Disney cemented itself as a force
for TV animation when in 1987 they premiered their syndicated series “DuckTales,”
which ran four seasons as part of the Disney Afternoon block. The exciting and
fantastic adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews were rebooted for a new
generation of fans in 2017, airing on Disney XD and Disney Channel. The series
was positively reviewed for its solid narrative, myth arcs, and as the
inclusion of old and new characters such as Donald Duck and his sister Della, mother
of Scrooge’s nephews. Nevertheless the show was capped at only three seasons,
but the 90-minute series finale at least gives “DuckTales” an epic sendoff.
In the appropriately-titled “The
Last Adventure,” Scrooge McDuck and his extended family must take on the
criminal organization FOWL, led by Scrooge’s own company board of directors no
less, once and for all. And with this final episode of the “DuckTales” reboot
airing on repeat for 24 hours on Disney XD this past March 15 one might only
miss a detail on how this epic story crafted by show-runners Frank Angones and Matt
Younger ends, if it was on purpose.
Scrooge has been in the know of
who is leading FOWL since season 3 – episode 12, in Darkwing Duck’s focus
episode “Let’s Get Dangerous.” That would be Bradford Buzzard and his fellow
McDuck Enterprises directors. The problem is, he does not know where FOWL HQ is…until
learning it was under the amusement park Funso’s. Scrooge decides to have Webby’s
birthday party there as cover for infiltrating FOWL, only to find it abandoned
except for two duckettes named May and June, revealed to be clones of Webby.
This causes her to begin having questions about her own family. While knowing Beakley
to be her grandma, she has no memory of her parents, despite one of them
supposed to be Beakley’s child.
Webby deciding to bring May and
June to McDuck Manor becomes a setback when the two reveal themselves to be
FOWL agents, swiping every piece of treasure detailed in the journal of Junior
Woodchucks founder Isabella Finch (most of the S3 treasures), then kidnapping
Webby and Huey to Bradford’s new hideout, Finch’s Lost Library. Bradfor reveals
himself to be Finch’s grandson as well as his master plan (and Freudian excuse).
The library houses the Solego Circuit, an artificial black hole, where Bradford
aims to dispose all that he considers “chaotic.”
“Chaotic” in Bradford’s view is
synonymous with “adventure,” and he has hated the concept since Grandma Finch
took him globetrotting as a child. His preferred means of gaining riches
through crimes committed by FOWL is by underhanded means where they are in
control, not the flashy methods and reasoning employed by Scrooge’s other
nemeses. Said villains are now under mind control via Black Heron, though only
so Bradford can include them for disposal in the Void. His primary objective
however is to get the Papyrus of Binding, which Scrooge magically enchanted to
be recoverable by his heir. It turns out Webby herself is a FOWL clone, made
from Scrooge himself.
After Webby unwittingly secures
the Papyrus for Bradford, he threatens Donald’s life to force Scrooge to sign
his name to a contract written on it, compelling him to give up adventuring
(and resign himself to being fleeced by FOWL). In return, the contract ensures
that Scrooge keeps his family. Too bad for Bradford, the extended McDuck clan
interprets “family” as an “adventure” in itself. This loophole invalidates the
Papyrus’ binding power. May and June are also inspired to cut ties with FOWL
and turn the tide against Bradford, setting up a final confrontation with him.
When the other anti-Scrooge
baddies are freed from brainwashing, Magica then gets her revenge on Bradford
by cursing him to become a non-anthro buzzard, and since most of FOWL has been
sent into the Void, it is all but dismantled. Needless to say, Scrooge and his
family are now free to adventure all they want, though with the series ended,
what they do next is up to our imaginations, or maybe any planned spinoff from
the other characters introduced in the series run. While a great series in
itself, the “DuckTales” reboot also ensured the possibility of spinoffs from
its massive character gallery. We just have to wait and see if Disney goes for
it.
Image courtesy of Laughing Place
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