Okay...well, yes, okay, as cynical as I
want to be, I have no choice but to give in to this episode's
considerable charms. I like Lena the hipster, and I REALLY hope that
the last-second reveal doesn't mean that she's going to be an
unambiguous villain. Probably not. The show is, I would hope, a
little more clever than that. Her interactions with Webby are
consistently charming, and this gives the show an opportunity to show
us something that we have, like, NEVER EVER seen in the Disneyverse,
and that is FEMALE FRIENDSHIP. The milieu is, let's face it,
sufficiently male-centric that we've never really had the chance, and
I don't think you can, in good faith, really count the occasional
Minnie/Clarabelle or Daisy/Grandma bit. They're very attenuated and
mostly written by chauvanistic male writers. This is something
genuinely different and positive and cool and furthermore there are
HELLA dramatic possibilities for a Lena torn between family and
friends. Whether they'll actually be able to do that
EFFECTIVELY...well, that's a question for another day, but I have to
admit: for the first time ever with this show, I'm actually sorta
kinda excited to see what happens next.
The Beagles! Hmm...well, what the
hell, I'm just going to go ahead and say it: I like these Beagles,
with their incongruous groups. I wonder whether we'll actually see
more of the more outre ones, or whether they were just one-offs for
this episode. Admittedly, there are a lot of one-note jokes, but
what the hell, the Sixth Avenue Friendlies crack me the heck up, and
the Tumblebums--the grotesque circus-themed ones--add a totally
unexpected but upon reflection welcome element of horror to the
proceedings. Here's the difference between these guys and the
Original Ducktales Beagles: the old ones were close enough to the
originals that I could only ever read them as tacky, badly-done
burlesques. But these new ones that we see this week are so utterly
removed from anything Barksian that I don't make the instinctive
comparisons and can enjoy them in their own right. Though, granted,
they could easily return to much-less-weird form in future.
-An entirely Scrooge-less episode. How
about that?
-Huh--I didn't even realize that Ma
Beagle was voiced by the great Margo Martindale. Not that she really
makes that much impact in the role, and okay, it's not the MOST creative casting, but WHATEVER. This does raise the question, though:
is getting so many relatively high-profile people to play recurring
but not regular characters (I know Paul F Tompkins are Lin Manuel
Miranda are coming up) really the all-time greatest plan? Like, they
could be BUSY, and you have to plan episodes around their
availability. Difficult to say.
-"Are you saying Dewey would rather
eat US than hotdogs?"
"I DO hate hotdogs."
-Webby's vision of continental
sophistication: "I've always wanted to go to Paris...crawl
around in the catacombs...maybe touch a skull..."
-"I didn't hear an American accent
until I was like seven." ...and she's STILL exposed to UK
accents on a daily basis. So what possible justification can there
be for her not even having a trace of one herself? Don't bring up
linguistic concepts you don't understand, show!
-"I promise we'll never leave you
off the boat again. We'll leave Louie--he's bad at most things."
-WHO CAN FORGET the powerful story told
by the acts in Pac-Man Jr where Jr falls in love with Blinky's
daughter Yum-Yum, in spite of both their parents' disapproval, and
then they elope together? Yup, that happened. Here's a Wiki page describing Yum-Yum as "beautiful," though I have no notion
of how you'd tell. Anyway, that came to mind when seeing Webby and
Lena. Except, presumably, their relationship lacks the romantic
element. Wouldn't THAT be a helluva thing, though?
-Let's just hope the show doesn't squander the good will its earned here with its portrayal of the Terries and Fermies this weekend.
-Let's just hope the show doesn't squander the good will its earned here with its portrayal of the Terries and Fermies this weekend.
A romantic angle seems unlikely, given that any romance between Webby and HDL was immediately and fiercely shot down by staff. Then again, maybe they HAVE someone else in mind for her.
ReplyDeleteI definitely wasn't talking about HDL!
DeleteWell, theres always Donald and Mrs. Beakley...
DeleteAh, ok. You ment romance specifically for Webby. By mistake I understood you where talking about possible romance in the series in general. :P
DeleteThis episode is certainly the one I've liked best so far. It made me laugh more often, and it didn't enrage me by its reworking of beloved characters. I thought both the writing and the voice acting for the two girls were excellent. And, as you say, it's great simply to see female friendship in the Duckiverse. I also trust that Lena won't turn out to be simply a villain, both because I think the writers are smarter than that and because it would be a very cruel thing to do to Webby.
ReplyDeleteI've probably read more of the girl-marketed Disney comics than you have (the French Minnie Mag, the Italian Minni & Co. and Minni Amica del Cuore), so I have seen a bit more female friendship in Disney comics. But mostly that's been Minnie and somebody: Minnie & Clarabelle adventuring among Egyptian ruins, Minnie & her archaeologist friend Danda Champollion (created by Giovanna Bo), Minnie & her magical friend Tebel (created by Giustina Porcelli). In Journal de Mickey, one story even features Minnie & Eurasia Toft adventuring together without Mickey (he's looking on from Eega Beeva's spaceship).
It's much harder to find female friendship in the Duckiverse, even in the girl-focused publications. No one knows what to do with Daisy, I'm afraid. Lars Jensen wrote a story (Who Is Daisy Duck?) where he used several of the female friends he could find for her: Maya Astrup's Amanda Fox, Dave Rawson's Rosie the Riveter, and Strobl's Dora. Slim pickings. Daisy's friendship with Clara Cluck never seemed to exist beneath the stereotypical surface. Maybe Dickie has female friends in the Disney Teens stories? Similarly, there must be some friendship among the named characters in the Italian Chickadees-equivalent G.E., from the comic book G.M. Belle Duck and Captain Annie are friends, at least in the story "Roundabout Rally" (published in IDW's U$ 21)--one of the reasons I like that story is the final panel, where the two female characters have their arms around each other's shoulders. A rare sight in the Duckiverse. I also appreciate the intergenerational friendship of Grandma Duck and the local sheriff, Stella Curfew, in Korhonen's "detective Grandma Duck" series.
There are Italian stories by Marco Bosco/Silvia Ziche which I haven't read which throw together female Duck characters: Daisy, the Italian version of Miss Quackfaster, Brigitta, and Grandma Duck. Can't say how they relate to each other.
Crossing the Duck and Mice universes, there are the "Minnie & Daisy: Best Friends Forever" stories, which introduce other female friends of theirs, but those are aimed at very young girls.
All of which is to say: yes, it's a breath of fresh air to get a fleshed-out female friendship in the Duckiverse. Even if it is in an alternate Duckiverse.
I was just going to write a post but Matilda beat me to the punch (you won THIS ROUND Matilda!!!) anout Silvia Ziche stories which tries to thrown Daisy, Brigitta, Quackfaster (the taller younger version) and Grandma Duck on a adventure together... I haven't read them as well, but from what I seen in other Ziche strories she is trying to present female characters in a way that's energetic and fun, even when she's playing around with stereotypes.
DeleteZiche - when not doing Disney comics - do have some female-centric comic book series of her own, one particular one being satire on daily life of middle-aged woman ( http://www.silviaziche.com/category/lucrezia )
And yes, Dickie did have two female friends in the Disney teen stories.
But yhe, the problem remains - Duckuniverse seriously lacks interesting female characters and dynamics... I know some people would say "Where theres always Magica DeSpell and (insirt some obscure Italian character like Dickie or Eurasia Toft)" but the fact you can name ONE or TWO exeption sort of points out the problem. If I ask you to name interesting male characters, I most likeley get no awnser but a wird look ("Are you crazy? That's like naming 50 characters")
So yhe. Big plus to the show for making the Duckuniverse feel more gender deverse.
Daisy has always been problematic because she is entirely defined by her romantic relationships, and not particularly flattering relationships, either. This is why QuackPack Daisy works so well, because she has traits beyond simply being a girlfriend, and they also did away with Gladstone IIRC, so the relationship with Donald didn't appear quite so unstable.
DeleteYhe, I like the Friendlies and the Cirque du Soleil Beagles the most to (the later actualy felt threatening)
ReplyDeleteThis approach to the Beagles while non-Barksian, did felt like what they often do with the Beagles in European and (as far I know) Brazylian stories, like this one :
https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2015-039
Where difrent gruops of Beagles from all over the world meet, we get french Beagles, eskimo Beages etc. Here they just went a little more crazy with the concept.
What impresses me is that ONE GUY voice every single Beagle Boy. I know there are some super talented voice actors out there (Mel Blank, Frank Walker) but this is still darn impressive and you can't tell while watching, especialy in the climax where you have like nine Beagles talking at once.
I still don't know what the heck Glam Yankees Beagles where ment to refrence. At first I asme their Clockwork orange refrence do to eyes paintied in black (rather then mask)
I liked those groups too, I just hope they will get rid of the one-joke ones (like the deja vu boys).
DeleteAlthough, while the Tumblebums make for a menacing threat on their own, I'm not sure they make particularly convincing Beagle Boys. Can you see these clowns robbing banks? They seem more fit for straightforward horror stories than run-of-the-mill comic book crime (that is, stealing things). I think THESE particular villains would be much better if they dropped the Beagle Boys angle and developed their own schtick apart from the mob.
Speaking of the mob, that is apparently a thing now. Ma Beagle is the mob boss, and the Beagle Boys are now, what, the Duckburg mafia?
I also like that the Beagles are more of a legitimate threat. After years of reading story after story where the Beagles are watered down to wimpy losers who you'd hardly call "the TERRIBLE BEAGLE BOYS" (you know it is bad when their big crime of the story is robbing a grocery store for food...), this is rather refreshing.
While I woudn't see the Tumblebums robing a bank in the middle of the day, I can easly imagine them sneaking into a museum in the middle of the night to steal some antiques. Their acrobadic skill can come in handy. Difrent groups can have diffrent specializations in crime.
DeleteBut I think more likley they will focus on using the more "talky" ones like the Ugly loosers trio for comical reasons (it's easy to write gags around characters who are idiots), but the idea of them being such large family organizde by a master mind mom at least makes them all a threat for the ducks.
The idea of Ma being the main boss was in the old show similar to how they used Grandpa Beagle in the comics.
Its a bit weird how they changed Burger to be skinny because of sensitivity over bullying of fat people, but then introduced THREE Beagles whose sole defining trait is being ugly losers. Seems a bit hypocritical.
DeleteAnd if they stay around, what would be their story purpose? To be bullied by the other Beagles? Since losing is their defining character, you can hardly have them win, either. I think it would get old pretty fast.
Well They just appear to be self-loathing nerds with very low self esteem but so far we didn't SEE other Beagles bullying them... Maybe Beagles are progressive PC criminal family - they can rob a truck full of momney or kidnap children but bulling is to far for them ;)
DeleteBut You bring up a good point. Fat jokes are to far but other traits exploided for comedy like being "ugly" are ok. I like to imagine the show writers where clever enough to create these character to point of the double standard of Disney censorship but that's just my wishful thinking.
Speaking of entertaining Beagle trios, remember these from Time Teasers?
Deletehttp://newsandviewsbychrisbarat.blogspot.nl/2013/07/ducktales-retrospective-episode-42-time.html
I wouldn't mind seeing these coming back in some form, they sure stole the spotlight in that episode.
I was actualy suprised Baggy, Baby-Face, Bankjob and Bibob didn't made some sort of cameo.
DeleteWhat I like about first season of DuckTales is that they had seven Beagles but they experiment with difrent groups.
Re:The Tumblebums: The Joker just phoned over from DC Comics and he has something to say about monster clowns not being able to comit comic book crimes.
DeleteAnyway--
The thing I felt was weird in this episode is that it feels as though Ma Beagle is supposed to be the mother of all the Beagle Boys. This clearly wasn't the case in the comics, where the worldwide Beagle Boys are, appropriately enough, cousins and other varyingly-distant relations. For Ma Beagle to be the mother of so many children who all seem about the same age really stretches belief.
To be fair, the words record for most chidlren born by a woman is 69 ;)
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_with_the_most_children
Well, there IS no Ma Beagle in the comics. I don't know if it's ever firmly established whether Grandpa Beagle is ACTUALLY supposed to be the father of all of them, but the question might be irrelevant, inasmuch as (I think) he was introduced well before the concept of the Beagles as an international group.
Delete...also, I know I may be the only one who liked them, but I wouldn't mind seeing a Beagle Babes reprise.
DeleteYour not alone, I like the Babes as well. I notice there was more sisterly dynamic between them, rathen then DuckTales Beagles where It neer felt like brothers as much one boss and two or tree dimwited goons.
DeleteWell, going by Don Rosa's stories, Blackheart Beagle was only the father of the original four Beagle Boys, the ones Scrooge met as a young lad fresh off the boat.
Delete(I meant original three*, of course.)
Delete'kay so Geox, if you haven't seen it yet, the new episode is out and the Terra-firmians aren't… as bad as we thought. By far. I can't say much more, but… ah. (Also, keep the old DuckTales episode in mind, there's a clever nod to it.)
DeleteI will add that I enjoyed the new episode...
Delete...which sadly it's another Scroogeless episode, however Disney Channal apperently mixed the order of the episodes so the next three episodes we see (which all have Scrooge in the plot discription) are ment to air BEFORE the Terra-firmians episode, so we can't blame the creators of the show for this. Also two upcomming episode center around some jurney to faraway land, which I'm also happy about since so far the season felt very Duckburg-centric.
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ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of blundering, wanting-to-prove-themselves criminal sons with a powerful mother who celebrates her birthday with a huge party was ripped off from Futurama. I liked that Lena and Webby got to be friends but it felt like the show was too aware of it. Like "hee hee we're doing girl power! we're passing the bechdel test!". It did seem romantic at some level though, which was intriguing to me. I liked it but it feels like there are so many characters at this point, especially with HDL having unique personalities. Feels like something they're going to have to juggle. I thought all the different Beagle groups came across as kind of busy, but overall not the worst episode.
ReplyDelete