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Back Out In The Outback
Reviewed: 09/19/2009
With Ducktales; you rule from Sun Up to Sundown!
Yeah; and the pun does play a part in this rant. I believe this is the first episode involving Webby in the usual plot device of relating to animals for rant purposes. So we start disc three of Volume 2 with an interesting one. So let's rant on shall we....?!
This episode was written by James A. Markovich. The story is edited by Tedd Anasti and Patsy Cameron. The teleplay was done by Richard Merwin. I have nothing on James A. Markovich other than an actor for the Controller which was in 2008 and Suture thanks in 1993. I smell ghost writer which doesn't bode well for the episode in general.
We begin this one in a rocky field as it is a dark and stormy night again. Memo to aspiring writers: When you start an episode with a dark and stormy night; 3:1 odds suggest this is going to be a crappy episode. I don't know how TaleSpin got away with it either. We pan over and then zoom in as we see a herd of sheep being herded by a brown dog. We then see the dog run stage right to a hill near a tree as we see an Aussie Stereotype dogsperson wearing a brown coat, brown hat, white patched pants and black shoes. He pets the dog as he speaks in DUBBED AUSSIE STYLE as I suspect Monty is taking notes as we speak. He then notices the thunder as they are in a bit of a blow. Again; I ask the question: Does anything down under ever speak this way; not named Steve Irwin or is in the entertainment industry? Inquiring minds would love to know. The dog is concerned; but the man allows him to share his brown poncho. Well; this guy is much more refined than Monty is. And then we hear some electric whirring (according to Disney Captions) as we see six bright white light which look like saucers (!!). He calls them the willy-wisps as they go over to the herd of sheep and they basically shave off all the wool from the sheep like a bunch of UFO Razors.
The sheep sell it like the useless sheep that they are. The only good thing about this is; at least they aren't Jonas Brothers fans; or we would have a REAL international incident of epic abuse. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! And one of them destroys the rim of the Aussie Stereotype's hat of course. The man yells at Dingo to run (Will Ryan which is weird considering that Frank Welker usually does animal voices) and Dingo runs as well. That leads to the sheep stampede as more wool is shaved from the sheep. The man and his dog walk out as he proclaims that Scrooge better get here if he wants to save his ranch. Man; you know there is trouble when it's SCROOGE'S property. As I said; the heel do it to HIM a lot more than Scrooge does it to US. And BS&P still wouldn't get it. I see the man is wearing the Mickey Mouse gloves too as the sheep run away on the far shot as Dingo barks. Hmm; I don't remember Dingo's snout being shaved; but then again it probably happened in a previous night so there is no logic break there.
So it's morning as the clouds are disappearing and here comes Scrooge's plane (which has the SeaDuck's color scheme I might add. TaleSpin related to Ducktales? How is THAT possible?) flying (2:1 odds it's Launchpad, DUH!) as Scrooge narrates the Australian outback as rugged, dangerous, desolate and of course Scrooge loves it here. We go to the near shot of the cockpit to see Scrooge, the nephews and Webby overlooking the area below. And as I suspected Launchpad is flying the plane. If he doesn't crash the plane in this episode then I'll be so disappointed. Huey asks why it's called the outback and Dewey (or Louie) asks what is it out back of? I don't get that joke so it's probably Louie who cracked it. Launchpad tries to explain it and of course he stammers like an idiot. Scrooge tries to explain it but Webby uses the POINTY FINGER OF DEATH to stop that one in it's tracks because there are kangaroos and she cannot wait to meet one. Oh great; she's already getting into her typecast role.
Launchpad lands the plane in front of a sea of scared kangaroos, and naturally LP doesn't crash the plane. BOO HISS! LP then flies into the air as we see a koala bear climbing a tree as Scrooge tells the kids to buckle up (So we can be safe according to the DORA LAW OF SAFETY) since they will be at the ranch at any minute now. So we cut to the ranch as Scrooge's plane arrives and it looks like it is recycled from Ducks From The West; only cheaper. I wonder if John A.'s real name IS Richard Merwin? We cut to the front entrance as we see the Aussie Sterotype dogsperson, Dingo and a bulldog Aussie Stereotype wearing beige gear and brown boots watching the plane from below. No Mickey Mouse Gloves because he's not over see. So Sundowner (Now THAT's a neat name!) is glad to see Scrooge's plane has arrived as the bulldog blows him off for not getting too fancy to invite Scrooge. That pretty much gives away who is the heel here.
Sundowner is voiced by Rob Paulsen; whom I mentioned earlier in the Plunder and Lightning re-rant; but I didn't give enough details on him. So Rob started as Tripwire in G.I. Joe (early 1980's version) and did a few live action productions (Eyes of Fire movie, Body Double, Saint Elsewhere) before settling in on voice acting and sound track music work for animation and video games. He is well known as Ralphel from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and has done over 300 productions in his career, mostly voice acting. He did Fowlmouth in Tiny Toons, Eric The Swift in the Lost Vikings 2 video game (along with Super Smash Brothers Brawl as Gray Fox), Bubsy (video game and aborted cartoon seires) as Bubsy, Max in Mighty Max, Antoine in Sonic The Hedgehog ABC edition, Spike in the Land Before Time OAV's and series, Sean One in Phantom 2040, Throttle in Biker Mice From Mars, and Arthur from The Tick among others. He debuted in 1986 on DTVA as Gusto Gummi in Gummi Bears, Gladstone Gander in Ducktales, Flash The Wonderdog in Rescue Rangers, Ratchet in TaleSpin, Steelbeak in Darkwing Duck, PJ in Goof Troop, was in Bonkers, Gargoyle, Aladdin, Timon & Pumbaa, Quack Pack, Mighty Ducks, One Saturday Morning, Little Mermaid II (as Eric), Teachers Pet (as Ian), Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, House of Mouse, Legend of Tarzan, Dave The Barbarian and Lilo & Stitch The Series among others. I think he's be in almost every DTVA show since late 1986 in fact. His most recent credits are Chowder, The Secret Saturdays, The Replacements, the Tinker Bell OAV's, Hoodwinked 2, and the American dub of Doraemon the Movie. Sadly; he was also on Spike Television in shows like This Just In and Striperella.
Sundowner nicely blows off Duke (Peter Cullen) also known as Dashing Duke Duggan. I wonder who would win in being very oily: Dashing Duke Duggan or Daring Dan Dawson? Now there is a question to ponder. Duke blow him off as a pelican because he's Scrooge's ranch manager see. And of course the airplane swoops back and does a hyperbole destroying the chimney in the process. HAHA! Now that's the spirit Launchpad! Now crash the damn plane why don't ya?! The plane finally lands and bumps about six times good over the fence I might add. Scrooge stammers as he calls it a terrible landing. I agree; Launchpad forgot the crash the plane into the fence. And LP agrees with me as he asks if he can take off and land again. HAHA! Scrooge blows him off because it's too much to ask and LP is happy. So happy that he stops the plane on a dime and everyone stops their weak ass bumping. The doors open and Duke comes out to greet Scrooge and Duke helps him off the plane as Scrooge addresses greeting to both Duke and Sundowner (God; I LOVE that name!). Scrooge shakes Sundowner's hand as he proclaims that he hasn't changed in 12 years. I hope it's his attitude and not his underwear he's talking about. EWWWWWWWWW! The nephews and Webby comes out as Webby pets Dingo and still wants some kangaroos. Sundowner promises to find at the most two for her. I just love how he calls her Miss Webby despite the fact that her last name is Vanderquack. Webby continues to pet Dingo as he whines a bit and Sundowner takes it that he likes Webby. Well; she is the template for Kari in Digimon 01; so it makes perfect sense. Webby proclaims that animals are her favorite people and Sundowner is amazed by this. As much as I respect Webby for this; the writers had little respect for her since they overused her in plots like this.
Anyhow; we go to the tree shot as the binoculars beckons as we cut to the bushes as Digger (weasel wearing an orange shirt with a green vest and black pants) is watching on as they realize that it is McDuck. I'm SHOCKED Chris Barat missed the fact that one of the weasel's names is Digger (which the creators of Teddy Ruxpin stole for Teddy's Illiop friend) as Ratbag (the weasel with brown gear who takes a wussy bump on the floor when Digger gets the binoculars back. The name is based on the insult Digger gives to him.) wants to see and gets REJECTED! Digger proclaims that if they start snooping around the aero-plane; they are fired. I'm not sure who voiced Digger or the other weasel; but one of them by process of elimination on Chris Barat's notes indicates that it's Will Ryan. The second one is voiced by Nicholas Omana. Mr. Omana is a nothing voice talent who got a few roles in Foofur in 1986, Santa Barbara as 1st Deputy, Captain Planet and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; playing bit roles. He did the Enter the Matrix video game as an additional voice and did two narration roles: Harley Davidson: The Spirit of America, and The Last Days of Elvis: E! True Hollywood Story. That is it for him. Apparently; they have a boss too. So we cut to the fenced area where the badly shaved sheep are kept. Dewey calls them poodle-ized. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments.
Sundowner keeps blaming them on the willy wisps Duke proclaims that they destroyed their wool production as Huey wonders what is a willy wisp. Dewey calls them lousy barbers as the sheep are not amused by that response. Scrooge is pissed as if they aren't stopped; he'll have to sell his ranch which pretty much gives away the boss right in advance. Scrooge wants an air search and he wants Duke to do the flying as Launchpad is SHOCKED and STAMMERING on that one. Scrooge proclaims that Duke knows the terrain and he orders Launchpad to gas up the plane. If this is going to turn into a “Scrooge hate Launchpad's flying” episode; then this is going to fail. Then again; I'm dealing with a writer who has zero writing credits to his name and only one acting credit. So; Launchpad sells and goes to the plane. The nephews ask about their orders and they get to look after Webby which of course the nephews blow off. Oh please; not this stupid tag-along stereotype again. Webby is waving at Sundowner and Dingo; and then she notices a baby kangaroo hopping away from her as soon as she meets it. Webby tries to tell it to come back but no dice as she follows it into the bushes while the nephews watch on. Geez; Kit is more responsible with Molly then these nephews are with Webby. Then again; Kit likes Molly, and the nephews think Webby is a tag-along (in this one anyway). The nephews turn around and notice she's gone; DUH! That will teach them to lapse back into their former selves. Only TaleSpin should be doing that for obvious and not so obvious reasons.
So we go into the sky with Duke and Launchpad at the controls (well; Duke anyway) and Scrooge being in his favorite position of power: the backseat driver. AHHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummm.... Duke mocks Launchpad's flying skills and Launchpad mocks Duke's crashing skills. I say I'm with Launchpad on the fact that he LIVED through his crashes while Duke doesn't know his crash bones from his doggy bones. AHHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummm....Scrooge blows LP off because he wants teamwork see. LP apologizes for being such a cool front seat driver as he asks Duke about the willy wisps. Duke explains that according to Sundowner that the beasts are mini UFO's. Considering that face; I put 2:1 odds that he is the boss of this operation. Prove me wrong John A. Macwhatever. LP mocks them (what a shock?) as Duke proclaims that they only come at night and LP feels fine...For about three seconds as Sundowner's explanation is contradicted as the UFWW'S OF DOOM so claims Launchpad which means Unidentified Flying Willy Wisps. That makes no sense since we know that they are Willy Wisps. How can they be unidentified?! That leads to the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE WILLY WISPS EDITION~! The willy wisps slice through the plane like hot butter and then destroy the right engine. It's always the right one that gets the bad treatment in cartoons. So the engine smokes (AND THAT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH, MOVIE RATING and QUACK PACK EPISODES!) and goes into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!) as the spinning effect is awesome BABEE! The plane does a weak hyperbole (DAMMIT! I wanted to see it crash just to prove how much of a dick Scrooge is.) and it tries to limp to the ranch as the Willy Wisps break off their attack. The plane flies around the bend and heads towards some hills.
So we logically go inside the forest as the nephews goes through the bushes seeking the run away (rather than tag-along the nephews think she is) Webby. After the hypocrisy of the nephews; can you really blame Webby for running off?! They cannot find her and they'll get lost if this continues. Dewey has an idea to use Dingo to find her who happens to be Sundowner's dog of course. They go back as we cut back to the airplane continuing to smoke badly like a chain smoker and the landing gear is busted; so they have to bring her in on her belly. Launchpad of course wants to take over because he can crash well see as he takes the control stick and Duke is PISSED off of him doing that as they grunt and the plane gets more and more confused on it's landing method. Scrooge is panicking now since this is not what he had in mind for teamwork as we get a 3D-Flight Simulator shot of the airplane flying which is straight out of a video game. It spins through the trees at 360 degrees and cuts right through and then lands right in front of the ranch runway. That looked awkward for some odd reason. Good bump on the nose of the plane to stop it dead on it's tracks. Scrooge pops up with his hat flattened as he blows off this failed team. LP apologizes for that one as the nephews hear that LP has landed and they head to the ranch.
This is getting silly now as we cut to the little kangaroo hopping deeper into the forest as Webby proclaims that she only wants to be friends and not pick his pocket. HEE HEE! That was pretty witty on Webby's part. The kangaroo hops away of course as Webby looks around and squeals when she sees a kwola bear hanging from the side of a tree within her sight. The little critter panics (what a surprise?) and then stops as Webby calls it a teddy bear. She has never seen Kit Cloudkicker before. Now THAT'S a teddy bear. POW! OUCH! HEY.....Webby giggles as she calls her duck doll a teddy bear (HA!) and then the kangaroo comes in from behind and pulls on Webby's rear end. I knew that kangaroo was just being a sneak. SEXUAL HARASSMENT~! The animals mock her and she blows them off for being such meanies. Webby then gets off witty pun #2 as that is why they are kept out back. HEE HEE! By the way; we find out that her doll is a Quacky Patch Doll. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! You just knew the Cabbage Patch Kids would get involved in some lame Duck pun at some point. Webby takes a green jellybean out (which looks like a green kidney bean by the way) and gives it to the koala bear and a yellow one to the kangaroo complete with Hanna Barbera quirky sound effect. Now you know you are watching a Scooby Doo homage! Kwola eats his; Kangaroo saves his as Webby giggles on cue. The grass rustles as we see some bushes riffle and that scares the animals away as Webby blows them off for that one. The bushes open and here comes a mini warthog as Webby says hello to it.
So we logically cut back to the airfield near the ranch as the rest of the babyfaces (well; most of them and a possible heel in Duke) as Scrooge is mad again for the nephews losing Webby. I know this since the nephews are there and their hats are off so you know this is serious. They lost her in 15 seconds according to Louie. Which is still better than Kit losing Molly in three seconds (but she came back two seconds later of course) so it's not a total write-off. Oh wait....Scrooge orders Sundowner, Duke and Dingo to help in search for Webby; while LP and the nephews get the plane flying again as punishment for not working well as a unit. So we go back into the wilderness as the koala bear and the kangaroo are back for no good reason as Webby is befriending the warthog. This is just plain boring at this point. Webby cuddles him and wants to find his parents and sure enough the warthogs blitz out of the grass bushes as the rest of the animals bail on cue except for the warthog in Webby's clutches of course as she was just talking about them. Oh boy; Webby is so screwed now as they get ready to snort and strike as Webby compares the warthog to his daddy. They take exception and Webby screams; drops the warthog and runs away stage left. I just knew Webby would turn and run like a coward soon enough. The warthogs run after it and that ends the segment 11 minutes in. Man; Sundowner is a neat name; but he's more useless than Shakabaka was in Gadget Goes Hawaiian. And man; this episode has been pretty dull thus far...
After the commercial break; we get the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE WARTHOG EDITION just to make the homage turn into self-parody. This is exactly what I get for ranting on an episode which the writer has only one acting credit to show for in his career. Webby's screaming is AWESOME though as she jumps over a log; but loses her Quacky Patch Doll. I betcha she foolishly goes for it because it's her prized procession. I check the DVD....Not this time as the warthog flings the doll up and it lands in a tree next to the koala bear. Webby runs some more through the bushes as only one warthog chases her. I guess the second one is too injured to continue. More running through the bushes to waste some more time. Why not just add some Scooby Doo Hippie music while we are at it as Webby makes it to a stream which contains about five or six crocodiles (what a shock?). Considering that it is Webby; the BS&P is understandable; but screw them. I still like Kit and Baloo's adventure with them the best. She manages to cross through making sure to stomp on the beak of the third one to show Baloo how it's done. I like Baloo's better; but thank you for trying Webagail Vanderquack. The crocodiles go to the right edge of the river and if you don't know what happens next; you have no business reading this rant.
Webby runs off into the open field outside the forest and that logically leads us to an air shot of the outback BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (Read: sunset) as Dingo howls (I think; knowing Disney Captions lies from time to time) as we go to a pan shot and then a shot of the kangaroo hopping towards a pool of water where Webby is drinking some water out of it. Knowing today's environment; that is not one of her better decisions. Webby whines like a baby over the dirt mark they did to her. Umm; check your internal logic there guys. She wasn't touched at all during that sequence and there was no dirt kicked up in her face. Logic break #1 for the episode at the 12 and a half minute mark, a new record for this series. Then a platypus shows up over her image of herself and pops out of the water to greet her. They touch beaks and Webby screams and both bail in opposite directions (with the platypus diving into the water); and Webby nearly hits the back of her head against the rocks. Webby now whines about her dress and that's logic break #2 for the episode since it's not even close to being torn. Why should I be surprised when this writer...well; you know. She hopes to never see another animal as long as she lives which is silly considering her mannerisms towards them in general. So we logically go to Webby sleeping AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) which Molly would recycle (including the sequence of hate and running) for the finish in Jolly Molly Christmas. I like Molly's version a lot better for obvious reasons. Webby is shivering and whimpering as she sleeps as the cancer music arrives as the HUNDREDS OF EYES OF DOOM peep on Webby. I never thought I see the day that animals would be perverts; but this is it. The animals come out looking somber as the kowla bear give Webby back her Quacky Patch Doll which is really good continuity and the first real good scene of the episode at the 13 minute mark. Webby cuddles as the animals watch on which goes nowhere.
So we logically cut to the clouds clearing away to expose the moon light; as we cut down to ground level to see Dingo sniffing and barking around the area. The adult babyfaces (and one possible heel) minus Launchpad (although his adult status is a wee bit questionable in Scrooge's own mind.) follow as Duke blows off Dingo's finding of the trail as he thinks it's a wabbit..ERR...I mean rabbit. Sundowner blows him off for mocking Dingo's brains and mocks Duke instead. Oh man; if that is all Sundowner can do; then he is absolutely useless. More useless than Monty and that's a rarity. Duke calls him a ratbag and Scrooge steps in reminding them of teamwork. If we are doing the teamwork angle; shouldn't Scrooge be doing SOME work other than shouting like a dick? They walk some more as Scrooge wants wee Webagail (which makes Sundowner's address of Webby make Sundowner look more foolish.) and here come the Willy Wisps again. Dingo runs stage right to the far corners of the outback as one of them chases him and that is enough for the rest of the babyfaces to run off in different directions. So we logically go into a field and then pan right to see that Scrooge has lost the Willy Wisps (how does that work?) and he is calling out for Duke and Sundowner. Sundowner arrives from the forest as he informs Scrooge that Duke is missing. UH OH! I smell heel turn coming as Dingo has also ran off. Scrooge and Sundowner go into the forest as Scrooge didn't have this in mind to split up; and they call out for Webby again.
So we head back to the ranch and pan over to the sheep area and then to the plane as it is in midair and the nephews and Launchpad continue to work on it. See; this is why blue/green shading works because we can SEE what is going on. Realistic lighting just doesn't work here. Launchpad checks the landing gear and the wheel land fine as Dewey proclaims that they will have it all patched up by morning. Man; the nephews and LP are having better luck and work rate than Scrooge, Sundowner and Duke have combined. That is not a good sign for the episode as a whole. We continue the hammering and patch work in various scene changes to waste more time and then we see Launchpad using the pulley system to bring the plane down gently as morning arises and they are shining the plane up good. Nice effect of the sun rise on Louie by TMS by the way. Launchpad checks the right engine and notices a white boomerang inside it. Launchpad throws the boomerang away and anyone who has seem a boomerang spot knows that spells DANGER and Launchpad gets MURDERED right in the back of the head and eats engine. HAHA!
The white boomerang crashes on the ground and is destroyed of course. Dewey points out the obvious to us; and the nephews deduct that the boomerangs are the Willy Wisps. NO?! REALLY?! Does that point to Sundowner being the boss heel here? I hope so because we need Sundowner to do something in this episode to justify that cool name of his. Huey's mouth flaps are TERRIBLE here as I think the writers had something else in mind for Huey to say and BS&P stepped in and changed it. Huey drops down to the ground as Dewey and Louie exchange more notes that it's aluminum and such. Huey returns with as many boomerangs as he can carry as it's time to fight fire with fire so to speak. They ask where Huey got them and he states that they are in Sundowner's room and it's a mess, messier than their room. Okay; that makes sense....and it's clear now that Sundowner is the boss of this heel operation to screw Scrooge out of his business. Louie wonder how to fight remote control boomerangs and Huey has a MIMI JOKE ZONE PLAN coming as they head to the plane. So we return to the forest of bushes as Scrooge is calling for Webby and Sundowner is following him. Sundowner grabs his boomerang (FINALLY! He does something) as Scrooge asks him where the water hole is. Scrooge then notices that the boomerang is headed for his head (I smell heel turn coming at 6 o'clock) and that ends the segment sixteen and a half minutes in. Okay; this could get good now.
After the commercial break; we see Scrooge panicking as he ducks and of course Sundowner was only trying to lop off the tree branch to get that snake who was going to Kaa Scrooge good if you catch my drift. So much for Sundowner being the heel of this operation. Sundowner arrives as Scrooge thanks him for saving his life as the snake slithers away. Sundowner states that they are friends as I am really disappointed in Sundowner not turning heel because that would be pretty cool to see. Scrooge proclaims that they are loyal, trustworthy, low-paid employees. HAHA! That is so true that it isn't funny anymore. Sundowner and Scrooge walk away towards the watering hole as we get another binoculars shot and see Digger and Ratbrat getting upset because they are close to the secret mines. And then the SHADOW OF DOOM beckons and here comes Duke Duggan blowing off Scrooge for getting rich off his sweat. I predicted he was the heel at the very start by the way which makes the fake Sundowner heel turn seem REALLY STUPID. Duke steals the BI-TELESCOPE OF DOOM from Digger and looks at Scrooge and Sundowner going up a mountain side (I think) as they apparently make excellent targets once the sun is full up. They laugh badly as Scrooge calls for Webby again.
So we cut back to the watering hole area where Webby is sleeping as she is sleeping with the Kwola bear inside the Kangaroo's pouch. Okay; how did this scene occur without Webby waking up? I call logic break #3 for the episode; albeit a minor one since it's still possible that something occurred during the night to make that scene occur. We zoom in and Webby wakes up and I betcha she screams and panics right on cue. I check the DVD....Damn; I'm good as she runs away like a scalded duck stage left...Hmmmm; scalded duck...SLURP! POW! OUCH! Ummm....The animals follow her as she stop and notices that she has her doll back...and then gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY. Yeap; she's back to loving animals again. She even bails stage left to make sure that wartyhog stays out of trouble as the animals can only shrug in response. HEE HEE! Webby runs towards the green house well near some mountain plains as the warthog is screaming from the top of his lungs. Webby looks over the wells and notices warthog is safe and sound with some diamonds or pearls; I cannot tell which.
UH OH! I think Webby has stumbled into Duke's secret mine shaft. Webby proclaims that this is going to take teamwork as Scrooge would say as she puts the koala bear into the pail and puts it into the well as the kangaroo wheels the pail down towards the bottom. It falls down and koala Bear pulls warthog into the pail and then Webby and kangaroo pull on the wheel to pull them up. When they do teamwork better than Scrooge; you know this is a Webby focused episode. Warthog and kwola bear jump out of the pail and some pretty blue stones fall down to Webby's surprise. And here comes the adult warthogs snorting and angry as usual. They try to rush; but Dingo arrives just in time to stop them in their tracks. They circle around growling and snorting and that is enough for Webby to blows them off as they stop looking a bit confused as Webby is angry. Somehow; an angry Webby just seems not possible. Besides; angry Molly is more badass anyway.
So we cut to the cliff as Duke, Digger and Ratbag (whatever) as they take out the WILLY WISPS OF DOOM and use their weird lever switches to control them and change into boomerangs of light. Well; that pretty much eliminates any hope of a good episode now. We then cut to Scrooge and Sundowner climbing up the mountain to fetch a pail of Webby Nuts. AHHAHAHAHA! STOMP! OUCH! Ummm... Sundowner notices the wells as Scrooge thinks that they are water holes. Sundowner calls them opal mines. That brings out two Willy Wisps as Scrooge and Sundowner dodge them and are forced to bail. Sadly; Sundowner and Scrooge are trapped in a dead end as Scrooge swears in DUBBED SCOTTISH STYLE (Curse me kilts!) as a result as the willy wisps come in front of them just to annoy and threaten them good. We cut back to Duke looking on with the binoculars as Digger and Ratbag continue their control of the situation. Duke wants to go in for the kill; so in comes Launchpad and the nephews in their airplane as the side door is open and Louie preps the slingshot of death with about thirty boomerangs as they see that Scrooge and Sundowner are about to be poodle-ized. Considering that involves making them naked; that is something you don't want to see. Even more so when the 700 Club is involved. Huey then gets the absurd line of the episode and I'm paraphrasing here....
Huey: We'll show them how to combine American ingenuity with Australian ingenuity!
Well; I have seen the results of this fusion which is the birth of Monty and Jeice. In other words; these two countries should leave each other alone and go their separate ways. The world would be a better place. Louie slingshots the boomerangs out the door as Huey gets another stupid pun which is Ready...Aim...Boomerang? UGH! Now you know why you don't trust a writer with one acting credit to his resume. The boomerangs fly in various directions and destroy four Willy Wisps. WHAT THE HELL? There were only two in control from the heels. Logic break #4 for the episode as the nephews slap some skin as they did it to show Scrooge their worth. The boomerangs come back into the airplane in a cute spot as the pun on that one is much better. Duke is PISSED off as he decides to finish off Scrooge and Sundowner with the..wait for it...the WIDOWMAKER OF DEATH. Now you know he's serious when he has to employ the skills to kill husbands with a bread maker. Oh come on! Why do you think they call it a _widow-maker_?! I have NOTHING...AND THE ROCK SEZS NOTHING to work with here.
Digger and Ratbag pump their fist in feigned outrage as Duke brings out his bread maker....oh wait; it's a black boomerang with a purple sharp edge. Who does he think he is; the Aussie stereotype version of DARKWING....DUCK?! Duke tries to throw it; but is stopped by Webby's voice as she blows off Duke for harming her Uncle Scrooge. They turn around and of course they mock her. This is why McKnee captured Molly and Henry in the finish to Mommy For A Day; and thus the only way to win was McKnee keeping his water canteen out for Molly to use. Because it makes them look a lot more stupid than McKnee ever was. The animals step in as Digger mocks Webby's dolly. Oooooo..that is FIGHTING WORDS to a girl Digger! Dingo steps in and he looks PISSED OFF good. And of course the warthogs join in as the Aussie Stereotypes are seriously (insert swear word here). Okay; this is a neat finish as the heels bail on Webby's charge as apparently Duke's hat has a mind of it's own when it bails with him. Digger goes to the jeep and turns it on and it moves right into the adult warthog's horn which bursts the tires. Duke, Digger and Ratbag bail out and get huddled up into a dead end of their own.
The animals surround them as we logically cut back to the ranch before any real damage is done by BS&P. We go to the far shot as Sundowner explains how Duke found opals on Scrooge's grazing land (without his knowledge or permission) and then uses two weasels to drive their wool production to the ground and thus Scrooge would be forced to sell the business. Scrooge offers Sundowner the business running even though he really did nothing to earn it. Which just goes to show you the importance of having a cool name I guess. Sundowner agrees to it as long as he doesn't have to be neat and tidy; and Scrooge agrees to the terms. After all; he's not paying him much anyway. Scrooge thanks everyone for their service (which is nice to know) as he asks Webby how she did it. Webby calls it teamwork which of course Scrooge failed at the whole time despite telling us the importance of it. Which at least makes the episode not so useless after all. Dingo barks and that ends the episode at 21:13. Man; this episode was really dull as dishwater with Sundowner doing jack crap here; but it redeemed itself somewhat with a cute finish. Call it ** ½ (50%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Man; this episode was A LOT worse than I first remembered it. The story was really solid and there were very few logic breaks for the most part; but I couldn't help but feel that was boring for most of the way. I was hoping for Sundowner to turn heel as he had a kick ass name; but he did almost nothing here except to prove that he wasn't a heel. Duke Duggan was all right as was his henchmen, but they were nothing to write home about and be excited about. The whole thing was centered around Webby's misadventures with the animals and it looked fine; but it wasn't exactly something that I want to kick ass with. The finish was pretty neat; but again I thought it was done a lot better in Mommy For A Day than this. I just felt this was merely a half-way template for Molly to really blow it out of the water more than anything else. I did like the irony of the teamwork concept as everyone but Scrooge got it despite Scrooge being the one who demanded it. Overall; this was the definition of a middling episode which could have easily been a thumbs down without TMS and a good finish. This was a disappointment since I was looking forward to this one. I guess Sundowner's name was the reason I liked it. I guess I had Cartoon Duck Syndrome back then. So......
Thumbs square in the middle for this episode and I'll see you next time.