"Bubba Trubba," eh? Isn't that the name of a level in Donkey Kong Country?
It's not so much that I mind Bubba qua Bubba (though I do find him a bit on the pointless side) as it is that I mind the appearance of creative bankruptcy that led to his creation. And that appearance is only enhanced in this episode by a mind-bendingly awful song-and-dance sequence featuring the character and his triceratops in sunglasses, which is just a really rancid effort to appeal to late-eighties notions of "raditude." Yuck.
Other than that, this episode is pretty aimless--Bubba messes around and cartoony slapstickery ensues. Due to some nonsensical quasi-idea Gyro has about how Bubba may in some vague way mess up the space-time continuum, Scrooge becomes convinced that the caveduck's gonna make his fortune disappear--dumb, yes, but I guess this was the only way the writers could think of to add the requisite Scrooge/Bubba conflict before the old coot gives in to his warm fuzzy side. "You're feeling guilty 'cause you turned his life upside-down," sez Scrooge's conscience, which might be a reasonable enough assessment if there had been anything previously that might lead anyone to come to this conclusion.
Meanwhile, Flintheart, angry that Scrooge got his island back (due to having "marked" it as his in the prehistoric segment), plans to capture Bubba and somehow brainwash him so that that when he gets sent back in time, he'll destroy Scrooge's markings and oh no then Flintheart can take over. You know, if these guys were really serious about this line of thinking, this conflict would literally never end--they would just keep fucking one another's plans up in the past over and over and over. Not hugely interesting stuff, but when is ANYTHING involving Ducktales Glomgold? At any rate, we DO get what must surely be the most cliffhanger-y episode ending yet, so huzzah for that, I suppose.
Stray Observations
-"I absolutely positively cannot be bribed!" "Even with a new scarf?" "You've got yourself a deal!" This would be funnier--or at least make some sort of sense--if it had ever been established that Launchpad was some sorta scarf fanatic. Otherwise, it just looks like a writer going, "crap--I need for there to be something Launchpad is really fixated on in order for my tired joke to work! Um…he has a SCARF! I can say he's obsessed with SCARFS! I am SUCH a genius!"
-Newscaster screaming and ducking when Glomgold hurls a vase at the TV--pretty funny.
-I know this isn't something anyone wants to be reminded of, but seriously: naked Scrooge moving to cover his nonexistent genitalia. Jeez, writers, what did we ever do to YOU that you hate us so?
-Is that vulture teacher the same one who appeared in "evil" form in "Nothing to Fear?" She's certainly much jollier this time around.
The "Three Cheers for Bubba Duck" song has always struck me as a pointless waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI've never been clear on this point. Scrooge signs the contract to pay Glomgold $10 million more by a certain date, or he forfeits the deposit and the island. But... now apparently Scrooge owns the diamond cave thanks to his markers. So... what's the point of paying Glomgold the $10 million? All Scrooge would get is the worthless tiny island to the west. Why does Scrooge still have to pay Glomgold the $10 million if Scrooge already owns the diamond cave island? Doesn't the contract only hold for the westernmost island? And can't Glomgold demand his money back for that island from the person he bought it from, since that person sold an island Scrooge claimed a million years ago?