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King Igthorn Part One
Reviewed: 08/15/2011
The Day Dukie Became The Smartest Person In The Gummi World....
Wow; I never thought we would make it to the very end, what with all the purges going on in Disney. However; we are now into the true point of no return as this is officially the series finale. I have been through it all: Zummi's stammering and laughable magic; Gruffi's stubbornness, Grammi's stereotyping, Sunni's teenybopper diva routine, Tummi's deadpan eating, Gusto's vanity and of course Cubbi's pre-Kit Cloudkicker awesomeness. Let's not forget Cavin's shyness (until the R.J. Williams era), Calla's “outside the box” princess routine, Tuxford being a lazybones, Gregor and Dumbwin's....ERRR...I mean Dunwynn's cluelessness. Then there's Toadie's coolness as a sidekick, the dumb ogres, the one track mind Troggles, the always nasty Lady Bane, the human hating Barbics, the clueless Thornberry, and all the rest. What a ride this has been? And now; we head into the finale as one human being who has lost all his heat during this run makes probably the greatest comeback in the history of Disney heeldom. Let me just say this; everything in these two episodes really did happen and are not made up. Let's rant on and find out shall we....?
This episode is written by Kevin Hopps, Marion Wells, Mark Seidenberg and Rich Fogel. The animation is done by Walt Disney Animation OZ.
We begin this one in a tropical paradise as we pretty much kill most of the suspense of this episode right out of the starting gate as we pan down to the jungle and see Dukie with the ogres carrying backpacks that are bigger than their own body weight. Anyhow; Dukie grabs Toadie (wearing the Guy Ladouce hat) talking about going through six months of hiking through swamps, bogs and other such stuff as we see the forest he has been searching for and there is nothing but beaver sawed down trees. Toadie isn't so sure about this; but Dukie wants the ogres to bring out the jars and they do. They are searching for termites I see. Personally; I would save this scene as a flashback for later on since the whole point of this finale is that Dukie is supposed to be gone and not coming back. Anyhow; the ogres walk in and squash Toadie for fun. The ogres search low and lower. Gad and Zook have no clue what they are looking for as Dukie is merely impatient as Toadie salutes him and tells him to fear not.
So we hear a buzz saw and a tree topples and squashes Toadie good. Nice shadow effects BEFORE the tree falls. Dukie falls on his ass and proclaims that Toadie found him and orders the ogres to follow him. The ogres chase and then we see a jump cut teleport of Dukie to the trees opening a jar and blowing off the ogres. WHAT?! Then the ogres run and tackle Dukie into the FCC FRIENDLY CLOUDDUST BRAWL OF DEATH. Dukie pops from the carnage with the jar on his nose and blows off the ogres before noticing that the termite is inside the jar, so he unpops the jar from his nose and seals it. Dukie uses the MAGIC LENS OF DOOM and proclaims that he found Bigtooth; who looks like an ant with Chum Chum's teeth (which according to sources is New York City's skyline.).
So we scene change to Castle Dumbwin's right side as we are at a tree with a bluebird chirping. Now this is where I would start the episode proper. We pan west to lots of blue birds chirping on the terrances as we see a green Gummi Bear being inflated. Then we pan down to see Sunni, Calla (I thought it was Grammi for a second there) and Cavin hoisting the inflatable balloon. Now how could they get away with this without being seen. I mean; there's a GUMMI BEAR balloon in plain sight. How can anyone NOT notice it?! This is not the start this episode wants. Then the wind blows and it's strong on Calla and Sunni as the fire goes out from the Bunsen burner. The balloon dis-attaches from the ground and Cubbi (who I didn't see on the far right) and Cavin fly into the air with the balloon. This is where R.J. Williams' acting really helps. They fly right out of the castle as Sunni and Calla follow him.
So we get the scene changer and head into the sky as the balloon flight must continue. I don't understand the point of the scene changer. Just segue the scene. Yes; I'm being extra nitpicky today; why do you ask? Cubbi wants this to stop; but he doesn't know how. We get a cute shot of Cavin panicking (R.J really helps in the acting department – nice to see the writers write to the actor's strengths instead of to the character's strengths) because we are headed to Drekmore BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) as we scene change again and the balloon hits the pointy roof and pops and we do the balloon whiz rocket spot for a while. Luckly for the kids; BS&P stepped in and made sure that the balloon landed first allowing the kids to land safely on it and we do the whoopie cushion sound. Cubbi and Cavin pop up and run and hide into the barrel of laughs. Sadly; there is no one...AND THE ROCK MEANS NO ONE in the castle. Cavin and Cubbi cannot believe it. See; this is where not revealing that first scene would have really helped because thanks to that first scene; we KNOW why Dukie is not here.
So we scene change to the throne room and Gusto is acting like Dukie. I know this because his blue left arm is moving. Cubbi is making funny faces in a gold trim mirror as Gruffi has the pose on full blast and Zummi loves this and asks do they know what this means. Gruffi states that they need to get out before Dukie comes back. Zummi tries to block him because Dukie might be gone for good. Umm; I doubt that Zummi. See; if the first scene didn't occur until later on; then I could take Zummi's side. I mean; Last Horizons played this one good and so did another two parter A Bad Reflection On You which was played even better. Gruffi sits on a wooden chair at the table as Zummi proclaims that they won't have to live in fear anymore. This would have been a lot more effective if Dukie was the ONLY threat to the Gummi's and Dukie was a real terrorist instead of a bumbling duke. Zummi proclaims that peace is soon to come and the Great Gummi's can come home as Cubbi is on the top cheering. Gruffi goes to the window and tells Cubbi that they should wait..and so we wait as the seasons change outside the window.
So we go to spring at Gummi Glenn as Zummi cannot believe that it's been a full year since Dukie left. We head inside as Gusto is carving some wood into his latest masterpiece as we pan west to Zummi writing a message with Sunni and Cubbi while Grammi is feather dusting the walls. Gruffi comes in just as Zummi proclaims that it should be safe to send the message now. Gruffi runs in and puts a bear trap onto the table and the Gruffi pose is on full blast because Cubbi and Sunni were supposed to help him set them up. What a heartless bastard this Gruffi fellow is?! That is what you get for wearing a tinfoil hat painted green. Zummi proclaims that Dukie is gone; so the traps are not needed anymore. Again; I would take this seriously if Dukie was the only threat. If Gruffi were smart I would point out that little detail. Gruffi of course ignores that detail and steals the paper as Gruffi wants Zummi to prove Dukie isn't returning.
Gusto steals the paper back while Zummi blows Gruffi off since he has been gone a full year. Gruffi doesn't buy this which is silly considering that this is the first time Dukie and his ogres have been long gone for ANY length of time. Zummi's point is valid since if he was coming back; why then take all the ogres with him INSTEAD of leaving some to guard the place. I'm SHOCKED Zummi didn't go to that tact because it's a good one. Sure; we ALL know from the first scene that he's coming back, but I blame that on bad planning from the writers; not Zummi. Gusto gives the paper to Arte Deco and he wants him to fly to Ursalia to have Thornberry to use the Gummiscope to signal the Great Gummi's to come home. Gruffi tries to grab Arte; but Arte is out of the room and Gruffi stops before he even gets out of the room. Weak sauce! Gruffi is pissed as he sits down and Cubbi loves this. Cubbi wants to tell Cavin and Calla about it and Grammi actually gives them permission to spend the night there because of Castle Dumbwin's Monarch Day Party. Cubbi and Sunni cheer for that one and leave upstairs as Zummi tells Gruffi not to look so glum. Glum is Gruffi's default emotion Zummi; cheerful is his most hated emotion. I'm just saying.
And then we drop down in quality again as it is AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as we walk into the forest with Dukie and Toadie. Again; I would save this scene for the flashback later on when Dukie goes on the rampage. Oops; did I give away the plot? So sorry.....Toadie proclaims that there is one small problem since they don't know where Gummi Glenn is. Dukie grabs Toadie by the ears and admits that he knows that. Yeah; patronizing is for Ruby-Spear cartoons Toadie. Toadie is dropped on his ass and the animation is so stuff that he no sells the drop. Dukie looks around for a Gummi Bear and we have fireworks in the sky. We then cut to Zummi using his magic to make fireworks and Gruffi runs in to protest. I agree with this actually; WHY DOES ZUMMI NEED TO DO THIS?! I mean; isn't Arte Deco and the Gummiscope enough? Oh wait; he is only practicing his magic for the Great Gummi's when they arrive. Never mind; Gruffi is still a fuddy-duddy today. Gruffi has the bear traps (wait; I thought he was clearing binoculars?) as he proclaims that everyone will see including the other humans...who are greedy and threatening. Nice to see Gruffi in roundabout terms use the tact I wanted him to use. Zummi blows it off because Dukie is gone and we have peace. Gruffi finally points out the fatal flaw in Zummi's plan and tells him to keep dreaming while he sets traps and walks away stage left.
So we pan east to the tree where Dukie and Toadie are hiding. Now at this point; having them there is fine (albeit in shadow) since it's clear that the real nightmare is about to start here. Toadie is in the tree as Dukie hands Toadie the bug jar and tells him not to screw it up; or Bigtooth eats Toadie alive in roundabout terms. Toadie trips and saves the jar proclaiming that success is his middle name. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. If you know what the context I am using here. The tree wobbles above Zummi's head as Zummi does some more fireworks magic as he wants to make them really great. One of the sparks shoots upwards and goes right through the tree branch with Toadie on it and Toadie gets WARNERED~! HEE HEE! First funny spot of the episode right there nearly eight minutes in! Toadie free falls right on Zummi's back somehow as Zummi loses his hat and glasses in the process and Toadie waves. HAHA! See; he made it work after all. Now they can expose Toadie here as he puts the bug on Zummi's head and the stuffs the hat on him before bailing stage right. Zummi gets up and of he makes Velma look like a total idiot by grabbing the glasses instantly and putting them on. JINKEES! Zummi leaves stage right calling it a good one as Toadie and Dukie are behind the tree again. Now at this point; it's apporos to show them in full bloom; although I would still save the first two scenes of them until later.
So Toadie asks what is next and Dukie tells them that they should wait because once Bigtooth eats them out of house and home; the babyfaces will come back and he'll grab them and get the recipe for Gummi Berry Juice even if they have to squeeze it out of them. So I'm guessing Dukie is not in the tickling mood today. So we head inside Gummi Glenn as Zummi admires Gusto's latest masterpiece which Gusto is still working on. We get the SMELL OF DOOM and Zummi doesn't go berserk like Monty as Grammi walks in with hot plum pudding. And naturally, Tummi is not far behind. Grammi puts it on the table and asks if anyone wants to sample the great feast she is planning. Zummi proclaims that he's too excited to eat right now as he bumps into the statue with the weakest bump in this series and the hat comes off and out comes Bigtooth. It bounces away stage right as Zummi reclaims his hat talking about the Great Gummi's coming here. Zummi and Grammi leave for the book room as Tummi wants to clean up on the plum pudding, the cad. He plops his ass in the wooden chair to start eating and the entire bowl gets buzzsaw and somehow none of the pudding spilled on it. Wow; that termite can eat can't he?
Tummi just shrugs it off as we cut to Gusto putting the finishing touches on the nose of the Gummi Statue Of Liberty. And it looks like a cross dressing man. Gusto jumps down and shows only one Gummi his ultimate masterpiece to the Great Gummi's. I betcha BigTooth eats it alive. I check the video....Wait for it...wait for it..let Gusto be vain for a bit and damn; I'm so good. HAHA! Gruffi would pop for that bug; if that bug wasn't so heelish. Even better; it turns into an Andy Warhol piece. HAHA! So that's the bug who has been messing with Gusto's masterpieces all along. It all makes sense to me now. Ummm; no it doesn't. So we cut to Grammi who somehow is in the room after following Zummi out and hears a buzz saw noise as Tummi's chair gets turned to atoms. More buzz sawing and dropping tops onto the ground makes Gregory Weagle something something as Gruffi enters and points out that the Ancients did not make them termite proof as more wooden object get their legs turned to atoms. Grammi proclaims that they need to stop it before it devours the entire Glenn and Gruffi goes about it in the worst way possible by using a wooden chair and running up the stairs; which get destroyed and Gruffi freefalls into the trap. This is why steel is so awesome. Gruffi is hurt as he points towards....
...the book room as Zummi is on a ladder reordering books on the top book shelf. Oh come on! This is too obvious of a setup here! BigTooth arrives and buzzsaws the right leg of the ladder as the steps become WANRERED~! Why doesn't that surprise me as Gusto and Grammi run in and yell at Zummi which was pretty stupid since it startled Zummi and the ladder comes apart and Zummi drops with a decent bump on his ass. Grammi helps Zummi up and we got little-big trouble as the termite destroys the bookshelves for fun and Zummi has a yellow feather on his hat now. That ends the segment ten minutes in. This is not exactly the epic episode we have been seeing thus far...
After the commercial break; we get more sawdust and destroyed tables and books as Gruffi and Tummi run in. Funny mistake; the termite line with sawdust magically comes out of nowhere at exactly the same moment Gruffi and Tummi run in. Tummi of course makes a comment about comparing the eating habits of this termite to his as the termite now is going after the beam pillars holding the Glenn. Okay; this would have been a lot more scary if the writers hadn't done this spot a half dozen times throughout the series. Everyone bails as the ceiling starts to collapses and Zummi stops instantly. Why? Because he wants to save the Great Book of Gummi silly. The podium gets saw dusted of course and Zummi runs in and grabs the book and tries to bail; but he is trapped. And then the ceiling completely collapses and Zummi doesn't even bother trying to move as we head outside and the other Gummi's pop from the bushes and the Glenn is completely destroyed. Yeah; Gruffi, forget about the fact that Zummi might be....well; you know....DEAD?! This was the big epic scene that people keep talking about and it doesn't quite work out. For one; the ceiling collapses have happened before in the series with this same Glenn and they had to leave the Glenn at least once before this. If they never did this before; then this scene is epic. Now; what does make this scene cringe worthy is that Zummi never moved from the spot or tried to escape because we saw a hole in the floor and thus we know that there was a route of escape. So Zummi is basically crushed and dead. That is what makes this scene so memorable.....
And then they whizzed it all away by showing Zummi trying to get the book out and he does and walks off stage right with it with a sigh of relief as the ground collapses where the book was. There's ANOTHER scene that they should have saved until later on. Why do I think BS&P stepped in at this point? You never see them show their hand this forced in the TaleSpin multi-parters. And here comes Dukie like the smug dick that he is. Personally; I would have had him capture the other Gummi Bears before this, but it's irrelevant now. Zummi is shocked as he gets dropped and Dukie gets the book talking about great secrets including one for Gummi Berry Juice. Actually; I'm hoping that it does; just to make Zummi look really stupid. Zummi claims that he never said that; but Dukie doesn't care and Zummi has that look of “I'm so dead” as we cut to Gruffi trying to go back in via the log stump (which is intact much to my surprise.) as Grammi tells him not to go in. Gruffi proclaims that Zummi needs his help and then hears his yells. So they hide behind the bushes and see Zummi being grabbed by Gad and taken away with Dukie.
Gruffi shows this as evidence that it was too good to be true which would have been more suspenseful and make Zummi merely gullible if they didn't play the first few scenes with Dukie until later on. Anyhow; Gruffi wants to save Zummi anyway and Gusto wants to help; but they falls into the collapsed hole into the Glenn. Grammi and Tummi want to pull them off (and there is a rope conveniently nearby natch); but Gruffi blows it off because they need to save Zummi. Grammi relents and runs off with Tummi as we head to Drekmore as orange and yellow ogre with spear. So we see Grammi and Tummi practice the fine art of not being seen on the window ledge as we hear Dukie inside talk about the recipe for the juice being inside as we see Zummi tied up to the chair and Dukie is using the hammer and a railroad spike to crack the metal lock to the GBOG open which is on the table. Why is Zummi wearing a light blue sweater in the bottom half of his body. And while I'm at it; didn't we already see an episode where Dukie was informed by Lady Bane about the Gummi Medallion (I think it was Tummi Trouble; I'm not quite sure)? If so then why doesn't Dukie see that Zummi has the medallion CLEAR IN SIGHT?! This is just getting dumber and dumber as the episode goes on. Zummi yells at him not to do that and his bottom half is back to normal. Bad form there WD-OZ.
Anyhow; Dukie of course no sells as I see Toadie is holding the railroad spike on a ladder. So Dukie strikes the mallet and we get the BLUE ZAPPER OF DEATH on the heels. That lock has the same properties as the Sub-Electron Power Amplifier now. So, so peachy guys since we already had one in Plunder and Lighting Part Four which would play about three days after this in syndication. You are really trying to make TaleSpin fail aren't you Disney. I don't care if it's Gary Krisel or Michael Eisner; but PICK ONE! Nice bumps into the fireplace though and snoot tomb ensue. Zummi told them so of course as Grammi and Tummi whisper yell at Zummi as they practice the fine art of not being seen and untying Zummi from the chair. Religious reference (thank heavens!) and Tummi and Grammi want to bail; but Zummi stops again. Why? So that they can be caught again si....ERRR...I mean because they need to get the Great Book of Gummi AND get caught again silly. Hey; you have to justify the device somehow, you don't want to make Zummi look like a total idiot instead of the near total idiot that he has been becoming of as of late.
Dukie recovers and I don't recall a chimney having COAL in it coming down as rain. And of course the Gang of Gummi Way's cover is blown, what a surprise?! Even Grammi wants to hurry so you know that was NOT a smart move by Zummi. And they get caught with the step ladder as I predicted. I just knew that object Toadie was standing on would come into play somehow. Dukie grabs the book and states that it is magical. You just NOTICED that; how? At least wait until Zummi casts some magic BEFORE you say that. He positions the ladder and Zummi protests this outrage. Memo to Zummi: SHUT THE HELL UP! Dukie actually “promises” (which means he won't) to give it back in exchange for the recipe for Gummi Berry Juice. Now remember Secret of the Juice? Remember how Dukie got the recipe from Grammi? If there was any continuity that needed to be continued; Dukie would go for it again, except on Zummi this time just for fun. Sadly; Grammi refuses and Dukie threatens to destroy the book and them. Why? The tickle torture WORKED!! It always works. You can kill them later Dukie; but not now. This is stupid because any sensible person would not give in to this and allow themselves to be killed so the recipe dies with them and Dukie loses. Sure; Sunni is screwed up in that area; but at least Dumbwin would be safe because we all know that Dukie is going to conquer Dumbwin AFTER he gets the recipe. That's why the tickle torture is so effective: It eliminates the threat of losing by the heels from the start and it gets what you want. Dumb, dumb, DUMB! Did I mention dumb? And it ruins the buzz (no pun intended) this episode was getting into.
So Dukie decides to bring the book over to the fireplace. Okay; I take that previous rant on how dumb that decision was back. This actually is a good idea because the book IS flammable. Dukie holds the book over and Toadie puts a candlelight under it. This is continuity from Road to Ursalia and it turns Dukie into a book burning vile censoring heel. Well played Dukie; well played. This is not dumb after all. Not dumb at all. Pay no attention to the idiot ranter behind the curtain. He doesn't have to torment Grammi either; which I'm sure BS&P would be pleased after what happened in Polly Wants A Treasure too. So everyone wins; including the viewer. So the babyfaces gasp in horror and Grammi decides to cook him the Gummi Berry Juice. Toadie's smile on that is PRICELESS! Toadie actually wants to burn the book anyway; but Dukie grabs his arm and blows out the candle. Dammit Dukie; Toadie was going to really show you how to be a heel and you ruined it! THAT was dumb. Dukie drops Toadie again and he had a feeling that he would.
So we scene change to the TEAM ROCKET HOLE OF DEATH (why not?) and we see Gruffi and Gusto shove the rocks out of the way inside the hallway. Gusto offers Gruffi to go first and Gruffi and Bigtooth is still on the rampage. We do some SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE TERMITE EDITION and then we cut back to Grammi in the kitchen of Drekmore; stirring up the Gummi Berry Juice. She stirs left and then right and then we bang. Grammi proclaims that the recipe is done and wants the book in exchange. Dukie is not convinced as he grabs the ladle and dips some juice in it. It's time to taste test as Toadie panics right on cue. Toadie decides to take his medicine; but Dukie walks away from him because he is spared. You know Dukie is truly in a good mood when even HE won't torment Toadie. So he gives it to Tummi instead. HAHA! Continuity from My Kingdom For A Pie too. And the force the spoon in the mouth spot is horribly screwed up as he gulps. Grammi panics (which proves that it wasn't the recipe right there which shows how stupid she is now) as Tummi tells her not to worry. I would normally agree with him given the iron stomach this bear has; but we have to make an exception here as Tummi gets TOONED~! WHY WASN'T TUMMI GIVEN A CAMEO IN DARKWING...DUCK?! He bumps better as an international object in this spot alone then Drake Mallard ever did. What? No gas gun shot into the kisser? Drake must have gotten the...POW! OUCH! Ummm...On second thought; no.
I'll leave Tummi's torment as an exercise to the reader. Anyhow; Tummi finally stops being awesome and Dukie grabs him and Zummi and threatens to boil them in juice! How ironic indeed as Grammi relents and puts in two more handfuls of red berries as it goes up to six. At least the writers remembered the juice recipe from Secret of the Juice at least. So Dukie throws them away and ladles another spoonful into Toadie's mouth. So much for the good mood theory as we get some attention of detail with the juice coming down Toadie's mouth. And it's ROID RAGE TIME~! He lifts two bags of Gummi Berries for good measure as Dukie drinks up and Zummi is SHOCKED and APPALLED as Dukie goes into roid rage and destroys the black cauldron. Logic break: The juice completely disappears and none splashes on Dukie. That's a BS&P decision if I ever saw one as the GOGW is terrified by Dukie's shadow as Dukie is going to conquer Dumbwin good now and that ends the segment nearly 16 and a half minutes in. Now we are cooking....
After the commercial break; we return with a pan shot of Drekmore as we do the How it's Made sequence inside the Juice Factory for a while as Toadie narrates the good news as Dukie is loving this. Zummi does the ultra stupid “you're not getting away with this” speech and Dukie states that he will and squashes Zummi's hat into his eyes for good measure before leaving. Zummi cannot believe this is happening as yellow ogre orders them to work. The three bears climb down the steps and they are wearing chains on their ankles I should note. Zummi goes into his BSOD melodrama as they roll a barrel of laughs on the floor and orange ogre blows them off. Then Zummi snaps out of it (why is it that Baloo can do this BSOD thing so well?) as he goes to his hat and finds a spell note. WHAT?! First of all; Zummi should have gone past this flaw already and second; paper is made of wood and Bigtooth should have destroyed it already. Dumb, dumb, dumb, DUMB! Did I mention dumb?! So Zummi invokes the SPELL OF SATAN.....
Zummi:
Shrunkme Dumbnow Nowmaw!
Translation: Shrink, Me Dumb Now,
Now Ma!
How fitting eh? Because that is NOT the original shrink spell from Little Bears Lost! How stupid can you get? If you are going to abridge the series; at least have the decency to remember WHAT he said when he USED the shrinking spell the FIRST TIME! This makes the Super Ducktales abridging look first class in comparison. The spell backfires and Zummi is smaller than a gnat. Tummi notes the spell and Grammi tells Zummi to leave to get to Dumbwin and warn Sunni and Cubbi. So Zummi bails into the hallway while the ogres panic and collide into each other. We don't need another meeting of the skulls; thank you. Zummi runs outside and goes behind the barrel of laughs to bring out the spell notes again. He finds it and we invoke CONTINUITY SPELL ERROR #2....
Zummi:
Growma Umup Nowmaw!
Translation: Grow Me Up Now Ma!
Again; another continuity error from Little Bears Lost. On the other hand; at least both these spells make total sense from the context standpoint compared to the ones in Little Bears Lost; so maybe I'm being too nit picky today. It works this time as yellow ogre is calling for a Gummi Bear who is right in front of him; but the sight of the barrels is screwed up a bit making it look like yellow ogre doesn't see him. Zummi runs out of the castle stage left and we head to Gummi Glenn and inside the Glenn as Gruffi finally gets smart and brings out the COLD, UNFORGIVING STEEL POT OF DEATH; but misses every shot despite seemly making contact three times. He splashes the juice and some cookie jars smash on his head and they actually shatter on contact! OUCH! The Bigtooth continues to eat as Gusto just lies there mocking him. HAHA! Gruffi blows him off for being lazy; so Gusto casually goes to the cupboard and finds a vial and a wooden spoon. He puts the wooden spoon into the vial and puts it on the cupboard and taunts the termite. And the termite sells; eats the wooden spoon and the vial gets corked. D'OH! How dumb do these bears have to be when GUSTO F'N VAINO can outsmart them?! HAHA! Gruffi is flustered beyond belief because had they did that from the start; Gummi Glenn would have been saved. See what happens when you don't do good planning?! Why do TaleSpin writers get it; but Hopps doesn't?!
So we get rumbling as Gusto and Gruffi pop up from the Glenn and notice Dukie and the ogres marching like crazy to Castle Dumbwin. Gruffi and Gusto follow thinking that this will lead to Zummi. I doubt that very much as we head to the castle square as the Monarch Festival is in progress. We have a full trumpet flourish and the horses carrying the podium for King Gregor and Princess Calla all come in. We pan northwest to the castle tower as Sunni, Cubbi and Cavin are watching on. Cubbi proclaims that they can see the whole parade from here and then a boulder flies in and crashes through the roof nearby the crowd. Bad screaming abounds as Sunni and Cubbi are in shock. We see boulders flying in every direction possible onto the castle grounds as the horses panic and Gregor is in shock. Tuxford is trying to control his horse; but it's not working. Gregor wants the catapults and the men on standby to counter as Cubbi and Sunni look to their right and they notice that Dukie and the ogres are back. All we need is Dukie to channel Kane in saying “I'm BAAACCCCKKK!” and my life would be complete. Catapults are launched and the ogres catch the boulders easily and then we play dodge ball. And the castle is the target. At least Emo Kid from Kick Buttowski can breathe a sigh of relief that he doesn't exist here. Even that universe has at least some logic in those terms. Cavin, Cubbi and Sunni run on the terrance as the boulders nearly crushes them. Okay; now this is getting scary! The tower collapse and squashes right on top of Cavin. HOLY CRAP!! Cavin actually pops from the carnage somehow and he actually looks hurt somewhat.
Cavin calls for Cubbi and Sunni; but there is no dice. He throws some rocks away as we head to the far shot as the castle is in trouble and here comes Gusto and Gruffi as Gusto asks what is wrong with this picture? I would count the ways; but that would take three pages onto itself; so I'll point to one as Gruffi notices the ogres taking mugs and mugs of Gummi Berry Juice. So Gruffi and Gusto drink their vials of juice and it's BUTT BOUNCING TIME! Gruffi and Gusto bounce in and destroy the wagon and the barrels of juice by butt bouncing it of course. Wait; where are the ogres now? It's not like this would harm them in anyway BS&P. Dukie notices this and panics. And then he grabs a mug of juice and drinks it. It's ROID RAGE TIME . I'm guessing that the one drink per day rule from humans didn't exist to begin with since he drinks it twice and it still works as shown when Dukie MURDERS Gruffi and Gusto like a bunch of baseball. It looks good for a stand up triple as Zook forgets to WATCH OUT OF THAT TREE! Which is BS&P'ed since it was meant to give a soft landing to Gruffi and Gusto who look punch drunk. Dukie grabs them and hands them to orange ogre as he wants them in a nice safe place (Read: Drekmore sounds like a good choice.) as Dukie wants Toadie on telescope to open the gates.
Toadie proclaims that they can be only opened inside; so Dukie grabs the telescope and throws Toadie so hard that he goes into the castle. That spot looked screwed up since there was no bump present and he looked like he clipped the top of the castle on the background art; but no sell to indicate that. I can see why DarthGonzo didn't praise the OZ studio until Goof Troop came along. The ogres bounce boulders at the gate in the meantime as the gate slowly opens and in comes the ogres mob as Toadie cheers for glee before getting squashed again. HAHA! For fun of course. The denizens of Dumbwin (although this time they are much smarter than Zummi) flee as Gregor panics and Zook grabs a wagon and throws it right at the back display of the knight with the steel sword which the support snaps as Gregor tries to protect Calla but gets MURDERED by the big ass sword on the way down. Not as nasty as Victor getting punched in the face; nor Gregor getting stoned in Ogre for a Day; but close enough to knock him off the podium and out.
Calla screams and orange ogre grabs her and gags her with his mouth. We are FINALLY getting the epic show we have been promised; although no one outside of Disney Channel had any idea what was going to happen in Plunder and Lightning Part Four. Gregor walks in and steals the crown declaring himself king for the second time and this one is going to last much longer this time around since Toadie will not be turning on him. Gregor gets grabbed by orange ogre and Dukie puts on the crown as he has conquered Dumbwin for real and laughs badly. We then cut to Zummi outside looking at the broken down castle as Zummi is horrified because it's all his fault. Actually; no Zummi. Carelessness had NOTHING to do with this. Dukie got smarter for a change and got all his heat back. That's what happened. We get a shot of the road with Zummi in the background as the dreams have turned into a nightmare and that ends part one at 21:08. Not as good as I thought it would be due to some really silly continuity errors and the whole thing was muted since the writers and animator blew their suspense right from the start. On the other hand; it really got good once Dukie was in the picture and started to kick ass on Gregor so at least the last episode in the series will be a hoot. Call it *** ¾ (75%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; I am a little disappointed by the way this episode was handled. The animation was off in places (growing pains in WD-OZ; so that was to be expected) and I felt that this episode wasn't epic enough to work. To start with; they blew their wad from the start by showing Dukie looking for the termite right from the start. I would have saved that for later when Zummi was captured at least; but even better during the scene where Dukie is hammering on the Great Book of Gummi. The whole collapse of Gummi Glenn wasn't all that shocking since we have seen collapses in Gummi Glenn before (albeit not to this degree) and Zummi's “death” didn't work because they blew the wad thirty seconds later. Then there was the continuity errors on Zummi's escape with the shrink spell; but at least the spells made sense. Once we got through that foolishness; the episode turned around nicely as Dukie kicks Gregor's ass as we got some sick bumps and almost had Cavin and the kids crushed which I think was more scary than the Glenn collapsing actually. Dumbwin's collapse of the tower was much more frightening and it REALLY helped the episode here.
Overall; the booking for the most part was fine; but the planning of scenes could have been much better and here's where a flashback would have worked wonders. Instead; it made us believe this was all Zummi's fault (now if Zummi wants to believe that himself; he can and that would be a bonus) instead of what it should be: Dukie getting all his heat back and outsmarting each and everyone. Still; the finish and ending to part one was kick ass and it does set up part two nicely as the Great Gummi's are about to return and the Gummi world will never be the same again. No reset button this time around. Oh; and the Barbics return in full force too. Cannot forget that. So......
Thumbs in the middle pointing up for this episode and I'll see you all next time.