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Top Duck
Reviewed: 12/22/2009
Time For Some TaleSpin Fun!
Welcome kiddies to disc three of volume one of Ducktales. We continue this marathon with a reference with Top Gun; and of course it just have to involve Launchpad as we introduce his family of daredevil stunt pilots. And we get a new Beagle Boy...and Benzino Gasolini to boot! Yeah...So let's rant on and see shall we?!
This episode is written by Richard Merwin. The story is edited by Patsy Cameron and Tedd Anasti.
We begin this one with the STOCK FOOTAGE OF DOOM (minus the gate) as we pan right to the greenhouse and treehouse area (which has a green hedge gate with an omega symbol entrance) as the nephews are playing airplane. Huey is inside the treehouse playing air traffic controller (Must have drawn the short straw) with the transmitter of doom as this is Joy Rider from McDuck Tower. Then we hear Huey panicking beyond belief as we see Launchpad in the skies in his bi-plane calling McDuck tower on cranking up for his new stunt. He calls it the Triple Decker Treetop Bebop Tuck'n'Roll. LP needs to see Kit Cloudkicker on context in those names dude. Too many words in that stunt name; he needs something more simple so the audience can understand. The nephews panic on cue because no one has done the stunt and lived to brag about it as Huey waves a red cloth. Ummm..this is Launchpad we are talking about Huey. You know; the duck who is so fatalistic it's funny. Launchpad's bi-plane twists in the air and Launchpad sings the twist. At least his singing is normal or I would still be slain after what happened last episode rant. He does the Treetop Bebop which clips the tops of the trees and scares banana yellow birds away. Good; he hates Gedo fashion sense as much as I do. Then he spins around the power wires; and then pushes up the power wires which turns the bi-plane into a corkscrew and Launchpad gets spun out of the plane and flies right into the tree house and knocks Huey over. HAHA!
Dewey and Louie panic like mad (as they should since there is a spinning top plane which would cut the power soon) as they enter the tree house and see that everything is ransacked; but LP and Huey are all right doing their bad Ron Tussein spots. Dewey calls it an awesome crash and LP doesn't want anyone to cheer him up. He should be proud of it since he proved Huey totally WRONG on dying in it. Dewey invokes the Junior Woodchuck check of doom for damage in the usual places. Launchpad has no broken bones nor beak (which would never be mentioned in 4Kids dubs). However; Launchpad claims to have something broken which is his heart. Huey tells him not to be bothered with it since he did almost pull it off. Launchpad blows it off because he needs an awesome stunt to pull because his...ummm...family is going to show up at the airshow. Oh goody; we get more McQuacks with a strong sense of fatalism. I always wondered where it came from. Launchpad climbs down the tree house as Dewey is confused about this family Launchpad has. The nephews climb down and ask about the family as Launchpad watches his bi-plane spinning around on the power wires in some symbolism of his failure not to crash something in his life. Launchpad claims they are not just a family; it's MY family. He then starts relating the story of “MY family” as his family is known as the flying McQuacks. So we go to the dreaded flashback....
We go into the sky with three really weirdly designed bi-planes as Launchpad and two other McQuack in stunt gear flying in different direction waving to the crowd as the crowd watches in shock (as in stiff animation) as Launchpad narrates that the crowd was waiting for the show stopping grand finale: The Barn Stormin' Cattle Rustle Hustle. Hey; what is with this rhyming violation overkill there LP?! Basically; they all dive and fly into the barn and come out with a cow on top of the bi-plane. Ma and Pa did their stunt perfectly as Young Launchpad goes to do him; but he screwed up badly as he does the dive in all right; but comes out with a pig in his lap. HAHA! And then the weight manages to make Launchpad crash into the trees, cause birds to chirp and and bi-plane to be cut into pieces. Ah; now I see why he screwed up so bad. Launchpad and the plane fall into the mud with the pig. Launchpad claims the pig wasn't hurt; but he was hurt so bad by the stunt that he couldn't face his parents. So we see Launchpad wearing the paper bag of shame on his head with his clothes on a stick as he waves goodbye to them on the barn shot and leaves stage left. Mom and Dad seem to take it well which indicates that they forgave him right out of the starting gate as the flashback ends.
Launchpad struck out on his own; destined to crash alone for the rest of his life. Okay; that is false. He usually crashes with Scrooge; and sometimes with the kids and his servants...and Gyro...and Donald Duck. He did the stunt to show that his parents can be proud of him. The nephews proclaim that they are proud of him. I am too; since crashing a plane a minute is funny and it makes me love him. See; he lived through more wrecks than crash test dummies. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Launchpad sulks because he doesn't have a plane to crash now as he shows off the props of the bi-plane still attached to the power pole. Don't be such a showoff LP; I'm sure the power company will shut off the power long enough to get the plane down. And speaking of crash victims; here comes Scrooge talking about McX and Launchpad thinks he knows what it is. Like it matters since Scrooge will likely NEVER let him fly it. And of course Scrooge has a test pilot in mind already and Launchpad begs and pleads to Scrooge to let him fly the McX. I betcha he refuses. I check the DVD....Launchpad offers everything and then offers to work for free and Scrooge hires him. Damn; I'm wrong again. And all it took was Launchpad working for free. That is just peachy folks. I guess Scrooge has been numbed to fatalism now. Everyone cheers for victory as Launchpad lifts Scrooge off the air and hugs him. Funny since LP weighes about the same as Scrooge at this point despite the height difference.
So we head to the prison as we see Big Time at the cell window proclaiming that they got to get out of here like a bunch of protesters. I see Big Time (with the weirdest voice ever), Burger and Bouncer (or Baggy; I can never get these two straight) here as Big Time shows the newspaper on the McX article and Big Time sees this as profits for screwing Scrooge and his Money Bin. It will open up new forms of crime as Burger only sees a two for one sale as the Hungarian Hamburger Hut. HAHA! Burger seems to be the only Beagle Boy to truly get monster over with me. Big Time blows him off by wrapping up the newspaper and I say BE JEALOUS! POW! OUCH Ummm.....Big Time goes to the window and proclaims that Bomber Beagle is going to fly them out of here any minute now. And we see the Evil Beagle's plane (now THAT is a plane!) as the side door opens and out comes Bomber Beagle (a tall Beagle like Bebop; only with a pilot's cap on) with the grappling hook proclaiming that he is going to fly the jailbirds out of there; jail and all.
Bomber Beagle is voiced by the late Robert Ridgley (passed away in 1997) who started in television cameo appearances in the 1960's such as Bronco, The Hawaiian Eye, Bus Stop, Sea Hunt, Maverick, Lawman, The Deputy and Surfside 6. He then appeared as Carl Rush in FBI Code 98 and as Lt. Frank Kimbro in The Gallant Men in 1962. He was also an announcer for The Woody Woodbury Show and did various characters in Bonanza along with the movie Blazing Saddles as Boris The Hangman. He started voice acting in 1974 with The Nine Lives Fritz The Cat R-rated flick, Down & Dirty Duck and Hong Kong Phooey. He also did characters for two Puff The Magic Dragon television movies and even voiced Thundarr in Thundarr the Barbarian. And for the old fans of Strawberry Shortcake television movies; he will be known as The Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak (who's gimmick is to dance after announcing his name and get his eardrums killed by Sour Grapes). He also appeared in Domestic Life as Cliff Hamilton. Ducktales is his DTVA debut and he also appeared in TaleSpin in A Star Is Torn, Bonkers as Al Vermin and Z-Bot and Quack Pack as Captain Jack. His final three credits (out of 120+) are The Fantastic Voyages of Sinbad The Sailor, Boogie Nights as the Colonel James and Fire Down Below as Simon.
So Bomber invokes the grappling hook on the prison bars and Bouncer and Burger grab onto the bars and the brick wall with the bars comes loose and they fly away. Big Time protests this outrage because they cannot have a good time without Big Time. With that bad voice of yours? Forget about it! Butta Bing! So we head to the airshow as the crowd mutters as planes fly around. We then cut to ground level near the announcer's tower as Scrooge and the nephews are standing on the grass. Huey asks where the McX is. Scrooge has his pocket watch around his neck as he states Launchpad will be here any minute now. And Huey then points to one of the aces in the skies and then a white bi-plane (with the colors of the Italian flag) and the announcer on the PA (Terry McGovern) welcomes....oh lord...Benzino Gasolini in a green coat and yellow scarf with goggles on! The plane slides to the left; but stops as Benzino does his usual Italian accent speaking to the crowd. He's a here and I wish he wasn't a here. Here's an interesting logic break: In Hotel Strangeduck he was supposed to be an ace race car driver; and yet here he is now an airplane ace? So he lied about his car racing skills in Hotel Strangeduck? That is just peachy folks. We then see the Red Beagle Devil Plane of Death land on the runway on the right pan shot and the side door opens to reveal The Beagle Boys wearing green and orange pilot suits with pilot hats and green glasses. Sadly; the criminal number plates give them away right in advance. D'OH! So close, so close....
Burger is munching on a submarine sandwich; just to be Burger. Bouncer asks about McX and Bomber tells them not to worry since they have setting up to do. Then the announcer announces (while the Beagle Boys look on) The Flying McQuacks as we see their colorful bi-plane flying towards the screen. One of them is purple on the far right side; which indicates that it's the mother's plane. The nephews on the ground notice Launchpad's family. I'm surprised Scrooge hasn't reacted to them yet; considering how much HE knows about Launchpad McQuack. We get some really silly air stunt spots which look like they are playing bumper cars, and then everyone dives and lands safely onto the landing strip without incident. And they play jumping planes to land too. The crowd pops on that one (and rightfully so; I like to see Baloo and Kit try that one). We go to the last place plane (who landed first) as we see a pelican with some size issues with a blue suit similar to LP's with a blue scarf and goggles with brown hair. This is Ripcord McQuack (the late Robert Ridgely) and he waves to the crowd. His wife is the middle one wearing all green with a flower design pine green scarf with glasses and red hair known as Birdy McQuack (Russi Taylor). She waves to the crowd and thus by the process of elimination the daughter of the team is the purple/pink plane riding one known as Loopy McQuack who wears all pink like Webby with a red scarf.
Loopy McQuack is voiced by B.J. Ward who started in The New Maverick television movie before being known as Jana in Jana in The Jungle in the late 1970's. She then went straight to voice acting as Elektra in Space Stars, Scarlett in G.I. Joe, Fanny Frog in Sunday Supercade, and Hagger/Princess Allura/Princess Romelle in Voltron. She was Ashley Little in The Littles, Wonderman in Superfriends VI, Small Foot in Gobots, and Whopper in Pound Puppies. Ducktales is her DTVA debut and she was in a TaleSpin cameo in Louie's Last Stand, Gloria Swansong and Patricia in Darkwing Duck, in Bonkers, Gargoyles (both series), and WITCH. She also appeared in video games such as two Syphon Filter games, Onimusha 3, Arc The Lad, Dark Chronicle, Jade Empire and Alundra 2. She is also known as the new voice of Velma in the recent Scooby Doo shows and television movies (not the live action ones though). She has about 162 credits to her resume and has done soundtrack for several MGM films. Fun Fact: B.J. Ward was a former Playboy bunny (although most of her Playboy credits have been wiped out by USIMDB; the documentary in 1999 has not.). Her more recent credits include the new Spiderman series and Ben 10. Strangely; she also appeared as Barbara Nader in Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World.
Loopy waves to the crowd like a good little daughter would as he blows bubblegum and has blond hair which I think was bleached. Oh; and she also has Webby's pink bow. I would have thought that she would outgrow pink since she is about 10 years older than Webby at least. They climb out of the planes and Birdy goes over to Scrooge (along with family in tow) asking him for Launchpad. Scrooge claims that he hasn't seen him; so Birdy shows him the pictures of his childhood past which includes B&W photos of LP as a child crashing his crib, high chair, soapbox racer etc. Birdy proclaims that LP wanted to fly and never gave crash despite crashing more times than anyone would ever allow in real life. That pretty much shows that the family has forgiven him on the barn storming stunt right out of the starting gate. Ripcord proclaims that he crashed far more than he could walk. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That is so true too and Scrooge knows it as he tries to laugh it off because LP will have NO trouble dealing with McX. Riiiigggggghhhhttttt. Scrooge looks in his pocket watch and I wonder if he think there is a camera from Candid Camera or Junior Woodchuck Camera. See; even an idiot could fly it as we go to the binocular shot of the McX (a sonic jet plane painted white with a black nosecone, red tipped missles and a dollar sign on the side.
Bomber proclaims that the target is in range as we cut to Bomber, Burger and Bouncer (or Baggy) in a hot air balloon. Okkkaaayyy. Bomber orders the others to get the marshmallow goo. Now there is a BS&P decision if I ever saw one and they recycled this for Gadget Goes Hawaiian. And it's pink colored too as Burger and Bouncer pour it into the slingshot of doom. Burger tries to take a finger lick of it; just to be Burger, but Bouncer slaps it away. Prick! We then cut to Launchpad flying the McX in the sky as we go back to ground level to see Scrooge and the nephews looking on as the announcer announces the McX. Launchpad does some barrel rolls and then stops on a dime and the engines switch upward as the McX flies up like a rocket near the landing strip. We then cut back to the announcer's tower as the announcer (a dogsperson wearing mostly green with a tie and a brown derby) announces the man who will tell us about this fabulous plane is Scrooge McDuck of course. Scrooge climbs up and takes the mic while clearing his throat to annoy me. Scrooge proclaims that the McX can hover like a helicopter (showing that even Kit can say that word), take off like a rocket and land on a dime..but not Scrooge's lucky number one McGruffin...ERRR...I mean dime. HEE HEE! Launchpad flies around and then dives to demonstrate the Ultra Sonic Digger ; a drill in the nosecone that emits orange waves and blasts holes into the landing strip. The McX does a hyperbole as Scrooge proclaims that it will revolutionize the mining industry and piss off Greenpeace in the process. Okay; I made up the Greenpeace part. We then get some loop-de-loops for only 15 cents to waste some more time as Launchpad rises up proclaiming that this performance is awesome because it's done by him.
And so we cut back to the hot air balloon as Bomber has the binoculars on LP as Burger and Bouncer put the finishing touches on the marshmallow goo of death. Everything is set and they fire as Buger pulls the lever (WRONG LEVER!) and the slingshot slings the marshmallow goo right into the right engine just as Launchpad talks about his family. And of course the engine sputters as Launchpad tries to call a May Day; but it's April Day so he calls for an April Day! HAHA! The plane goes into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHA!) as the Beagle Boys proclaims that the plane is their while high five-ing. I don't know what this is supposed to accomplish; but we see the top of the announcers' tower destroyed of course and it goes crashing down to the ground off-screen with a MAN-SIZED bump. HOLY CRAP?! Scrooge and the announcer were still inside and that was a decent drop. LP manages to get the plane down onto the ground and bounces with some sick bumps along the way and destroys an ice cream stand. Who in their right mind would put an ice cream stand in the middle of a landing strip; even during an air show?! Even more so with Launchpad around? The plane spins around causing some of the crew on the ground to flee; but it stops before it does any more damage. Wow; Launchpad crashed without causing any damage to the plane (marshmallow goo notwithstanding of course) as Launchpad then realizes that it's June Day. HAHA! Please don't slay me again Launchpad?! I beg of you. THINK OF MY PANTS?!
Launchpad opens the dome and climbs out as Scrooge comes right in and blows Launchpad's wrecking skills off. Memo to Scrooge: Check the right engine as the goo is plain as day. Launchpad calls it all right because he only caused minor damage. He avoided massive damage and then he stammers as his parents show up right on cue. HAHA! I think you have some explaining to do as it relates to your silly thinking there LP. And here comes Bomber Beagle (as Doc Bomber) with the tow truck. Now someone should have realized that the criminal number plate gives him away as a Beagle Boy; but Scrooge must have Airhead Syndrome again. Bomber proclaims that the plane is sick and he is the cure...to cheat and steal Scrooge out of his MONEY, MONEY Bin, YEAH, YEAH! He'll have the McX patched up in no time as he has two mechanics up his sleeve. And it's for free too...because they can always steal the MON-EY later. He slaps Scrooge's back as this is a favor for a really rich guy like him. Scrooge likes it because he cannot resist a bargain; more so a free one. Dewey takes his finger to the right engine and notices the marshmallow goo on the right engine. Good; it's nice to know the nephews realize that Launchpad couldn't do something as stupid as this. Bomber Beagle claims that it hit the marshmallow topping when it crashed into the ice cream stand. Well; that explains the ice cream stand's presence, but the topping was on BEFORE it crashed into the stand.
Bomber uses the tow hook to attach itself to the plane and proclaims that it will be up and away from LP in no time. So we go to the scene changer with the babyfaces and his family as Launchpad feels bad about ruining the McX. Ripcord tries to tell him that stuff happens as Launchpad stops him in mid-sentence thinking that dad is chewing him out. Birdy tries to reason with LP; but LP blows it off because they are ashamed to see him again. Ripcord tries to explain to him to stop feeling sorry for himself; but Launchpad thinks that it's to stop crashing. This is really getting silly even by Launchpad's lofty standards. See; he cannot because they and the ground are two irresistible forces. So we head inside the hanger as Burger and Bouncer wash off the marshmallow goo off the right engine as gently as Bomber wants them to. Bouncer asks Bomber if he is going to test the ultra sonic digger. Bomber gets into the plane asking the question of would he be a thief if he did? Burger and Bouncer ponder that thought and say that he would. So Bomber presses a button and the ultra sonic digger emits the waves of heating doom which destroy a hanger wall with a hole inside. And wouldn't you know it; it shows the Money Bin about two miles away in the background. How about that?! Bomber loves this as the Beagle Boys slap skin as the next stop is Scrooge's Money Bin. They laugh as we get a close shot of the hole and the Money Bin in the background to end the segment 11 minutes in.
After the commercial break; we go to a side shot of the landing strip as airplanes land and take off in a pointless sequence to show off TMS's animation skills. The yellow plane flies away as we go to the close shot of the hanger as Bomber puts the finishing touches on the repairs as Scrooge comes in and praises him for fixing up the McX. Bomber slaps Scrooge's back again as Scrooge nearly looses his glasses on that one. See; Bomber wants to fly the thing again and Scrooge doesn't want that goofy Launchpad to do it see. Besides; Doc Bomber patched up his plane as we clearly see a shot of the hole in the hanger on the plane shot with the Money Bin in the background. Memo to Scroogie: Look to your right! Bomber even agrees to pay him for the chance and Scrooge finally agrees to it and Scrooge wants 500 bucks. Bomber will do it for 100; so Scrooge forces him to raise it up to 500 bucks in a neat spot and Bomber agrees to pay 500 for it. Which is the average price for becoming a wrestler for the first time. So Scrooge raises it to 550; and Bomber agrees to it. HAHA!
Scrooge calls that sold as he rubs his hand and gleefully giggles while Bomber pays him the money. So we logically head to LP's hanger as the nephews are inside with LP trying to cheer him up because it isn't so bad. LP sulks on the left wing of his bi-plane (Ah; I see the power company got the plane free from the power wires) and states that it is bad because he wrecked the McX. And he stammers when mother and father are mentioned too. Considering that one of his family is called Loopy; I think LP has Jumpy Conclusion Envy. Louie naturally jokes about his stammering sister much to the shock of the other nephews as LP bangs his head onto the bi-plane. I guess it is to knock out all the air out of his head to infect Scrooge with it. Dewey smacks Louie around just for that insult as Louie claims that he was only trying to help. Huey pulls on the props proclaiming that he can always ride the Joy Rider; but the props fall down with a clang. Launchpad sulks some more because it's all mashed up. Louie gives him the wrench as Dewey states that he can fix it up because all good pilots are good mechanics. Someone forgot to tell Kit THAT since he was a navigator on his way to becoming a pilot. Launchpad decides to try to fix his mistakes as the nephews decides to check on the McX and the snoopy little mechanics fixing it as they aren't buying the ice cream stand thing either.
So we head to the hanger as the nephews enter and check the McX for defects and they are not so sure about the McX as Dewey enters the plane itself. However; someone is coming and the nephews are forced to bail (except for Dewey who is still inside the plane as Bomber, Burger and Bouncer enter the hanger. Bomber thinks he heard something and Burger claims that it is his stomach. Geez; what a shock that would be? Bomber thinks nothing of it though as Dewey pops up and then down from the plane as Bomber discusses about vacuum bags being installed as the last thing before they are in business of stealing the Money Bin. Bomber opens the bottom of the McX and places the bags into the storage as Burger and Bouncer take off their glasses as Huey and Louie (hiding behind the small luggage truck) realize that they are The Beagle Boys. NO?! REALLY?! Like the criminal number plates didn't give THAT fact away? Huey and Louie get onto the small truck and Huey starts driving it! I see he is from the Kit Cloudkicker School of Steamroller Driving. Bomber wipes his hands clean of all dust and responsibility as the nephews banzai in with the truck and the heels scatter away. Huey drives to the fire hose (oh man; that stuff just writes itself) as Huey mans the hose and Louie turns the wheel with great effort as Bomber orders Burger and Bouncer to stop them while he goes to the McX to takeoff.
Huey shoots the water as he gets whipped around quite a bit (good animation from TMS there) as Bouncer and Burger get hosed literally. Bomber climbs up and then grabs Dewey by the shirt as Dewey tries the POWER OF THE PUNCH; but misses. Bomber better torment this nephew now before Huey points the hose and cleans up his.....Too late.....Bomber gets pushed into the McX as the ladder gets pushed off forcing Huey to use the hose as a water slide to allow Dewey to come down safely. Oy vey there guys. That is a BS&P decision if I ever saw it. I mean; they fell from a roof in Duck In The Iron Mask from a greater distance for goodness sakes. Dewey wants to do it again; but Louie wants to get out of here as Burger and Bouncer invokes the vacuum cleaner which causes the nephews to try to hang on; but no dice as they get sucked up and bagged. Now this episode really sucks. HAHA!
Ron Sparks: It sucks more than Sean Desmond.
Bouncer claims that they are bagged and then Huey breaks free and invokes the POWER OF THE PUNCH right in Bouncer's face. HAHA! He just one upped Kit on that one (The Idol Rich) as Bomber tells Burger to lock them up and keep an eye on them. And Bouncer gets to come with him; lucky dog. So we head back to the hanger as Launchpad is having trouble fixing the internal engines while Loopy sits on the bi-plane doing nothing...AND THE ROCK SEZS NOTHING! Okay; that's not fair to her. She is doing her nails after all. Oh and she is also wearing pink leg warmers too. Launchpad has a plane part as Loopy grabs it and proclaims that it's easy to fix as LP sulks feeling more humiliated by the second as Loopy tells him to start the engines. Loopy then takes her gum and sticks it on the part and places the part into the airplane.
Loopy jumps off and tells him to crank it to the max. And Loopy has that speech type of “Like, crank it to the max” which shows that it's been around long before it annoyed the living piss out of people. And of course the thing starts up without any problem which would NEVER work in real life as Launchpad feels even more humiliated than before while Loopy cheers her big brother on. So we head to the hanger as Burger sits down on a box while the nephews are locked in a cage. I guess the Beagle Boys didn't have any rope to spare from the prison break. Burger and Huey trade insults and they are actually much more adult than the ones from Scrooge and Flint! How about that?! Burger giggles as we see in the skies as the McX flies out of the clouds with Bouncer and Bomber in tow. Bomber of course claims that the Money Bin will soon be as empty as Bouncer's head and Bouncer is completely immune to the irony of that insult as I expected it to be. Which means Dumptruck is officially smarter than Bouncer. Both laugh as they circle the Money Bin overhead and that ends the segment 15 and a half minutes in.
After the commercial break; we head to the airshow shot as the crowd pops once again as the announcer want to hear it for Benzino Gasolini. No; I don't want to hear anymore of Mr. Porn Car Driver from Italy ever again in this series! I see they got the announcers tower back up again as the crowd pops like Jonas Brothers fan girls. We head to the skies as Benzino sings in Italian. Oh god; please no. I'll let Hoppo sing forevermore if it means I don't have to hear Benzino sings or do anything ever again. And he does a pizza throw and catches it off the 360. Oh my god; NO! And then he puts pepper on the pizza upside down and right side up. And all without a safety belt to keep him from falling. Oh swell; let's just add a logic break to the proceedings. What is Richard Merwin thinking?! Oh wait....
And he lands the plane without crashing and shows off his pizza delivery skills. Why doesn't he just go into the pizza business and go the hell away from Ducktales forever?! His pizza delivery skills are at least okay. The crowd of course pops for him. Well; as bad as Benzino is; QP Huey trying to be in a band is much worse. At least Benzino doesn't need to zap people into zombies where wearing a self-maiming device to do it. So we finally head to the hanger as Burger is asleep at the cage (what a shock?) as the nephew watch him carefully. And then the hanger opens and in comes Benzino with a pizza. Oh god; stop this already! We were getting into such a groove with Launchpad until Benzino decided to get screen time for his stupid antics. Burger gets up because it's food as the keys drop from his pocket. Benzino calls it his special five flavor pizza. Can you guess the five flavors? Oddmakers please.....
[1.] Crude Oil 3:1
[2.] Rusty
wheels 4:1
[3.] Tin Metal Flakes 6:1
[4.] Green steel rods
8:1
[5.] Cardboard filled crust: 10:1
[6.] Real pizza flavors
500:1
Benzino gives Burger a slice of pizza and Burger eats it while Benzino runs interference; grabs the keys from out of Burger's sight and unlocks the lock on the cage allowing the nephews to escape. Benzino gives them the pizza and then kisses his hands and speaks more Italian before leaving the hanger for good. Really good job of burying Burger for me there you Oil Guzzling little Pizza Hawker~! So the nephews place the pizza into the cage and ask Burger if he wants the rest of it. Burger: IT'S A TRAP.....Oh forget it; he walked into the cage as Huey basically sums up Burgers smarts in a nutshell. They lock the cage and takes the keys. Huey proclaims that they must find Scrooge and they run out as Burger turns around and shakes on the bars. Well; at least Richard Merwin has ended the crap with only three minutes of damage tops. So we head into the skies as the McX flies overhead still while Bomber proclaims that this is it to Bouncer. It's the heist of the decade said Bomber. It's the heist of the week according to Bouncer. HAHA! I think the later is more accurate than the former as Bomber goes to the ultra sonic digger button as he pulls on the stick to get it into hover formation as it hovers down..and we see the drill digger as the rays completely destroy the top of the roof as the gold is exposed and Bouncer is loving this. And so we head into the clouds as Launchpad's bi-plane flying stage left as he is reading his charts claiming that he should have read the weather reports. And then it's the old map in the face trick Baloo does in Stormy Weather a few times. HAHA!
Launchpad wonders where he is and of course he brought a road map instead of a flight map. HAHA! Launchpad throws the map away and starts looking for his bearing as he flies down and sees the McX and the Beagle Boys sucking up Scrooge's money. Launchpad then gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOOY CLAIRTY and turns around with the goggles down. Bouncer is on the hammock with the vacuum cleaner which thankfully he isn't riding on it. He proclaims that he is rich a few times as Launchpad flies by him stage left and the power of suggestion makes him do the whirlwind spot. Bouncer wants answers and Bomber claims that it's Launchpad. Coloring mistake: On the far shot; Bomber's jumpsuit is green and then on the close up; it's back to orange as it should be. Bomber calls him an idiot and he will teach him to mess with us. Nice projection there Bomber; however unintentional it is. Bomber wants reverse vacuum as he pushes some buttons and the lever (WRONG LEVER!) as the money shoots backwards this time. So Bouncer shoots Launchpad's bi-plane with gold coins. Oh; the irony! Launchpad calls it pretty expensive ammo. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments.
So we see the bi-plane bailing as Bouncer believes that they have him on the run; but Bomber sees that he has more company as the McX is forced to bail because here come the Flying McQuack and the always unwelcome Benzino Gasolini. Benzino thinks this is fun just like his movies. I guess so; they are NC-17 rated after all. What's not fun in hardcore sexual pleasure?! And there is Scrooge right in the backseat with the coins flying to blow him off like the backseat driver that I'm glad he is. Benzino claims that it is still fun. I'm guessing this guy's sexual pleasure is having gold coins stuck up his ass. The nephews get to fly behind the McQuacks with Huey flying with Ripcord who sounds like Peter Cullen's Prime voice at times; Louie gets Birdy, and Dewey gets the Loopy jerk. AHHAHAHAHAHA! POP! OUCH! Ummmm....That is one strong piece of bubblegum there. The McQuacks dive into action and they surround the McX (helpfully pointed out by Bomber) and it's time to take the loot and get the hell out of here. So the McX dives down as Launchpad on his bi-plane proclaims that the Beagles are at the end of their rope. And it's a choker to boot I guess. So Launchpad dives the bi-plane and does a hyperbole on the hammock; forcing Bouncer to hang on to the vacuum hose. Okay; that spot should have shred Bouncer good in real life; I guess this is the Baloo shredding spot from Stormy Weather.
Bouncer tries to climb up; but the hose get pulled out and we get some WB spots before he pulls onto the vacuum bags and three fall out before Bouncer finally free falls. Bouncer opens his parachute as the vacuum bags fall into Duckburg pond causing Scrooge to go crazy again while Benzino jokes about fishing. Oh please choke him out Scroogie! Sadly; he decides to take it out on Bouncer using the cane and that causes them to free fall with the parachute tangled up. Dammit; and we were so close to seeing Benzino Hamolini. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummm...Launchpad goes onto the transmitter of doom and tells everyone to stay clear as he is going to attempt the stunt that he did in the beginning of the episode. LP flies to the top of the hyperbole and then dives down and does another hyperbole onto the tree tops and then spins around grabbing Bouncer and Scrooge as Scrooge hangs onto the wheels telling LP to not overdo this. Launchpad then goes for the Tuck And Roll move as he circles around the McX making Bomber all dizzy. The McQuacks then go into triangle formation and dive as Huey gets off Quackeroonie #1 for the episode 20 and a half minutes in. Huey asks Ripcord for some axle grease and he agrees to it as Huey grabs some grease and slingshots it right into the windshield and Bomber cannot see. Bomber stands up and opens the dome to try to escape. However; Loopy is on the right side blowing bubble gum as Dewey shoots some grease from his water pistol (I betcha THAT gets cut by Toon Disney) and he hits Bomber underneath his foot and he slips and lands on his ass inside the McX. Launchpad is so happy as he goes underneath the McX and uses his bi-plane to cradle it from down under. Ripcord takes the left side wings, Birdy the right side, Benzino gets the front (cocky little asshole he is) and Loopy takes the rear as Bomber is screwed beyond belief.
So we head to the prison again as the planes all go over the prison and drop the Beagle Boys on their bellies inside the prison garden. And of course Bomber is on bottom as he called it a great plan to Big Time who is watching from the prison window. Big Time becomes sarcastic with Bomber's flying skills. And calls him an airhead. Now that is an insult to the greatest airhead of all time you little bastard! So we head to the landing strip near the airshow with all the babyfaces (and thankfully; no Benzino this time) as Launchpad kicks the pavement while Scrooge apologizes to him for doubting him. Ripcord tries to praise him with the elbow rubbing; but Launchpad launches into his transfer the credit over to his family spot; but finally Ripcord does the one thing he should have done right from the start: clamp Launchpad's beak shut (he even tells him to shut his beak up too). Too bad that will never work on Drake Mallard. He swears in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (dad burned) as he is so proud of him he is about to explode. Please do explode on Benzino Ripcord. That would be fun to watch. See; LP never give him a chance to say so. His family is proud of him (after all; they forgave him even after the barn storming incident.) as Loopy does her like style just to bug me. Launchpad is in tears and feeling like he is on top of the world as he is a McQuack right down to the tail section (which is a nice way of saying ass). Ripcord then slaps Scrooge so hard that he nearly loses his glasses again on recoil. Scrooge calls him a chip off the old props as the family reunites for real to end the episode at 21:15. If only Benzino didn't exist; this episode would have been a perfect episode. As it is; it's still really good at **** 1/2 (90%).
THE REVIEW LINE
As I fully expected; this was an awesome episode featuring Launchpad and his family. I liked the touch of BSOD in LP despite looking like an airhead and acting like one for most of it. It's also sweet that the family was really forgiving from the start and Ripcord was only angry because LP's BSOD got overbearing in the end when everyone knew that Launchpad wasn't shaming the family. The storyline was great and the Beagle Boy scheme was also really good as Bomber turned out really well with an excellent plan that got screwed the moment Burger got the pizza from Benzino. And of course Benzino got so much screen time from the beginning of Act III onward that I couldn't stand him. I wish it was the McQuack family who rescued the nephews from the cage instead of him. Ripcord was good, Birdy I liked, Loopy would have been great if it wasn't for her valley girl 1980's style talk and pink legwarmers. I can take the bubble gum chewing routine though. Other than a few minor breaks in logic; this episode was great and LP had another great performance. Next up is the second half with Pearl of Wisdom and the return of Dogface Pete! So.....
Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you next time.