one of this nephews?Maybe if he did Scrooge would finally send him back to his own time and stop trying to force him to act like a normal kid.

The game was ok but I think a live action movie would have been better.If the right person did it I think it might be pretty popular but please no Bubba in the movie lol.

Carry Sue said...

I am not huge fan of Webby but deep down you
felt kind of bad for her.Maybe if Bubba knocked her out and she was badly hurt it would give her some much needed attention .

Scrooge nor the boys wanted her around .I don't
even think Miss Beckley wanted her . I can see her being one of these girls who goes searching the net for a guy and they finds her in alley some place just to get 5 minutes of attention from someone. It was clear Scrooge had more fun hanging out with the boys and didn't make much attempt to have a relationship with her .In face he he kept taking in kids and seem to only want his nephews in the house.All the other kids seem to get the shaft from him.

In fact after they added Bubba to the show .Webby disappeared .I think there may have been like 4 episodes where she appeared in season 2 .And you wondered if she lived in the house where was she.Maybe if they had added her more we may have liked her more.

Bubba wasn't liked much although you kept seeing him popping up all the time and you wondered why.I think he was just useless .And I think some viewers were turned off the charter causing viewers who turned in for the first season to now turn the show back off .I think its part of the reason Disney dumped him was to try and turn the show back to what it was in the first season which was the most popular .

People could easily expect the 4 kids,Scrooge,Miss Beckley ,Duckworth ,Doofus,Launchpad etc.

I am glad to hear Doofus will be in the game
I liked this charter a lot even through he was kind of the dorky kid he was kind of cute in his way. Maybe the new game but will put a bright light on him.I don't think we saw him again after season 1 and you wondered why he disappears from the show.Again once Bubba came another charter who somewhat disappeared in to thin air.i think if they had forced less time on Bubba and more on the other charters maybe the show would have lasted longer then 2 and half seasons.