Welcome to Saturday Morning Cartoon! This week I watched “DuckTales” Season one, episode one titled ‘Don’t Give Up the Ship.’
This is our first introduction to the universe and most of the characters. Scrooge is introduced, swimming in his money bin. Straight away we learn that the physics of this fictional world are vastly different from our own. Not only are there sentient, dogs and ducks but gold takes on a liquid property that allows one to swim through it freely without breaking your beak.
He makes his way to the pier where Donald is dropping off the triplets. One wonders, where are their parents in all of this? First they’re dumped on an uncle who quickly deploys with the Navy leaving them with an even more obscure relative, their eccentric, wealthy, selfish great-uncle.
The boys travel with Scrooge to his palatial Duckbergian estate. He puts the butler, Duckworth, in charge of the boys wanting nothing more than to avoid them completely. In truth, Scrooge is a giant duckbag and not really fit to be guardian to three children. So they sit, imprisoned in their bedroom with a butler for a guard. Insanity soon takes over the three young ducklings and they explore the home, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Despite Duckworth’s best efforts, he is overtaken by the boys and wrapped up in a rug like an anthropomorphized serving of duck a l’arug… except that Duckworth isn’t actually a duck, he’s a dog. Don’t ask me. The boys follow Scrooge to the office; he tells them to look around but not to touch anything. They, of course, don’t listen.
Cut to- The Beagle Boys in prison. They are planning their 300th attempt to steal McDuck’s money when a package arrives with a letter and homemade bon-bombs. The letter tells them to use the bombs to escape and meet later tonight, signed by El Capitan.
We return to Scrooge in the boys, he is upset at them for messing with his antique boat but more than that, for their inability to leave him the hell alone… and decides that maybe boarding school isn’t so expensive after all. Scrooge decides to cool his feelings the best way he knows how, by denying solicitors face to face. Duckworth begins sending in a line of solicitors who were apparently just sitting around waiting for McDuck to abuse them. The third victim tells Scrooge about the Junior Woodchucks, an organization that keeps kids so busy earning merit badges they don’t have any time to get in trouble. Scrooge thanks the man for the information but still throws him out of the window with a giant mechanical hand with the parting words “Bill me.”
By now the Beagle Boys have escaped prison and met with El Capitan, a mysterious figure with a long coat and moustache, so you know he can’t be trusted. He tells the Beagle’s that in exchange for their freedom he needs them to steal an antique boat from Scrooge McDuck. The same boat the boys were playing with perhaps…. Yes. It’s that boat.
Scrooge vents to Duckworth about how the boys are a pain in his duck butt and the boys overhear. They decide to leave because they aren’t wanted. What they don’t hear, is McDuck’s immediate speech about how he actually really likes them and he’s been being a duckhead and he intends to make it up to them in the morning.
Luckily the boys were feeling a little emo and decided to bail on Scrooge before he go to that part. If they hadn’t ran away like whiny little jerks, they never would have caught the Beagle Boys red handed looking for the tiny ship. A scuffle begins over the antique and ultimately the Beagle Boys get away with it. The triplets try to tell Scrooge about the Beagle Boys but he doesn’t believe them, because he’s a curmudgeonly old man with only his money and years of crushing loneliness filling his soul.
Armed with the new Junior Woodchuck guidebook they deduce the location of the Beagle’s secret hideout AND build a hang glider out of bed sheets, because, how else are you going to get past the guard-butler-dog… if only these ducks could find some other way to fly. Their escape attempt is successful, mostly, and they make their way to the villain’s secret hideout where they retrieve their uncle’s ship and another chase begins.
Scrooge, completely oblivious to the fact that his nephews built an amateur aircraft and went off to fight criminals in an attempt to win back an old wooden ship and their uncle’s love, goes to do an interview at his candy factory. The boys arrive at the factory with ship in hand and the Beagle’s hot on their trail.
Scrooge realizes that the boys weren’t lying, that he’s a jerk, and the true meaning of Christmas… or at least two of those things. They all realize that they’re more alike than they thought, that they can go on sweet adventures, and that they’re going to be best friends.
But who should appear to pierce a whole in our happy little narrative… the ominous face of none other than El Capitan, I’m guessing we haven’t seen the last of him or his bushy stache.
To be continued…
You’ll have to watch the next episode to see if the family continues to bond, if they find the treasure they seek, if the real treasure is love… and any number of other lessons.