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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. McDuck
Reviewed: 10/31/2009
Welcome to bad Saint Hallow's Eve pranks, Mr. McD!
Welcome kiddies to disc 2 of Volume 3 of Ducktales as we start this rant on Halloween Day. How about that?! I finally manage to do a holiday episode on the same day as the holiday. Too bad there are lots of episodes that qualify as Halloween episodes in this series; so the mark is tainted a little bit. Nevertheless; I march on. Let's rant on shall we...?!
This episode is written by Michael Keyes and Margaret Osborne. The story is edited by Tedd Anasti and Pasty Cameron. I have nothing on Margaret so I suspect another ghost writer in the mist which is not a good sign for this episode either.
We begin this one in London England with a sky shot of Big Ben AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) and lots of fog. We zoom down to the street level with the weirdest fog and lighting ever. What is this; an A-1 episode? Anyhow; a dogsperson noble with a cane is walking alone (DANGER!) and the wind howls (according to Disney Captions which is funny considering the bells on Big Ben are ringing at this time.). The noble (with a red bow tie, white hair and yellow Mickey Mouse gloves) checks his golden pocket watch and there is whistling from him as he whistles Rule Britannia down the street. We cut to a statue of a human on a horse (!!!) as a creepy dogsperson in a fedora hat is hiding behind it and he's hissing for some unknown reason as the noble panics and we have the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE WHISTLING EDITION~ barely thirty seconds in. Am I watching Ducktales; or an anthro version of Mister T? Sadly; the noble doesn't watch where he is going and gets tripped up by the creepy heel. I sense this is Jack The Tripper (Peter Cullen- and damn it to hell if he doesn't live up to his name) as the noble is flat on his face and twists around and screams his name and yells for help. We then cut back to the statue as the tall bobby (in English police gear sporting a red mustache) walks stage right and hears the yells for help. He runs towards as Jack and the Noble fight over the wallet blowing each other off in the process (the noble calls Jack a blackguard which Open Office sees as a real word by the way.). I'm guessing the noble is Jim Cummings; but it's not in my notes from Chris.
The bobby blows his whistle and Jack bails stage north east as the noble tells him where he is going and the bobby (Peter Cullen) blows his whistle and follows. This leads to the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE BOBBY JACK EDITION~! The short bobby comes out of nowhere as it's time to follow those feet (Rob Paulsen is the short brown one by the way; although their heights are strangely similar.). Jack runs towards the spooky house (which will probably be used in an attraction someday) and over the iron gate after shaking it and cutting a dishonest living promo. The bobbies go to the iron gate as the tall Bobby tries to get the lock open but the short one tells him to let it go. The tall one is addressed as Chucky as he explains that no one would ever hide in Doctor Jekyll's old mansion; not even Jack The Tripper. Well; he just did you idiots! Then again; I'm not surprised. In DTVA; the police are even dumber than the heels sometimes. They exchange notes as we find out that Doctor Jekyll was arrested by the short bobby years ago; he was a sour old coot and then he went insane and threw his money away. We get a right shot of the statue and he looks like a vampire version of Scrooge McDuck. The bobbies walk away from the house as they wish that they kept the trail of money to boot; but the Chief Inspector wouldn't let him. When even a cartoon is against asset forfeiture; you know police in America should have taken the hint. We then cut to the creepy statue as Jack pops from it and wonders if there is an easier way to make his dishonest living.
He walks up to the stairs and sees the auction notice pinned on the door. He reads it and Al Khan has a heart attack and stroke right on cue. Even the word notice is clearly written which just makes Al Khan look like an idiot. When is he going to realize that kids do read; only they read in a different way, say like reading the words on a notice in a cartoon. Or reading the subtitles on a DVD. Or just listening to the characters speak. The house is on the auction block to repay outstanding debt and taxes. It's from Notheby's in Duckberg and Jack wonders as he throws the cape over his face and then rips the notice from the house and walks inside. So we head to a far shot of Duckberg (with the Money Bin over the tallest hill I might add.) We zoom in to outside a building as there is a roofed stage as an auctioneer is standing on the stage giving out the next item up for bids as furries of all stripes are waiting with baited breath. The dogsperson (brown trench coat, blue bow tie, brown toupee hair piece and has vision problems- voiced by Jim Cummings for the first time for real since The Golden Suns pilot.) shows off a beautiful old trunk made of gold with red belts on it. We pan to the crowd as Scrooge and the nephews are watching on. The auctioneer starts with fifty dollars and Scrooge gleefully blows him off. Then we go $40 and Scrooge blows him off on that one because he's not called Shirley see. Now here's an obvious logic break: Don't all auctions in real life starts with a low bid and then the bids INCREASE as they go on? Doesn't this auctioneer realize that he's LOSING that MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH? Anyhow; the nephews see a soda vendor and want some soda for ten cents. Scrooge agrees to it and gives them one dime and ONLY one dime. HAHA!
The nephews are not pleased with that one, even less so as Scrooge wants them to put four straws in it instead of three. Man; Scrooge is being uber stingy today. Then again; I don't exactly trust who is writing this episode. The nephews walk off (maybe they should have brought their allowance instead) as we pan left as the bid lowers from $20 to $5 and in comes Gladstone Gander (Wow; I didn't remember him being in this episode? Then again; Rob Paulsen is voicing in this episode.) to greet Scrooge and he is sold the trunk for five bucks. HAHA! Scrooge gleefully blows him off for THAT one. Disney Caption is missing dialog again I see as Gladstone asks for five dollars. Ah; I see his luck is dying now as Scrooge calls him out on that one and Gladstone proclaims that he's lucky because Scrooge is here to give him five bucks. HAHA! I just love obvious logic like that. The two bouncers in blue and banana yellow hats bring the CHEST OF DEMONS as Scrooge looks for five dollars and the handles snap (Huh?) on cue and the chest opens to reveal about $20 million in gold coins. HAHA! Gladstone tells him to keep the five dollars as he is covered on that one. I betcha Scrooge groans on cue for THAT one. I check the DVD....Damn; I'm good as Gladstone gives a coin to the guy from Scrooge's Pet. See what happens when you don't reveal the contents of something and then blow someone off for buying something useless? You have no one but yourself to blame for that one you greedy little bastard.
So we go back to the auctioneer again as there are items recently received from London. We cut to see a black trunk on the pillar and the auctioneer asks for $100, and Jack's voice beckons as Scrooge cannot put his bid in. The auctioneer proclaims that Jack is “the man in the funny hat”. Big logic break #2: Why didn't Jack just STEAL the trunk from the house from the start? Unless the writers are implying that the stuff was already in Duckberg beforehand... And why would he be stupid enough to appear in an auction without a proper disguise so he doesn't obviously look like Jack The Tripper? Scrooge raises to $200 and the auctioneer calls him the man in the funnier hat. Why doesn't he see Scrooge McDuck (who has been in the press before); but can instantly address Gladstone Gander? I don't get it. So we continue on with the thrilling auction that is hardly silent as Jack finally gives up at $1,000 and wraps the cape and leaves. Scrooge wins the bet and the black trunk comes to him. Considering that the handles do not break on cue in this one; I think Scrooge is screwed here. Scrooge tells Gladstone to stand back as he opens the lock with his cane (How does that work?) and it opens to reveal: Doctor Jekyll's wardrobe. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Scrooge wears a gray top hat and the cape is good for making Scrooge into a vampire (oh the irony!). Dewey reveals the yellow PERFUME OF MONEY THROWING DEATH. Apparently; it's similar to Corral #5 that Mrs. Beakly wears. I thought perfume was beneath Mrs. Beakly.
Never mind as we see Jack hiding behind a green chair swearing in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (curses!) because they found Doctor Jekyll's fortune. NO?! REALLY?! You call THAT a fortune? Oh wait; it's the formula never mind. Gladstone grabs the banana yellow perfume and calls it cologne. Gladstone tries to spray himself with it; but Scrooge grabs it from him. See; it's his even if it's worthless. It's nice to see Scrooge willing to accept his misfortune. Too bad this is going to cost him as Scrooge invokes the perfume on his face and it smells like that MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH as he then instantly turns into someone who is clearly on an illegal substance. Dewey wonders what the heck has happened to his Uncle Scrooge and Scrooge wants him to call him Uncle Moneybags and calls him a wee nipper. I see the perfume doesn't affect his accent. Scrooge gives Dewey a couple thousand dollars for a bigger allowance and he's SHOCKED at that response. Then he starts throwing his cash away into the air and the crowd catches it all on cue. Huey and Dewey grab Scrooge by the cape as that is their inheritance. So they ARE admitting that they were leeching off of him all along. Nice CONTINUITY from Nothing to Fear as Scrooge blows them off because he's out of money and he cannot give it away as he chuckles like Goofy on steroids and runs away stage right. Huey wants Scrooge to come back as Dewey grabs the perfume and proclaims that something in it did something to him. NO?! REALLY?! It just goes to show thee that you never trust Gedo's fashion sense in anything. Huey and Dewey bail as Louie has returned with the soda pop and wonders where everyone is going. It's always the jokester who is last to know as he follows them.
So we cut to the street curb as Duckworth is reading the newspaper in front of the limo and here comes PSYCHO MONEYBAGS~! The nephews follow as they deduce that he's going back to the Money Bin. Louie is still confused to all this matter as the nephews give chase again. And so we cut to a street towards the hill of the Money Bin and it's raining dollar bills. Now you know that perfume is as dangerous as Fred Phelps. DAMN YOU GEDO! So we return to the Money Bin as the auction crowd is at the front of the driveway grabbing the raining money from the windows of the Money Bin. We zoom in and the cut into Scrooge's office as Psycho Moneybags is shoveling a pile of golden coins and dollars bills. And the whole office is a mess of money as Moneybags calls this more fun than a barrel of MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH. Cryme Time would be proud of all this. Who needs to steal; when drugging and having him give the money away is easier? And so Moneybags goes and throws out a barrel of money. SCORE! The nephews run in and Moneybags wants the nephews to help him shovel. So Huey steals the soda drink Louie was carrying (I just knew that would come into play somehow) and throws the soda into Scrooge's face. He's blinded by the force of soda, by gawd!! Scrooge manages to snap out of it as the smell is nullified. I just hope they keep the logic consistent in this one.
The last thing we need is another Monty logic mess to infect other episodes. So we cut to the driveway as Jack places banana peels onto the driveway. Okay; now we are stooping to new lows for contrived spots here guys. Scrooge and the nephews walk out as Scrooge proclaims that he will throw the perfume into the nearest river. Now you would think that Scrooge would be smart enough to look where he was going and walk around the banana peels; but then again: CONTRIVED SPOTS IS EXTREME~! Scrooge slips and throws the perfume into Jack the Tripper's hands as Huey blows off Scrooge's throwing skills. He should have blown him off for missing the obvious; but whatever. Jack runs away into the hills as Scrooge proclaims that the perfume is his problem now. The nephews help Scrooge towards the limo where Duckworth is standing guard as he proclaims that he is not himself today.
So we head to Scrooge's Mansion AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as we go to Scrooge's bedroom and he is tossing and turning in bed. Apparently; he is having nightmares about losing his money again. Isn't that kind of normal for a astute businessman like Scrooge? He wakes up in his red shirt as he calls it a horrible dream. It's because he couldn't touch his money as we go into the nephews room as they play around with the black trunk and wonder what Jack is going to do with the cologne. Huey lifts a sticker underneath the chest and there is an address on the trunk. And so we cut to inside Scrooge's room as Scrooge (in red pjs) walks to the picture of Goldie with her blunderbuss and opens the frame as it is a hidden safe. Scrooge wants to touch some money and he grabs the dollar bills and smells it. Okay; the psychology is making sense here; otherwise, it would be a logic break since Scrooge was still in the money when he came to. He turns into Uncle Moneybags again about nine minutes in. He goes insane of course as we head inside the room of the nephews as Huey checks the gold coin on the black trunk as it belongs to Doctor Jekyll in Hyde Park, London England. And right on cue; here comes PSYCHO MONEYBAGS~!
He throws that MONEY, MONEY, YEAH, YEAH and puts on the cane, cape and hat. He then bails stage left as the nephews realize that the soda pop didn't kill off the perfume. It only held it back it for a while. The nephews follow as Moneybags speaks in the third person coming out from the side. Who does he think he is now; Molly playing Dangerwoman?! Dewey tells Louie and Huey to tackle him when he gets onto the front lawn as Scrooge continues to throw money away on the front lawn. Huey and Louie tackle him down by his shoulders as we cut to Dewey at the sprinkler system as he turns it on and hopes water works as well as soda does. The sprinklers turn on instantly and Scrooge, Huey and Louie get their overdue shower in. HAHA! Scrooge wakes up and realizes that the cologne has turned him into a monster. Huey tells Scrooge that the stuff came from some place in London and Scrooge want to go there as the moon shines on him to end the segment ten minutes in.
After the commercial break; we get a shot of London and Big Ben bell's ringing AFTER HAPPY HOUR. And it's foggy again as we cut to street level as a pig couple in rich gear (the female is wearing a fruit salad in her hat) walking down a red carpet away from the limo and his driver. Jack appears in front of the carpet and pulls on it as the couple is SHOCKED AND HORRIFIED at this. They get bounced down on their asses as Jack invokes the perfume on them and they instantly turn insane. There's logic break #3 for the episode right there. I just knew that they wouldn't keep the psychology straight as the couple dances around and gives Jack their money. I'm guessing this is Lord and Lady Somebody or Other (Jim Cummings and Linda Gary) since the Pete voice in Cummings is obvious here. The fog grows thicker as Jack crackles with glee, cuts a promo and then leaves. Lord and Lady Something or Other waltz back to the limo and decide to give their life savings away. So we cut to Doctor Jekyll's Mansion with a close up of the iron gate as Jack is at the door and then hides inside.
We see Scrooge unlocking the gate with a golden key as he relates from the report from the police that Doctor Jekyll was a friendless old hermit who turned into a money flinging fool. I thought Huey was unlocking the gate? Never mind as the gate is opened. They make it to the statue as Scrooge hopes that Jekyll made an antidote to counter the effects. Huey has brought the CLOWN SPRAYER OF LAUGHS and sprays the statue just to be safe. The QUACKEROONIES OF DOOM go to the open as Scrooge tries to unlock it; but it's already open. They go inside towards the fireplace as Scrooge looks behind a picture of Doctor Jekyll with his cane which I certain will become important later on. Dewey asks what will happen if there is no antidote; and Scrooge proclaims that he can never touch money again. He goes to the closet and then it open and a wave of dollar bills and some coins entomb Scrooge. Oh; that wasn't contrived in the very least no siree.
The nephews panic and Scrooge pops up as he is now Uncle Moneybags again. This is the Republican's nightmare fully realized. Moneybag seems restrained somehow as Louie tells Huey to spray him good; but here comes Jack The Tripper from the entrance as that money is his. Okay; that makes more sense now. The contriveness is gone from this episode. Huey asks for a rain check and sprays Jack with the CLOWN SPRAYER OF LAUGHS as he backs up and falls through the boarded up window and takes an off-screen MAN-SIZED bump outside. Wow; that room must have been on the second or third floor for that to happen. Louie mocks Jack's hat again as per in Louie's contract. Then the nephews panic as they yell for Scrooge and Uncle Moneybags blows them off since he's no longer Scrooge see. Scrooge runs out of the house with dollar bills in his hands and then we logically go to....
...In the streets as the nephews have lost him for no real reason as they pant and proclaim that Scrooge could be anywhere. That perfume works well in exercise too. Could this be the long term solution for Hoppo's weight loss. POW! OUCH! Umm...They need help as we zoom in and Dewey asks who is the greatest detective in the world. Normally that is me; but in this case it's Shedlock Jones. At least Disney Captions got his name right this time. See; he's an Junior Woodchuck and lives in London. So we go to morning as the nephews head to Shedlock Jones' office. We know this because his face is plastered on the sign board. And yes; he's SMOKING A PIPE. Sadly; no smoke (AND THAT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH, MOVIE RATING AND QUACK PACK EPISODES!) come out of it. We cut to a pan shot up and into Shedlock Jone's office as he looks like the sign board minus the smoke pipe. He is using the magnifying glass on the newspaper and thank goodness so sun is involved in this one. Dewey explains to Shedlock Jones why they are in London and Shedlock stops them right in his tracks and tries to deduce the rest.
Shedlock Jones is voiced by Clive Revill from New Zealand who started in cinema plays for the BBC in 1955, then in movies such as Reach For The Sky, The Horse's Mouth, The Headless Ghost and the Adventures of Robin Hood television series in 1957. He went on to cameo roles in The Inside Man, The Wednesday Play, and ITV Playhouse; along with movies such as The Shoes of the Fisherman, Fathom, The Double Man and Kaleidoscope. He was Chico in The Boy With Two Heads television series, Rolf in Arthur of the Britons, and was in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. He was also Finlay in Centennial and was in Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back as the Emperor. He then went on to American productions and voice acting with being the storyteller in Dragon's Lair in 1984 and Galeo in Snorks. Ducktales is his DTVA debut and he would also be a cameo in The Little Mermaid animated series, and appear in the Disney Return to Neverland sequel. He was a voice in the video game Jeanne D'Arc, Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Gothic 3. His most recent credit is Gentlemen Broncos movie as Cletus......and he deduces the whole thing in a nutshell perfectly as the nephews get off Quackeroonie #1 for the episode. Sadly; Shedlock speaks so fast; Disney Captions misses words left and right (including hooligan). He deduced it in the afternoon newspaper and uses the Watson pun as Webson. Dewey asks if he could help them and I betcha Shedlock doesn't help them at all on this one. I check the DVD....Damn; I'm good as apparently his time is too valuable in wasting on Scrooge's little problem and on Jack The Tripper. What a jerk this Shedlock Jones fellow is?! The nephews are not pleased at all on this one. See; he's after the evil professor Moody Doody as we see a photo of him on the desk and minus the hat; he's basically Jack The Tripper. That pretty much gives away who Jack The Tripper is well in advance I should add.
Interesting Moment #1: And then history is made as Shedlock Jones is actually SMOKING HIS PIPE and there's smoke coming out of it! And Disney DVD doesn't censor it at all! I don't know if Toon Disney cut the scene out; but Disney is one of those companies that has been painstaking strict when it comes to smoking to please anti-smoking groups for years now. Huey does blow him off with a health promo; but so what?! According to anti-smoking groups; showing someone smoke will make others smoke regardless if the babyface points out the bad health effects. And Shedlock is a BABYFACE to boot. That's even worse. I don't know if any TaleSpin characters smoke; although Baloo did have a fake pipe in his mouth in Bringing Down Babyface. Shedlock claims that he doesn't smoke the pipe; even though he clearly DOES in that scene. He's not fooling anyone. Shedlock tells the nephews to run along since he needs to think and use his incredible powers of deduction to find Professor Moody Doody while putting his feet on the desk. I see where Drake Mallard gets his useful skills from now. I mean Shedlock is full of himself; he's vain and he's REALLY STUPID. The nephews walk out blowing him off for not having a clue. He IS the dogsperson version of DARKWING...DUCK. AHHAHAHAHAHA! BLAM! HEE HEE! Missed again Drake. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY!
Note from the future: The Toon Disney version keeps the scene. Wow. I thought that would be an easy edit for them.
So we head into the streets of London as the nephews proclaims that Shedlock Jones is officially off their Junior Woodchuck Mailing List. So does that mean Shedlock has gone to the Religious Right?! POW! OUCH! Ummm.... They wonder where they are going to find Scrooge and then OUT OF NOWHERE; here comes short bobby running towards Chucky and they exchange notes. Apparently a rich bloke is throwing money away in Tralla La Square. Okay; this is supposed to be London; so why use a French name? The bobbies want the money (thus breaking Scotland Yard's order) and they run to the square as Dewey proclaims that something came up. So we see Chucky and Shorty (until I can find a real name) run towards the square and they see a horrible sight as we cut to in front of the fountain with Uncle Moneybags giving a pig noble (with matching top hat) his dollar bills. The pig doesn't want it as they do some tug-o-warring for a while and then fall into the fountain. They pop up as Scrooge is back to normal as he puts the money in the top hat. That's a big mistake there Scroogie since that money is STOLEN money.
Chucky and Shorty pull the two rich guys out of the water as the pig furry is officially Lord Somebody or Other. Weird since he should have been under the effects of the perfume by now and he wasn't in that scene. Okay; he was giving the money back; but he didn't appear to be psycho. Logic break either way as the nephews run in and proclaims that they are his uncle; but the bobby refuses to let him go because they are holding him until a cure is found. Scrooge proclaims that it would take years as the dollar bills is sniffed and he goes psycho again; then goes back to normal and then goes psycho again. I just knew that the writers would screw up the logic at some point. Scrooge and the short bobby struggle as they walk away stage left as Scrooge tells them to find the antidote at once. The short bobby and Scrooge/Uncle Moneybags walk away in a struggle. What is with the Aussie stuff here from the officers? Scrooge is even called governor at one point (Yangus calls the hero that in Dragon Quest VIII). The nephews watch on looking stunned as Dewey proclaims that it's time to search Doctor Jekyll's mansion again as he walks off. Huey and Louie are not amused by this; but they follow anyway. So we get a sky shot of Big Ben again with more fog as the nephews walk towards the pan zoom in sky shot of the house as Moody Doody's hissing commences some more and that ends the segment 16 minutes in. Pretty good episode thus far...
After the commercial break; we go to a close shot of the iron gate which is slightly ajar this time around as we zoom into the house as the nephews search the place with flashlights. The money is gone and they hope Jack The Tripper is gone. Well; he is gone, he is really Moody Doody after all. They shine the flashlight on the Doctor Jekyll painting which is goofy since there seems to be a green door behind the fireplace and there isn't one. Interesting coloring goof: The lighting goes from cartoon lighting to the mature lighting hardcore likes. So that yet ANOTHER episode that uses it. Louie wonders where to go next and Dewey decides to search for the stairs as they are going to walk up the same staircase as home only ten billion times scarier. Come to think of it; Doctor Jekyll's home is like Scrooge's Mansion in many ways; only darker and scarier. Huey wants to go up to find the antidote; however, here comes....Shedlock Jones?! Okay; that officially assures that Jack The Tripper is Moody Doody now as he blows them off for incorrect deduction. The nephews are SHOCKED as he walks down the stairs because he is a Junior Woodchuck after all. Wrong guys; he's here because he knows who Jack The Tripper really is.
Shedlock also has the perfume with him as they walk into the living room as Shedlock relates the fact to the case. It still doesn't explain why Jack would go in such a stupid Zorro disguise to begin with; but whatever. We zoom into the broken window (Nice CONTINUITY from the writers) as Moody Doody pops up and realizes that he must get the formula back. Shedlock leans on the fireplace and asks the boys to study the painting and ask what is wrong with this picture. Huey claims it's ugly. Shouldn't LOUIE be cracking that joke? Then they get the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY and see that there is a green door in the painting even though there is none. Shedlock knocks on wood and notices a panel and asks for help in pushing it. They push it and the door knocks down carrying the babyfaces into Doctor Jekyll's lab. Which looks kind of muted in creepiness. They get up and the flashlights turn on as Shedlock Jones shines the flashlight towards the desk on the right and see Doctor Jekyll's journal on the desk. He grabs it from the desk and starts reading it; just to further the damage on poor Al Khan's black heart. Apparently; Jekyll perfected the antidote while blowing the dust and coughing. Oh wait; that was Shedlock Jones doing those things; my mistake. Huey grabs the antidote which is purple in color as Shedlock explains through the journal that it came too late for Doctor Jekyll as he created the perfume to improve his social life but he went too far and the antidote fails if not used within 48 hours of the first spray. Dewey panics like mad because Scrooge was sprayed over 50 hours ago. Shedlock Jones then states it's not over yet as there is a six hour difference between London and Duckberg; so really they have four hours left to save Scrooge McDuck. Okay; that makes sense. I think.
There is not a moment to lose as Shedlock takes the formula and they walk out of the house. However; the babyfaces slip on the staircase and take some good bumps onto the ground as the formula falls into Moody Doody's evil hands. Moody blows Shedlock Jones for that one. Wait a minute?! I didn't see anything on the steps. How did they slip? Bad form there Wang Films as we find out that they are really kippers. Why do these dumb babyfaces not see where they are going? Even more so when they have flashlights earlier. Dewey is pissed off on this one; but Shedlock calms him down because he knows where Moody Doody is going. And we logically cut to Duckingham Palace as Moody stalks towards the iron gates and walks inside as Shedlock points out the obvious. The babyfaces follow into the hallway and now there are gumballs lined on the floor. Damn; Moody Doody is throwing every old trick in the book..and I betcha the QUACKEROONIES don't see where they are going and slip and slide and drop on their faces onto the floor. I check the DVD....Damn; I'm good as Shedlock gets the helmet, Huey gets the armor and Dewey gets the middle. Louie gets nothing of course. These guys deserve to lose Scrooge after these stupid pet tricks. Shedlock thinks he's a clever chap. As if Shedlock considering how you are clueless.
Even Dewey admitted as much about you as we get a shot of the double doors as Shedlock deduces that he's after the Crown Jewels. NO?! REALLY?! Then the double doors open and in comes the queen in her red robe with a brush and crown demanding answers to this outrage (Linda Gary by the way). And here comes Moody Doody with the perfume as the queen gasps in horror. He sprays her with the antidote and she coughs violently; but nothing else happens. Unless you count her blowing off the horrible stuff as Corral #5. See; now you know why I don't buy Mrs. Beakly using this crap. Moody realizes that he is screwed; so he takes the crown from the queen anyway. Well; that was kind of stupid. And even more so as Shedlock grabs him instantly without as much as a struggle and takes the Zorro hat off to reveal him as Professor Moody Doody. So Margaret Osborne is really Richard Merwin with a sex change? This is why I don't buy Steve's assertion that there was 60 writers in DTVA at this point. 40 sounds more realistic. Jack wonders how Shedlock knew as Shedlock explains the whole thing as Moody's eye piece comes off. Dewey calls this incredible. No Dewey; I call it Richard Merwin jerking my chain the entire episode.
The queen is taking back her crown now as Moody bows, apologizes and simply leaves without his cape. Next time Shedlock; GRAB HIM BY HIS NECK~! By the way; it's “take my leave” not “take my....escape” guys. The former would be witty; the later is not. Gadzooks as Shedlock would say as Moody runs away; so Huey asks for the queen's soap and the queen is more than happy to give it to him. After all; in her words; cleanliness is next to queenliness. This queen needs to sit down with Gosalyn and let Gosalyn explain the virtues of a dirty room. Huey plays some bowling with the soap and it slides and slips up Moody Doody. Now at least that slipup makes SENSE since there was really little chance that Moody would watch his step since the soap is coming up from BEHIND him and therefore; it's a clever plan by Huey. At least they got their revenge for all those slip ups earlier even though; some care would have had them AVOIDING such slip ups in the first place. Moody gets slammed to the floor with a MAN-SIZED bump and gets knocked out with the crown on his head which falls off.
Louie basically sums up Moody Doody's slip up in one neat little package. So we return to Scotland Yard (helpfully labeled as such) as we go into the office of the Inspector (a pig fury wearing a gray suit and red bow tie; with a brown sweater) as the perfumes are all on his desk. He thanks the nephews and Shedlock for solving the case and putting Moody Doody behind bars (the Inspector is voiced by Peter Cullen). They all walk out of the office as there is probably less than a half hour left to save Scrooge as Huey grabs the antidote from the desk. The inspector states that he wanted something very strange to read as Dewey asks and the Inspector proclaims that he wanted all the mail order catalogs he could find. The nephews are not amused as we head to the jail cell with Uncle Moneybags using a black pen to fill out the blue pages of the catalog. HAHA! Everyone arrives as Moneybags asks the Inspector if he wants a new set of golf clubs and the inspector ponders over it since his game is pretty rusty. Moneybags even adds a size 42 suit for good measure as Huey asks about bicycles and Moneybags agrees to it and anything else.
Louie asks if this is a good idea and Huey proclaims that it's going to hurt them more than it hurts him. Well; considering how Scrooge is; Huey has got a point. Huey sprays him with the antidote anyway without a tease and Uncle Moneybags is officially no more as he sees the mail orders and he tears them up and cancels them like a religious right sicko. The inspector unlocks the cage telling him that he is free to go as the nephews cheer anyway. Scrooge and the nephews have a bonding moment as they thank Shedlock Jones for his services. Shedlock is a Junior Woodchuck after all as Scrooge and Shedlock shake hands and thanks him and then blows him off and walks out. Louie calls that their good old Uncle Scrooge as they walk out to end the episode at 21:15. Pretty decent episode; but the logic of the perfume; plus the really stupid slip ups did it in as a really good episode. Not to mention the suspense was gone the moment Moody Doody's picture was shown. *** ¼ (65%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; we got another Scooby Doo like episode which the suspense died the moment Shedlock Jones showed the picture of Moody Doody as it was clear that he was Jack The Tripper. Shedlock Jones reminds me too much like Drake Mallard in almost every way and he and the nephews were pretty stupid as they did every bad pratfall in the book and it was clear that they would easily avoid them if they took care. At least the final slip up involving Moody Doody actually was a good one; so it wasn't a total write off. And they got their revenge on that too. I also found like the Monty cheese addiction that they couldn't keep the logic straight on the perfume. I thought you had to sniff the smell of money to make it work. Moody Doody idea of being a small time criminal actually was cute; but his big crime was stealing the crown jewels which is only a slight step up from stealing money. Not much of a heel and if he was Jack The Tripper; I would have thought that it was obvious who he was at the auction. I did enjoy Uncle Moneybags though; but I don't think they will ever do that one again in the new Disney. I also like the cameo with Gladstone; and I was surprised that Disney didn't cut out Shedlock Jones smoking his pipe for real; considering Disney's recent treatment with any smoking at this point. Overall; this was a decent episode that could have benefited from better writing and better logic. Oh; and Richard Merwin, I'm not fooled. So next up is Scrooge's origin episode (in theory) and making his first McGruffin...ERRR...I mean dime. So....
Thumbs in the middle for this episode and I'll see you next time.