Monday, April 1, 2013

Darkwing Duck, Season One, Episode Forty-One: "It's a Wonderful Leaf"


I've said before that Bushroot is the most sympathetic villain, and his motives have never been more so than they are here: he's just trying to go Christmas shopping when he's tramped by stampeding shoppers, has some jerkass yank his stuff right out of his hand, and is chased off by a torch-wielding mob on accounta being "a plant monster."  His response to this may be disproportionate (he animates a buncha evergreens to fuck shit up and steal presents)--although a lot of it seems to just be exacerbating already-existing tendencies in people--but you kinda wish in this case he and DW could come to some sort of compromise rather than it being the usual "villain is villainous; defeated" business.  But, no.

In spite of being pretty standard, I did like this episode okay, but I must point out a few things: first, there's a really blatant continuity error.  First, Drake and Gosalyn are at home.  It's Christmas Eve, presents are under the tree, and Gosalyn's scheming to figure out how she can open her stuff early (at which she is thwarted by a surprisingly on-the-ball Drake).  But then later, we see Drake and LP at the mall buying huge loads of presents.  Guh?  It's obvious that they're there so they can get involved with Bushroot, but they really should've figured out a way that didn't break the episode's logic like this.

Also, at the end, everyone gets their presents back, but oh no, the Muddlefoot family does not.  This is so there can be a heartwarming bit where the Mallards give their presents away, but it's never explained why the Muddlefoots in particular should've lost their stuff for good.  Again, a kinda lazy way to go.

Still, as Christmas episodes go, it's all right.  And at the end, Santa's ho-ho-ho-ing sounds alarmingly like that of Robot Santa from Futurama.  So that's okay.

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