Tuesday, October 20, 2020

DuckTales - Let's Get Dangerous!

With more than a few nods and winks to the original Darkwing Duck cartoon, the rebooted DuckTales brings back Drake Mallard (Chris Diamantopoulos) as Scrooge (David Tennant) and his nephews travel to St. Canard to check out the invention of Taurus Bulba (James Monroe Iglehart). As in "Darkly Dawns the Duck," Bulba wants to use the invention (this version pulls in matter from alternate dimensions) for his own fiendish plans. Standing in his way is the granddauther of Bulba's missing partner, Gosalyn Waddlemeyer (Stephanie Beatriz).

Although Scrooge's nephews play small roles in the episode, and there's a plot thread connected to F.O.W.L., mostly the regulars take a step back as Launchpad (Beck Bennett) and Darkwing Duck live an adventure from their favorite cartoon come to life - especially after Bulba uses the invention to pull Megavolt, Liquidator, Quackerjack, and Bushroot into this dimension. The zombie-like Bushroot is a bit of a letdown, but the others (including Bulba) all have the feel of the original cartoon, as does Gosalyn's sacrifice and the quick familial connection between Drake and the orphaned girl. The choice to push the villains back through the rift isn't surprising, but it is a bit disappointing given their new lives in this reality could help create the core of a new Darkwing Duck television show. Either way, the trio of Darkwing, Gosalyn, and Launchpad (along with the secret base) works here and leaves us wanting more terror to flap in the night.

No comments: