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Wings Over Dunwynn
Reviewed: 08/16/2011
Dukie Proves That Humans Weren't Meant To Fly Either....
My next rant is actually on the second to last episode of the entire series and deep into 1991 actually. Plus; it's one episode I have honestly never seen before either. Basically; it's Dukie's last appearance in Gummi Bears according to the airdate timeline and he's riding on giant white birds invading Dunwynn. So let's rant on shall we....?
This episode was written by Marion Wells. I do not know who animated this episode and there is no ED in the stream to help me here either.
We begin this one with a real far shot of Gummi Glen with a close up of two purple flowers and an animated butterfly scene. Okay; that was different as we head to the kitchen with a sink filled of dirty dishes as we pan over to Grammi making wiggle-worm pies. I know this because Gruffi storms in with a torn shirt wanting it mended and Grammi is awfully busy making them. See the fan-tail zephyrs are returning to Trailwing Mountain and she's going to greet them with the pies. Which allows the kitchen door to open and here comes Tummi sniffing and he takes a wick of a raw pie dough which Grammi blows off because it's for the birds. Tummi repulses in disgust over it as Grammi tells him to help her deliver the pies and then he can get a real pie when he gets home. I'm guessing the zephyrs are fans of the raw food woo trend. Gruffi gets on her case about having work to do because it's important. Grammi proclaims that the birds are important because the zephyrs shed feathers to allow her to make cushions and there aren't many of the zephyrs left. Grammi and Tummi leave as Grammi tells him the shirt must wait; but the birds cannot. Gruffi then does the worst CHEAP HEAT OF LAUGHS possible with his trademark pose. Seriously; he looks like he's turning purple around the eye sockets.
So we head to Castle Drekmore BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) and then the throne room as Dukie is sitting on the throne near a table and here comes ultra-cool sidekick Toadie with a chef's hat on and a silver platter under a dome as Dukie is so hungry; he could eat a dragon. How I wish Toadie would find a baby dragon; just to pay off the obvious. However; we get the usual ogre meal which is wormy, stinky and gross. And rotting to the core too. Dukie blows it off because it's not fit for an ogre; which Toadie gleefully retorts for me. Geez; what a shock that is?! Dukie wants something else to eat; but Toadie tells him that this is it. So Dukie grabs him by the ears; while somehow the chef's hat remains intact on Toadie's head. He wants something decent to eat; or he'll cannbalize his ultra-cool sidekick in roundabout terms as we get the first logic break of the episode as Dukie throws Toadie down on the ground; but the next shot somehow shows him ON the table eating the slop which somehow turns into a shallow bowl. Bad form there guys.
So we head to Trailwing Mountain as we cut to some bushes with Gad, Zook and ultra-cool sidekick Toadie with the BUTTERFLY NET OF DEATH as Gad notices a little bunny near a tree. So the bunny bails as Toadie calls this what Dukie ordered. I wonder if Dukie is a bunny hater; if so, then Toadie is screwed. So we get the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE WABBIT EDITION~! This is the allagory of Disney bashing the world over. Toadie slams into the big ass tree root with his face of course just to amuse me. However; Gad and Zook surround the bunny near a mountain of rocks. Then we see shadows of some seagulls and we see them in the sky. I'm assuming that they are the zephyrs as Gad and Zook are distracted by the big birdies which allows the bunny to escape. How lucky is this damn bunny?! Lives to make Disney hater's miserable for another day. Toadie thinks this would be enough for a promotion; or a bigger drum stick. Whichever makes Dukie's life less miserable I guess. So we see the zephyrs flying around and the red feather head one (the female methinks) gets netted by the NET GRAPPLING HOOK OF DOOM. And you thought TaleSpin was sanitized? Sadly; the red haired zephyr is stronger than Toadie and Toadie does some unintentional cloud surfing. I can just hear the conversation now:
Kit:
You're doing it wrong Toadwart!
Toadie: Toadie didn't have
in mind ultra-cooler sidekick.
Kit: Hey? Who are you
calling a sidekick?
Toadie: Michael Eisner. He hates you.
Toadie don't though. Toadie knows how feels to have foot squishing on
head.
Kit: Typical!
Anyhow; back to the rant as Gad blows Toadie off for having all the fun. HAHA! I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. Might as well have some real fun; because this is the last appearance for the ogres and Toadie. Nice FPS sequence as Toadie scrapes his ass on the rocks good. OUCH! If this were anime; there would be blood shooting out of the ass too; which would be really cringe-worthy. More flying and TMS MOVING SEQUENCE OF DOOM makes Gregory Weagle something something as the zephyr (all voiced by Frank Welker) undoes the net and Toadie freefalls and forgets to...say it with me...WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE! Not a good bump by Toadie this time around. He slides down and the tree seemly gains about ten feet as the feathers fly and Toadie ultimately hangs on a branch. I club BS&P! Gad gleefully mocks Toadie as Toadie watches the zephyrs fly away towards the mountain as Toadie proclaims that he'll be up a tree of a different kind if Dukie finds out his din-din got away.
So we continue on the mountain trail as Grammi and Tummi are walking and Tummi of course is breathing heavily and having great difficulty walking because he's just TOO FAT. Tummi wants to stop; but Grammi tells him that they are already here as we see an island in the middle and the zephyrs are about to touchdown (and they all have red feathers on their heads; which means that the animators cannot maintain continuity on the colors I see). Grammi puts the BASKET OF YOGI'S down along with Tummi (oh; how fitting indeed) as Tummi admits that he knows the feeling of being famish. We see the zephyrs touchdown on the shore line as the pies are placed on the ground and the zephyrs eat up. We then see Grammi and Tummi walk around the bend and notice a zephyr (with pink/purple feathers around her neck and a white feather on her head) squealing at her as Grammi tries to play nice; but the papa zephyr flies in and acts pissed off. Grammi doesn't understand why they are acting this way. Methinks that one was the one that got into Toadie's net. The female zephyr lifts her ass up and it reveals a blue spotted egg. Grammi realizes that she's giving birth and decides to leave to get some more food to keep her strength up. Tummi is not amused by this because she promised to feed him. Heh.
So we head back to Drekmore as Dukie waves the net at Toadie and blowing him off for not catching a thing. Toadie looks ashamed and somewhat selling his injuries as Dukie blows him off for Toadie letting the big bird get away. Toadie claims that he couldn't help it because it's as strong as an ox. Then Dukie gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY while grabbing the white feather Toadie was holding. Dukie paces around as he proclaims that if he can tame the zephyrs then he can swoop down from the heavens and conquer Dumbwin...ERRR....Dunwynn. He wants an ogre air force and if I were Disney; I would release this episode on the same day TaleSpin debuted on syndication; instead of five months later. Then again; Michael Eisner was too busy. Had to bash some Wabbits and those other Looney Tunes. He nets Toadie and he wants to bird-nap some zephyrs. Oh; and he's supervising this mission as the heels walk out.
So we head back to Trailwing Mountain as we see three zephyrs flying around the island area. Funny how there are two peaks and the summit is a lake with an island in the middle. It certainly doesn't look like a mountain; more like a camping ground. Anyhow; we see Dukie behind a rock watching from below and loves the wingspan on those birds. He then motions to Gad, Zook and Orange Ogre and it's round up time as they each have a LASSO OF BANE TO ALL ACTION CARTOONS EVERYWHERE and they try to lasso the birds; but they miss by a mile as the zephyrs didn't even bother to dodge. HA! Dukie tells them to try again and calls them hopeless. Somehow; I don't think that is going to help their self-esteem. Gad (who is getting more voice time than almost everyone in this episode) responds by lassoing the zephyrs' beak and the zephyr begins to struggle and it's time for some ground to water skiing. See what I mean by running this episode in September of 1990? Dukie tells Zook to give Gad the Airhead a hand.
Scrooge:
Sorry Dukie lad; Gad is NO Launchpad. More like blockhead.
Lucy:
Sorry Mr. McDuck; Gad is NO Charlie Brown either.
Charlie
Brown: Good grief!
Zook attempts to the lasso the wings; but misses by a mile and lassos a big rock on the mountainside; which breaks and squashes Dukie and Toadie flatter than Alexander the Grape. NYUK! NYUK! NYUK! Dukie pops from the carnage with Toadie and he's not amused. I'm more amused that the rock looks like a large inflatable mattress. At least it was selling it that way. So Dukie steals the LASSO OF BANE TO ALL ACTION CARTOONS EVERYWHERE and blows off Zook for only catching a cold. Not even Zook could catch a cold. Fanboy on the other hand.....Anyhow; Dukie invokes the lasso and tells him to keep your eye on the middle finger. POW! OUCH! Ummmm....I mean bird and the lasso latches perfectly and the zephyr drops like a stone. Like I'm supposed to buy that Dukie is stronger than Zook. Seriously now Marion Wells. So now Zook and Orange Ogre salute him and they flick the wrists on the lassos and that is enough for the birds to drop on their bellies. HA! Okay; that is more plausible. I withdraw my criticism on Dukie. The female zephyr panics and gets lassoed and pulled away by the neck. So you can lasso a zephyr by the neck; but not Kit pretending to be a seal in All's Whale That Ends Whale. And people are surprised when I say Disney continues to downplay TaleSpin? Hint: I'm watching the Toon Disney cut; and the TD cut of All's Whale cut the shot of neck lassoing of Kit out. And they do it multiple times in this sequence I might add.
Toadie is giddy as Dukie asks if there was any doubt. Considering that is a Toon Disney cut of the episode; yes. So we scene change to the same shot of the mountain as we cut to the pathway as Grammi has arrived with the picnic basket and she gasps in horror at all the feathers that were shed. Tummi is behind her and wonders what causes this flap and Grammi decides to fill in for the mother as the egg is still in the nest. So Grammi sits on the eggs (panty shot alert!) and then gets pinched in the ass. HAHA! Tummi accuses Grammi of breaking the egg as it hatches to reveal a yellow bird. Wait; aren't zephyrs white? So why use a yellow baby chick? Anyhow; the sun is setting as Grammi and the chick embrace each other. Why does it appear on certain shots that the chick is wearing a diaper? Grammi wonders about the other zephyrs returning and Tummi suggests taking the chick home with them to annoy Gruffi for being such a jerkass. Okay; they didn't say it; but we know it's implied. Okay; he has a white chest; but that still doesn't explain why he's yellow as Grammi and Tummi walk with the chick home as Grammi wants to raise it the best she can. That ends the segment eight minutes in.
After the commercial break; we head to Gummi Glenn's living room as Grammi is in her rocking chair rocking with the zephyr chick with Sunni sitting on the floor watching on and probably wondering why Grammi would put on Blueberry Muffin's hat on the chick. Your guess is as good as mine you teenybopper. Grammi is also singing Rock A Bye Baby too in case you didn't notice. Gruffi then comes in and mocks Grammi because the rocker will snap. Grammi is not amused by this and I betcha the rocking chair breaks and both shall fall and down will come Grammi; back and all. I check the Youtube video.....Gruffi blows off Grammi for a troublesome bird and damn I'm so good. Gruffi blows off the bird and the bird gets so scared that it runs out of the living room like it's head just got cut off. Grammi blows off Gruffi for being such a bully. I didn't know Gruffi gave such a damn about that rocking chair. Must be secretly sitting in it when Grammi isn't looking. Grammi and Sunni follow the bird and we head into Gruffi's workshop and I know this because the bird notices Gruffi's tape measure from a lunchbox and the bird pulls on it thinking that it's a worm. Grammi notices the bird inside the shop as she's relieved to find him and Sunni giggles as he has found the early worm.
So Gruffi comes in and ruins the whole joke by blowing off the bird for terrorizing his workshop. So the bird screws him by pulling down the toolbox and breaking it. Gruffi IS pissed as he grabs the tape measure and we play tug-of-war as Gruffi insults the chick and calls him a turkey. So the bird snaps the tape measure and Gruffi falls flat on his face. Grammi blows him off as she goes to console the chick and Sunni suggests that they take him outside to play. Gruffi does his trademark pose calling it a good idea since it might fly away. Prick. Anyhow; we head to Drekmore Castle as the zephyrs are in wooden cages and barns as the ogres are now wearing ten gallon cowboy hats wrestling zephyrs in a pig pen. Oh come on guys. That's a logic break if I ever saw one. And Toadie is wearing one just to annoy me some more as he sits down beside Dukie who tells the ogres that the first one to break them into tame zephyrs wins a special prize. Zook is happy to hear that and that ends the segment at 9:45. I don't get the cowboy reference here in this dark ages setting at all.
After the Youtube break; we see Dukie grab Toadie (by the ears of course) and wants him to make an example out of the men as he throws Toadie and Toadie bumps into the back of a zephyr and no shock it's the female one as Toadie is panicking and the zephyr is mighty pissed off. So the zephyr flies into the air; but the rope is attached to her neck and she spins around uncontrollably by Gad. Gad gets off the usual cowboy promo which is a complete faux pas in this world. Toadie proclaims that he is not meant to fly.
Gruffi:
That makes two of us. If only Cubbi would listen though. Cubbi! Stop
taking advice from Kit! He's much more dangerous than Grammi's stink
weed soup and wiggle worm pie combined.
Grammi: {Pasta
get splats on Gruffi.} Oh cut it out you bully! Kit's not
dangerous; he's just misunderstood.
Gruffi: {Gruffi
pose on.} Try telling Michael Eisner that.
Finally; after some more rotations; the zephyr finally lands on the ground and Toadie goes flying and bounces off the dirt of the pigpen and takes a wussy bump into the fence. Dukie calls it nice work and he knew he could do it with the right motavation. Toadie thanks Dukie for the praise of course in the same way he usually does; upside down on his head. HAHA! Toadie gets up and salute him and then faints dead away. HAHA! So we see the zephyr get forced into the cage and the wooden doors lock them up as Dukie proclaims that his last Krackpotkin plan is working perfectly and he'll take over Dumbwin under his wing weither Gregor likes it or not. Cue evil laugh....and move on....
We head to a cliff as Sunni has prepared a landing strip of goodies (with a red spotted egg for goodness knows what reason) as she calls for the chick who is standing on top of the cliff as Cubbi shows him how to flap it's wings and manages to get about three feet of air doing it. Heh. The chick seems ready to go; but Grammi runs in and blocks the cliff. See; the chick is too young and Cubbi was only going to teach him how to fly. Which is quite noble; but Grammi invokes the FOOT STOMP OF LAUGHS and the ground crumbles beneath her feet and she free falls. No really; I'm as SHOCKED as you are. So the chick swoops down much to Sunni's horror (she has a bush of red berries I should note) and grabs Grammi before she touches the ground which is kind of silly since we saw a number of times Grammi using her juice to bounce up to counter from that height. However; we need to get the chick over somehow; so the chick flies up and lands safely without further incident. Grammi is most impressed; the most since Cubbi took his first baby step. So Grammi IS Cubbi's mother. So who plays father: Zummi or Gruffi? Must be Zummi as Sunni somehow teleports to the cliff with the bush of berries as the chick eats on. Sunni wonders where the zephyrs parents are and Grammi proclaims that Tummi is checking the woods every morning and no finding much of anything.
And speaking of Tummi; we scene change to see him walking on a path with lots of thorn bushes which indicates that he's nearing Drekmore Castle. And damn it to hell if I'm not right. Hint: We see Toadie flying a zephyr in the sky and he cannot take anymore of this flying stuff. (Kit: Coward!) It's the female one in case you haven't noticed. Toadie is hanging on as the zephyr goes upside down and we hear Dukie's voice calling it nonsense. We then see Dukie on a zephyr proclaiming that it's the only way to fly (until the 1920's of course) as we see Gad and Zook on zephyrs as well agreeing with their Dukie. Okay; that was more disturbing than I had intended. However; it's less disturbing than the sound of a Windjammer. What does a Windjammer sound like? It sounds like the scream of an agonizing turd. (Lance: Sh**!) I'll explain the joke one day. Anyhow; we get another mistake as we go from cloudy to sunset on the next shot when the zephyrs are circling Drekmore and Tummi decides to bail to inform Grammi of this.
So we head inside the dining room with the Gummi's and the chick as Grammi and Tummi exchange notes on the situation. Grammi wants to free them; but Gruffi blows it off because he refuses to risk his neck for a bunch of silly birds. Grammi proclaims that he will answer to her and we find out his last name is Gummi as Gruffi get bit on the ass by the chick. HAHA! Gruffi sells his ass and decides to go along as long as it results in him getting rid of the gander. Gruffi, Grammi and Zummi leave as Grammi gives Tummi, Sunni and Cubbi babysitting duties. Oh goody; we get a redo of It Came From Beneath The Seaduck and I doubt it will be half as funny as Kit's babysitting job on Molly. Anyhow; Sunni notices that the chick misses Grammi already. Cubbi suggests getting a snack for him as the kids go into the kitchen as Tummi claims that if the chick doesn't like it; he will. Of course you would Tummi as the chick bails stage left and walks up the staircase and opens the door of Gummi Glen, flaps down to the ground and then flies into the skies squawking. Eh; even Webby had more panche doing this than this chick. So we cut back to the living room as Cubbi, Tummi and Sunni walk in with a platter of pickled peppers. Let me guess; you got those from Peter Piper right? So Peter Piper is a Gummi Bear? Well; that's good to know. The kids then notice that the chick has flown the coop, DUH! Tummi wonders where they went and sadly; he doesn't eat the pickle peppers. Geez; Marion, throw me a bone here.
So we head back to Drekmore Castle with a north pan and then cut to the cages where the zephyrs are walking around helpless as we pan northeast to a terrance as the adult Gummi's notice them and Grammi and company run down the step as Grammi wants to get those poor things out of the cage. Gruffi can't believe that he's doing this as they walk to the wooden door and Grammi calls him out for belly aching. So she wants a boost and Grammi gets it as she gets on Gruffi's shoulders. Ah; I see Grammi has discovered Hoppo's See Food diet. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! OUCH! Ummm...Grammi tries to unlock the steel bar as the zephyrs squeal like mad which allows Dukie to hear them in his own chamber as he is looking at a map (probably of Dumbwin no doubt). Grammi manages to get the thing open and jumps off Gruffi's back who continues to belly ache of course. Grammi opens the door and the zephyrs panic on cue as they run around the cage like crazy. Zummi tells them that they can go home now. I don't think shooing them is going to help them in any away as Gad and Zook grab the adult Gummi's and Dukie closes the door once again. D'OH! I think the over-dramatic gasp in horror is so overdone now. Were they expecting Lady Bane to show up or something?
Anyhow; Gruffi proclaims that their goose is cooked. I wish he would say zephyr is cooked which makes more sense as a pun here as Grammi blows off Dukie for mistreatment of a endangered bird. She demands for Dukie to let her birdie's go. BWHAHAHAHAHA! I don't think Grammi can comprehend how funny that sounds. Dukie of course no sells because they are his birdies. Where's the Hays Code when we really need them?! Dukie proclaims that he'll bring Dumbwin to their knees as Grammi blows it off because it will never get off the ground. Which is stupid since Tummi already SAW them on zephyrs in the air to begin with. You may want to add: “Because we'll stop you...somehow.” Dukie orders Gad and Zook to take them to the tower so they can witness how wrong she is. So Gad and Zook leave with the Gummi Bears as we scene change to a pan shot of a wooden tower as Gruffi gets thrown in with Grammi and Zummi as the door is locked behind them. Zummi looks out and I see his fear of heights has come back as he calls this terrible to try to bounce out of there. We then see Dukie and his ogres on zephyrs in the sky as the sun is setting on Drekmore. Dukie raises his sword and proclaims to say goodbye to the future king of Dumbwin. I'm guessing he's addressing the Gummi's here as Gruffi proclaims that Gregor will never know what hit him and Grammi thinks that they are helpless to stop him. Apparently; Tummi is still a kid in the storyline. Go figure as the segment ends 15 minutes in.
After the commercial break; we pan up to the wooden tower (with an animated torch) as the Gummi are sitting down sulking about feeling helpless. And Gruffi does his trademark pose too as the chick flies in and lands on the perch of the window. Heh. Grammi embraces him calling him a rascal. Zummi thinks that they can escape; but Grammi states that only one can ride the chick and she's gets on it's back. The chick swoops down as they fly under a terrance and towards the pig pen as Grammi tells the chick to grab some rope and the chick sells and grabs the rope with it's beak. The chick flies back to the tower as Grammi calls him Grammi's little helper. Okay; if you say so as Gruffi isn't amused as he ties the rope to the window and both Zummi and Gruffi climb down. Grammi and the chick fly away stage left to find Dukie and stop him. So we go to a sky shot of Castle Dumbwin AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as the heels fly in and Dukie calls it winged victory. We see the knights pratfall on their faces as the zephyrs swoop in and here comes King Gregor and Sir Lazybones Tuxford with a sword and lantern as Lazybones claims that they are under attack. NO?! REALLY?! As if the white birds wasn't an obvious indication?
Dukie demands Gregor to surrender as Tuxford thinks that they have rocks in their heads. So the ogres drop boulders on Tuxford allowing King Gregor to tackle Tuxford down to dodge one of them which misses by a mile. More boulder drops as the knights are forced to dodge all and Toadie throws a bag of rocks down on the knights for fun. They do so damage to the castle walls (including one which gives off green stink.) as Gregor calls for courage and counterattacks. So some of the knights on the terrence invoke the crossbow; but Dukie dodges the arrows and taunts the knights. So Zook releases the STINK BOMBS OF DOOM and that knocks out the crossbow knights. Gregor coughs as stink bombs miss him as he smells and somehow doesn't get knocked out. Huh? Gregor orders them to bail into the castle and everyone does. Except for Tuxford who looks dirty OUT OF NOWHERE as he proclaims that Dukie always fights dirty. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Projection much there Lazybones?! So he gets nailed in the kisser with a stink bomb and he gets knocked out cold. Dukie and the ogres on zephyrs circle the castle proclaiming victory as Toadie is about to throw another bomb. However; Grammi and chick come from behind and steal the bomb. Backfighter! Grammi and chick swoop on ahead as Toadie points out the obvious for us.
Dukie orders ultra-cool sidekick Toadie to man the assault while he unsheathes his sword and goes after Grammi. Toadie salutes as I see he gets the female zephyr once again. So the chase is on as Dukie claims that she doesn't have a prayer. Al Khan has a stroke and we do the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE ZEPHYR EDITION~! Dukie proclaims that the roided juice will do her no good up here; so Grammi counters by throwing her apron right in Dukie's kisser to blind him. Dukie then orders the ogre air force to go after her as they sell and logic breaks as Grammi's apron suddenly reappears on her. UGH! Methinks Sunwoo is animating here as Grammi tells chick to not fail her in flying now. Then she notices Gruffi and Zummi have somehow made it to Dumbwin on the terrance and thanks the heavens for it. So we chase on under the terrance as Gruffi and Zummi lasso Zook and Gad (in that order) off of the zephyrs. Wait; Zook fell into the moat?! He wasn't anywhere NEAR the moat as they were in the center of the castle. I club BS&P! Zook does oversell looking like he cannot swim; but he wants out because he hates water. So we continue the chase as Grammi goes under the next terrance and Gad crashes into the upper part of the wall and off his zephyr. At least the logic made more sense this time.
So Dukie manages to get the apron off of his face and orders thew ultra cool sidekick Toadie stop her as Toadie sells it. However; he gets lassoed by Gruffi off the female zephyr. However; Toadie manages to get one stink bomb to crash right in Gruffi's kisser and Gruffi's acting is hilarious before he faints and free-falls off of the terrance. The female zephyr panics and swoops down and saves Gruffi. Geez; that looked a bit contrived methinks. Gruffi's reaction pretty much confirms it as his fur got saved by feathers. So that leads chick/Grammi against Dukie and his manhoodish sword. And Dukie proclaims that he'll get her and Grammi naturally blows it off as Dukie swipes with the sword and keeps missing despite using the same animation sequence throughout while the chick is smart enough to drop down and allow Dukie's sword swipe to miss by a mile. Yeah; well Dukie was buried a long time ago so it's not like this will bury him any further than he already is right now. So Dukie cuts the reins he was using unintentionally (I think) allowing the male zephyr to free his mouth and he goes ballistic as Dukie looks like he's in the flying edition of the Calgary Stampede. Needless to say; Dukie drops into the moat with a splash on his fellow ogres (Toadie and Zook) as Grammi believes that this battle is all sewn up.
Then the crossbow knights somehow recover from outside the windows and shoot at Grammi as Grammi and chick decide to bail out. Gruffi and female zephyr fly to the terrance to pick up Zummi; although Zummi is still afraid of heights as he wants to walk home. Zummi climbs on the zephyr's back anyway as all the birds fly away stage right and away from Castle Dumbwin without further damage. Lazybones proclaims that they manage to win and get them on the run. If only you said fly you Lazybones! So we cut to the moat as Dukie and Toadie walk out as Toadie tries to console Dukie; and Dukie teases taking it well; and then blows off Toadie, grabs him by the ears and kicks him back into the moat. HAHA! Well; at least Dukie got some of his heat back; all thanks to the ultra-cool sidekick of course. And that is the last we will see of these two ever again. We go to the forest as the zephyrs land and the Gummi's disembark off-screen as the female zephyr and the chick have a bonding moment while Grammi looks like she's teary eyed at the moment. We then see the zephyrs fly off for good stage right as the adult Gummi Bears wave goodbye. Sadly; we get no scene of apology from the children for letting the chick get away in the first place; but whatever.
So we head to Gummi Glen in the morning as Grammi is on the couch sewing a pillow and is almost done doing so. Gruffi comes in asking why she isn't going to feed the zephyrs and Grammi proclaims that she has some chores to catch up on. Gruffi admits that the birds were important and was glad to help them as he sits on the chair and bounces too hard and oversells an injury to his ass. Grammi finishes the pillow and puts it on the seat as Gruffi sits down and feels relieved. Gruffi proclaims that this is what the doctor ordered which is lame and it should be what the zephyr ordered which makes more sense. That ends the episode at 21:02. A pretty good episode; but it felt a bit flat due to mistimed puns and some really silly out of place ideas. There is a tell tale sign that a series has gone too long; when you have to resort to stuff that doesn't fit the time period in order to get it over. Of course this doesn't end the series; The Rite Stuff did which happens to be Cavin's last appearance. *** (60%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; we have another decent episode; but I cannot help but wonder how well it could have been pulled off if some spots were not mistimed; nor the puns fell flat and generic. The idea of taming birds to use against Castle Dunwyn was pretty cool and would have made a good middle season episode; but by this time it didn't matter because Dukie's last stand in King Igthorn failed and nothing could top that one. It would have served them better to run this when TaleSpin debuted in syndication; just to help promote that series and allow Gummi Bears to give TaleSpin a rub; but it didn't happen due to stupidity on Disney management. Still; I think the whole cowboy thing with the zephyrs was kind of silly and a few logic breaks marred the experience; but it was a good idea that didn't seem to get the effort it deserved. So in other words; another average episode. Next rant I will be doing is May The Best Princess Win which occurred just before this one as I do my first rant featuring Princess Marie; a competitor to Princess Calla. So....
Thumbs in the middle for this episode and I'll see you all next time.