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Allowance Day
Reviewed: 01/08/2012
The Time Bandit Strikes In The Future...
Okay; it is time to finally get one of the most controversial episodes in DTVA history; at least from the Ducktales fans. I have mentioned this before in The Time Bandit rant that Time Bandit is pretty much the same episode from Allowance Day. I do not remember Allowance Day that much lately and yet I still dread it with my being. Still; I will be fair and give the whole thing a chance. Maybe I will see differences in this one compared to Time Bandit. So let's rant on shall we..?!
This episode is written by Ken Koonce, David Weimers and Alan Burnett. The story is done by Alan Burnett. I will not mention animation studios anymore for obvious reasons.
We begin this one on a street corner in Duckberg as we go into the bicycle shop with a pan shot inside the store as the nephews check out the latest bikes. We see a scooter which has the Walt Disney France background look; but sparkles like a Sunwoo object. Louie checks the price and it is on sale for $30. Well; I count one difference already: The nephews want a scooter while Baloo wanted to attend a party of some kind. The nephews decide to pool their money together; but the old sales clerk with the feather duster informs them that the sale ends Friday which is tomorrow. The nephews bail outside running like a gust of wind through the twirling doors. So we head to Scrooge's mansion as we head to Scrooge's second office as Scrooge informs Fenton to catch the first plane to the Banana Republic which is of course shaped like a banana. I think this is where the Disney fans got the idea that TaleSpin and Ducktales were in the same universe. And people accuse ME of grasping at straws?! Fenton calls it a-peeling. I call it a throwaway gag for Paradise Lost. See; he must sign an extension on the contract on his banana bran flakes factory by Friday, or he loses the lease to a dictator with a gun and a banana symbol on his hat that looks like a crescent moon (according to the photograph). He is called General Chikita by the way. And yes; Toon Disney kept the scene which shows the gun. More banana puns ensue as Fenton leaves as the door opens and in comes the nephews nearly bumping into Fenton. They only need three more dollars to buy one scooter; and they have the piggy bank. They also want their allowances right now; but Scrooge no sells since allowance day is on Saturday and he doesn't like advancing money. The nephews plead their case but no dice. Okay; I don't have any idea how they are going to make this work. Scrooge leaves proclaiming that patience builds character. The nephews blow it off because if they had anything they wanted anytime they wanted they would be happy characters. They have a point there since Scrooge seems to violate that principal much of the time. Then the nephews decide to becomes very sneaky complete with shifty eyes. You wish you were Max from Ruby & Max guys. And then we fade to black to allow Michael Eisner to be turned on...
...and we head to sunrise at the mansion as we see Scrooge sleeping in his bed snoring away and we see the nephews (in their matching color coded pj's) practicing the fine art of not being seen. And of course they change all the calenders to Saturday in the house. Difference #2: The nephews did it in the morning, Baloo and Kit did it during the night and broke and enter into Rebecca's apartment making them lawbreakers. And the newspaper gets changed of course. So Dewey re-plugs the alarm clock (I guess he unplugged it earlier) and bails out as it rings and Scrooge wakes up. Scrooge turns on the radio and we discover that it's connected to a black transmitter allowing the nephews outside to play keyboard piano and the nephews declare it to be Saturday which has Scrooge stunned. He is not buying this crap as the nephews' stammering makes it a wee bit less convincing. I personally love Baloo's version of this a lot better since it had a big pay off at the end (and gave us a chance to see Baloo grab Broadcast Sally's ass in the process); and it sounded a lot more convincing. Scrooge checks the dates and then runs into the nephews' room as they are watching television on their bunk beds and we hear the Hanna Barbara hammer sound effect to indicate that they are watching Saturday Morning Cartoons~! I see they are still fairly violent at this point too. Scrooge asks about the day and the nephews claim that it's Saturday. Scrooge leaves wondering about the day going so fast. We discover that the nephews put a tape in the VCR claiming that they almost completely lied since they used last Saturday morning cartoons. So we head to Scrooge's office as the nephews (now fully clothed) bring in breakfast on a tray. They bring the newspaper and their hands out for allowances. So Scrooge gives them a dollar a piece and Friday was fuzzy. Scrooge then walks over to the comfy chair next to the giant ass television screen as he is going to his on-line conference call and tells the nephews to run along. The nephews run up and they foolishly talk about school. And that confuses Scrooge. Difference #3: The nephews blow their cover; Rebecca pretty much exposes Baloo's folly with the telescope deal. That makes the nephews look even dumber than Pop-A-Bear. The nephews do cover it up though by saying that they are going to the pool instead and they leave the office. Scrooge thinks nothing of it.
So we cut back to Scrooge as he turns on the television (by remote control) and we see five execs at the table in the conference room (filled with $ signs as usual). The execs seem a little confused as to why Scoorge is doing business today. Scrooge shows the Saturday file folder and everyone is confused. The execs are confused as hell. Scrooge gets mad and throws the newspaper down because it's Saturday. The execs mutter among themselves as the pig furry with white hair admits that he doesn't have the report ready. Geez; I wonder why he doesn't?! Scrooge tells them to make time or else as he turns off the television with the remote. So we scene change to the pig furry exec at the desk with a glasses wearing female bird with blond hair as she is confused. We discover that her name is Miss Tailfeathers (I'm guessing Susan Blu here) as the pig exec blows her off and storms off (pig exec is Hamilton Camp by the way). Scene change to the mail room; same basic promo only with the bird exec and five mail handlers (bird exec= Alan Young). And we keep repeating as I realize that this is a montage now. Phones are answered; dates are changed; people are blown off for being late, etc. Who cares? I certainly don't; I want to get into the real action now in the Banana Republic. So we end with the shot of a neon board changing to Saturday and everyone shrugs. Hey there's the sea captain from Down And Out In Duckberg in the foreground I do believe (second appearance in this episode.). So we fade to black and head to the one room church school of doom as we head to class and see the nephews are screwed because they forgot to study for the test and they blamed their plan for it. See what happens when you try to cram 24 hours beforehand. Anyhow; in comes Mrs. Quackenbush (and I shutter to think who is voicing her now) who runs off about seven booking names before finally saying that today is Saturday. So there is no test and everyone runs out of the school. Well; at least one good thing came out of this screw job. They now have at least 72 more hours to study for the next test.
The nephews decide to buy the scooter early and head to the store as the salesman informs him that the sale is over because it is Saturday and he heard it from the news; and he is not going to believe the word of Louie the prankster. Nice bit of detail there guys. The salesman walks out as the nephews proclaim that they outsmarted themselves. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Look on the bright side though; you got out of a test. Problem with this though is: If the sale ended on Friday; then even if they got their allowances on Friday, the sale would have ended on Friday and thus the price would go up anyway. Logic break #1 for the episode right there. And it gets worse as they watch on the televisions in the store as a bird reporter (who looks like Duck Rather) reports on the chaos and confusion. 19% actually think it's Friday still. There are riots in airports and this prank makes a girl bird cry because she lost her birthday too. Those bastard children of Donald's. Who do these nephews think they are; Quack Pack nephews?! The girl's voice is Susan Blue by the way. Duck Rather has a headache I see and I cannot blame him. I'm getting a headache from this too. We discover from Huey that he is Walter Cronduck and he's confused too. It must really be bad now...
...And we finally head to the main village of the Banana Republic as we head into the castle/office of General Chikitia (also known as the poor man's Fidel Castro without the beard or creditability) with his guards touting rifles. Chikitia tells Fenton that the deadline has past and he now owns the banana bran flakes factory. Fenton states that it's Friday; but Chikitia stands firms because he reads the newspaper and it's Saturday according to the world. He looks at the banana bran flakes factory that he owns. Geez; he sounds SO shady. NOT! Then again; it's 1987 and racism was more acceptable than it is now. Fenton pleads for mercy like a vain idiot. HA! No dice forthcoming as his goon show him the door and throw him through the door complete with the Scooby Doo Snow Angel spot. Well; Fenton is comedy relief; so I can live with that. Fenton lands in the banana cart and he takes off the banana peel from his head and calls this an off day. HAHA! The first funny moment and that ends the segment almost 11 minutes in. Oh goodness; Time Bandit is so much better than this.
After the commercial break; we head back to the mansion as the nephews shutter to think what the kids will do if they miss Saturday morning cartoons today with the date change. They walk up the stairs as Scrooge is on the phone in his office blowing off Fenton for screwing up the lease deal. We then cut to Fenton in a phone booth stating that he went to the Banana Republic on Friday and arrived there on Friday only for it to be Saturday already. Scrooge is confused as I am seeing Fenton calling him using a green banana as a phone. Scrooge realizes that something is amiss and he wants Fenton to sit tight because he is headed to the Banana Republic to straighten out this miss. Scrooge hangs up the phone and wonders how a day simply disappeared into thin air. The nephews walk down and confessed that they tricked him and didn't mean for the joke to go this far. Scrooge seems very forgiving about this which surprises me not because he has a lot of character development; but because I didn't think the nephews deserved it. I felt that the writers tried to bring back the nephews as sneaks from the old cartoons; but it backfired and I wasn't amused. Baloo's sneaky plan was better because everyone expected Baloo to pull off such a plan. So in essence; if TaleSpin is in the same world as Ducktales; then Baloo is to blame for the nephews' plan indirectly by proxy. Scrooge is relieved because it gives him a chance to redeem himself as he is going to the Banana Republic. The nephews want to help; but Scrooge orders them to their rooms since they have caused enough damage for one day; whatever that this. I'm fine with that; still more forgiving than he usually is with Donald in the classic comics.
So we head in the skies over the ocean with a plane (brown this time) as Launchpad is flying it of course; while Scrooge is in the navigation seat looking at the map. He notices the island of the Banana Republic and Launchpad swoops down towards it with a nosedive. We then notice in the back; the nephews are hiding under a blue blanket. Why is it okay to write out Kit in Feminine Air; but not the nephews here? I don't get it. Anyhow; they are in so much trouble that it doesn't matter to them. Ask Donald Duck about Scroogie guys. I think it can get worse with him. They hide again claiming that Scrooge might need their help. I doubt that very much. So the plane lands smoothly and Scrooge praises him. Launchpad calls it an off-day and then the wheels slip on the out of nowhere banana peel of doom on the pavement. After watching Mythbusters; this spot makes no sense whatsoever. And we crash of course as Scrooge is on his back in the seat. Perfect record indeed huh? So we head to General Chikita's office (who has the Chiquita girl typing on a computer outside the office at a desk I might add) as Chikitia is not buying what Scrooge is selling. Scrooge explains that world opinion is irrelevant because the nephews tricked them into thinking that it was Saturday. Chikitia laughs it off and then no sells the deal. After some playground level yelling and Scrooge being on his desk (FRIDAY! SATURDAY! TASTES GREAT! LESS FILLING!), Scrooge grabs Chikitia by the neck and calls him a dim-witted dictator. That's a no-no Scroogie. Not to mention serious projection since you did business in his country just to get cheap labor. So Chikitia pushes the yellow button (now THERE'S context for ye. Too bad he and his soldiers aren't wearing banana yellow bodysuits) and the guards come in with rifles. Scrooge is charged with assault and they will be shot at high noon. Fenton asks which date; so Chikitia wants them in prison and then shot with cannons. Scrooge questions this; and Chikitia calls it more fun. Difference #4: Kit and Baloo got off free from an actual court of law (It's Thembria; but still); but Rebecca gets the death sentence anyway because Thembrians are sexist pigs. Oh; and the nephews were at the window all this time too.
Chikitia orders them to be taken away and Fenton whines as he is dragged out (and gets off death reference #1 for the episode). Chikitia proclaims that no one can stop him now and he laughs. Wait; so he already knew that it was Friday? That makes no sense if he read it in a newspaper. So we then see the nephews slide down the vines to the ground and hide in the bushes. Louie admits that they really screwed up this time and the only way to stop the execution is to convince the general that it's Friday. Huey then proclaims that there is only one way out of this: The LIBERAL RED BOOK OF LIES THE KIDS EDITION~! POW! OUCH! Ummm...I mean the Junior Woodchuck Guide Book. God; it's so good to finally do that pun again. Huey reads that in order to reverse a day, pray for a solar eclipse, on Friday at high noon; there will be a solar eclipse shaped like a banana. This is the evidence they did so we head inside the General's office and show the pages to General Chikitia at his desk. Chikitia stammers and tries to dodge the question like a dirty politician. The nephews blow him off and proclaim that he'll see one even if they have to move the clouds as they storm out. Chikitia finally turns heel and admits that this is a problem if the meddlers are right. So he has a Krackpotkin plan of his own. So we head to the castle prison on the cliff (with lots of flying birds) as Chikitia and his guards are forcing Scrooge and Fenton out of prison (with Fenton struggling like a good vain little egomaniac). Chikitia is moving the execution an hour earlier to relieve the pain and suffering. The guards walk out with the adults in tow as Chikitia orders them to the firing range and laughs and does the Gruffi pose to end the segment 16 and a half minutes in. I still like Time Bandit a lot better.
After the commercial break; we head to the air strip as we get logic break #2 for the episode as the airplane has seemly magically repaired itself. Launchpad is cleaning it as the nephews have already arrived. The nephews need everyone to see the Banana Eclair....ERRR...I mean Banana Eclipse. And yes; they directly used it as a joke. Move on; nothing to see here. Launchpad calls it tough due to the amount of clouds in the sky. Launchpad looks around and notices a wagon with a snow shovel in front (and banana in the cart). Launchpad has a Krackpotkin plan because his head is always in the clouds according to Mr. McDee. So we scene change and see the tractor wagon farmer wave on his machine without the shovel. We pan west to Launchpad waving back and we start the engines and takeoff with the shovel in front of the plane. LP struggles with the height; but he gets the plane in the skies anyway. Well; there's the second device Time Bandit completely ripped off. So Time Bandit was heavily inspired (and better for it) more than anything else. So we head to the front of a fortress as the cannons are set up already. Hope Chikitia doesn't have a weapon shortage like Thembria does. This is less like Time Bandit and a lot more like Gruel & Unusual Punishment in terms of a firing squad. Scrooge and Fenton walk in with the guards as Scrooge asks about the Gizmo suit and Fenton claims that it's safe in his closet. Ooops! Scrooge blows him off as Chikitia commences the execution. Fenton has another Krackpotkin Plan (a long distance shot one) as he is dragged to the post and he wants to make a deal with Chikitia (second death reference in the episode) and wants one phone call. Chikitia ponders it over and decides to give him one phone call (with the usual reach out and touch someone which is downright creepy in today's pedophile world). Chikitia opens the log to reveal a payphone and naturally Fenton has no change in his pockets. Neither do the denizens and Scrooge is whistling and guarding his pocket. Wait; he brought his number one dime with him? That would be REALLY STUPID even by Scrooge's recently lowered standards. Fenton pleads and Scrooge finally decides to give him a dime. Yeah; he's cheap as usual. Fenton crawls to the payphone and speaks 555-Gizmo. That's 555-44966. Yeah; it doesn't make any sense; which is understandable since kids would mimic this thinking that they are calling Gizmo Duck.
So we head to the trailer park and inside Fenton's room (I think) as the suit has an answering machine. So Fenton cuts his OH MY GOD promo in the phone and the suit activates and blows out the trailer wall and flies into the skies. We cut back to Fenton hanging up the phone and Chikitia slamming the phone door. At this point; the payoff would be to hang Fenton by the neck; but we have no rope; so the cannon ball will have to do. Fenton continues to plead and wants to say some last words. Fenton steps back and does the Shakespeare promo only with bananas. Wow; this is so unfunny I'm shaking my head. So we cut back to Launchpad shoveling clouds with the cloud shovel. The nephews praise Launchpad and Launchpad is glad to hear whatever the nephews say in the same sentence. Cut back to Fenton doing the 99 bottles of beer on the wall song; only with root beer. Nice to see someone say the word beer in any context on this show. Everyone yawns including me as Scrooge sums it up nicely. When Scrooge is the voice of reason; then you are unfunny. Cut to an iceberg getting blasted with the Gizmo suit. Then back to Fenton tap dancing while singing the second half of the US National Anthem. Okay; that was pretty funny. How can Chris Barat say that the Thembrian execution was crappy when this is so unfunny? Scrooge has had enough and wants to shoot Fenton with a cannon. HAHA! Fenton takes offense to this as Scrooge cannot take anymore. Neither can Chikitia as they man the cannons and Scrooge gasps. We cut back to Launchpad clearing clouds and then the Gizmo suit arrives and destroys the back of the plane and we go into a tailspin (BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) into a big ass pot of gold coins right in front of the banana bran flakes factory. Launchpad calls this the crunchiest landing ever. So we cut back to Fenton and Scrooge tied up against the stake and we cut the You Cannot Do That On Television promo complete with torches, sweating and Fenton saying his goodbyes in that order.
And we get a dozen scene changes of shots of Scrooge panicking and fuses lit without any sound other than the music; and in plows the Gizmo Duck suit and it attaches onto Fenton just in time to allow Gizmo to grab all six cannon balls or so. Well; at least the general got to shoot his pieces if you know what I mean. Scrooge is relieved and untied. The nephews and Launchpad run in as the general decides to let them all go anyway because he still owns the banana bran flakes factory anyway. Louie blows him off and still sounds so dumb that Dewey has to correct him. Chikitia points out that there is still one cloud left and thus there is no way to see the eclipse. But the darkness would come during a solar eclipse and thus that would proof enough to be Friday. Idiots! It's only because they need for Scrooge to light a torch on a cannon; shoot Gizmo Duck into the air (Gizmo Duck cuts a safety promo and the nephews salute him); clear the clouds out and the banana solar eclipse occurs and Chikitia is screwed. Gizmo Duck parachutes to safety. The color used for the eclipse is whacky even by cartoon standards. They use black pieces of paper (which come out of nowhere) as they look at the sun. That is really stupid and dangerous to do. Watch it on television idiots! And we never get to see the actual eclipse; just their reactions to it. UGH! Scrooge grabs the contract from Chikitia's suit and proclaims that he can sign it now. So we head back to the mansion AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) in the office as Scrooge and the nephews (in pjs) watch the television of Walter Cronduck proclaim that it was Friday after all. Scrooge asks if they learned their lesson and the nephews agree to never pull a stunt like that again. Walter proclaims that this is the way it is and the clock strikes midnight and he's confused again. Scrooge turns off the television proclaiming that it is Saturday and the nephews ask for their allowances. I betcha Scrooge no sells the deal because (a) they got their allowances already and/or (b) as punishment for screwing with time. The answer is neither as Scrooge brings out the wallet and gives them dollars, but then catches himself. Still too late as the nephews grab the bills and bail out of the office as Scrooge runs after them. HAHA! That ends the episode at 21:16. Well; this episode was told well enough; and there were few logic breaks; but most of it was not funny and the age showed. I knew Time Bandit was the better episode; but man, I didn't think it would be much better than this episode. Call it *** (60%). It didn't offend me in anyway like Land of Tra-la-la; it was just tiresome.
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; we finally got this one in the books. It's not horrible and for what it was; it was written pretty well with fewer logic breaks and a lot less coloring mistakes than the TaleSpin episode Time Bandit (due to Pacific Rim Animation's involvement). As for it being a carbon copy; not so much. I counted two spots that were exactly the same: The whole changing the calender spot and the cloud plowing sequence. Most of it was in the realm of spots that were the same in some respects; but much different in others. The problem with this episode was that Time Bandit was a hell of a lot funnier as Chikitia sounded a lot more cliché (Banana Republic? Really?) and it was mostly banana puns out of the wazoo which most didn't catch (although the banana phone was funny), and the execution was pretty generic compared to the one Rebecca suffered. I mean how can this episode compete with the Thembrian People's Court and This Was Your Life? And Kit Cloudkicker saving the day? And Baloo getting carried off by Broadcast Sally while grabbing her ass? I mean; sure Allowance Day was a decent episode and all; but I barely laughed at most of Fenton's antics; and the funniest spot was at the end was the nephews screwing Scrooge out of his money. There is no competition and after watching The Time Bandit last year and giving it ****+; I can see why I shake my head back in 1990 when people were claiming that Time Bandit is horrible and it killed TaleSpin as a show; when Ducktales was lifting finishes from Top Cat. Then again; I hated TaleSpin in 1990; so what do I know? Moral of the story: Being first does not automatically mean that it is awesome. Sometimes; the copy can be better than the original. Still; this episode was more enjoyable to watch than Land of Tra-la-la; so there you go. Next up is the first Bubba focused episode Bubbeo & Juliet. Oh goody! So.....
Thumbs in the middle for this episode and I'll see you next time.