Ducktales: Vol. 1

That's right. You know you watched Ducktales. Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Launchpad, Gizmoduck, and all the gang from Duckburg. And currently 75 of the 100 series episodes are available on DVD in three volumes. Volume 1 contains 25 episodes from the 1st season in no particular order. It feels as if the producers of Vol 1 had no idea if there would be subsequent volumes released, so they just threw the 25 episodes that they felt were the best or most representative of the series. Regardless, the integrity of continuity was never a huge factor in the series, so nothing lost.

As a kid, I loved Ducktales. The theme song was infectious, the characters were well-written and well-developed, there were airplanes, greed, gadgets, ghosts, and a buttload of adventures. It's true; it had its low points (Cave Duck, anyone?), but it was almost always worth the watch.

Watching Ducktales as an adult (well, that's a relative term, I guess), I must say that it has aged particularly well. It's still funny and heartfelt in all the right places. It still holds the viewer's attention. It's true that the show is a little, uh, heavy on the capitalist doctrine, but there are a surprising number of triumphs of cultural sensitivity and social welfare in the shadow of Scrooge's money bank. College freshmen should watch this show. Seriously. It's Econ 101 and Anthro 101 all in a convenient cartoon package.

So let's talk favorites here: obviously, the nephews are filler. Always have been, always will be. The Beagle Boys, while providing one leg of a necessary triumvirate of evil, are walking talking cliches, and as such they get old fast. The other two components of the Duckburg Axis of Evil are more promising. Flintheart Glomgold is a twisted reflection of Scrooge McDuck, but you can't help but think that Scrooge is just a few tough breaks away from being his bitter rival. And Magicka the witch's attempts to swipe Scrooge's lucky dime are entertaining and complex enough to almost work.

The real stars of Vol 1 are Scrooge himself and his pilot Launchpad. Scrooge has some of the best lines of any episode, with his Scottish brogue and phrases, and his relentless quest for just one more dollar. And Launchpad is the noble idiot, deeply naive, but with a heart of gold, and a desire to succeed despite his questionable skills as a pilot (he can fly anything with a propeller or wings, but he just can't seem to land). For the series, I would count Gizmoduck (Blatherin Blatherskite!) as another favorite, but he doesn't show up until Vol. 3, so I'll leave him for the proper time.

The Reverend says: 8/10.