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DuckTales Series Finale Review

On the Ides of March 2021, I got up at 5:00 AM with one thing on my mind: DuckTales. The 90-minute finale would premiere that evening, but I couldn’t wait any longer. That’s why I got up bright and early so I could watch it all on DisneyNOW. Having seen it in its entirety, I can safely say that I made the right choice.

In a nutshell, the DuckTales series finale was, well, absolutely amazing. A perfect encapsulation of the show’s ultimate theme. At it’s core, DuckTales isn’t about adventure. Well, it is, but there’s something much more important. Family. Family has been at the heart of DuckTales from the start. Whether it’s the family that you’re born in, or the one you choose, family is what makes DuckTales great. And even amidst a finale that’s not afraid to give payoffs to things we didn’t even know know had payoffs, it never forgets that.

This goes without saying, but prepare for spoilers as we get to the “Whoa”, the “Wait, What?” and the “AHH, important life lesson!”

The Tale of Webby

Despite the season mainly focusing on Huey and his character growth, he’s not the sole focus for the series finale. Rather, he shares that role with the girl who, after seeing the finale, is probably my favorite character on the show: Webby Vanderquack. And I know some people are going to complain and say that this is going to come out of left-field or a butt-pull, but Matt, Frank, and their team have said that they planned this out from the beginning. I trusted them for four years, and I’m glad to say I trusted them.

The finale starts off in Funso’s Funzone, and it’s Webby’s birthday! All her friends and loved ones are there (and I do mean all) and everyone’s just enjoying themselves. Except, it’s not just a party. It’s a raid on FOWL! While he slept, Launchpad has been giving the family info about the secret FOWL base under Funso’s. It looks like the final battle is about to begin! Only for FOWL to have cleaned house. But they left something behind.

Whoa! That feather Black Heron got from the heroes in Instanboar was from Webby and they used it, and the other Missing Mysteries, to clone her, creating May and June. This was completely unexpected on my part. Why clone Webby and not Scrooge like I thought they would? That mystery compels both Huey and Webby, on their lonesome, to infiltrate FOWL’s new base: the great Library of Alexandria.

Wait, What’s this About Bradford?

It’s here that we get some more insight into Bradford’s backstory. It turns out, Isabella Finch, the founder of the Junior Woodchucks and the person Scrooge and Huey most admire, was his grandma. And she took him on the same crazy adventures that Scrooge would take his family on. However, unlike Duck family, Bradford got traumatized by it. So now he hates adventuring and wants to rid the world of it and make it lame, boring, and under his thumb.

In essence, this makes Bradford the antithesis to Scrooge. Whereas Scrooge looks at the trouble and mystery of the world and sees wonder and excitement, Bradford sees, well, chaos. Ergo, he wants to rid the world of said chaos out of spite for his Grandma.

Look, I get why Bradford would be upset; plenty of parental figures drag their kids into stuff that they grow to resent. But that’s excuse for him to try and rob the world of all that gives it wonder. Plus, he’s got no right to spout stuff like that after what he’s done to Scrooge and his family.

I’m not just talking about FOWL. Near the climax of the finale, Bradford makes Scrooge lose his cool by dropping this massive bombshell: he’s the one who leaked word about the Spear of Selene to Della. In other words, her being lost in space, the family falling apart, the boys going for years without knowing about their mom? It was all on him. Oh, and that also led to Lunaris nearly destroying the Earth. For all his talk about reining in the chaos, Bradford caused a lot of it. And here, he tries to end it.

Webby is……NO WAYYY!!!!

Long-story short, the Duck family launches an all-out assault on FOWL, for real this time, only to be picked off and almost beaten altogether. It leads to each of the heroes getting a chance to shine against FOWL, some epic fight scenes, and surprise cameos from almost every character that’s appeared in the show. That FOWL somehow captured. But the biggest bombshell of the episode? It’s about Webby. She’s the key to Bradford’s plans.

Remember that magic papyrus that Scrooge, Donald and Della went to look for on their first adventure? Scrooge commanded it to be hidden until the true heir of Scrooge McDuck found it. I knew that this meant it would play a role in the finale, but I thought that one of the members of the Duck Family would find it. Instead, it was Webby. Wait, what?

In what has to be the biggest double-whammy twist the show could ever give us, we learn the truth about Webby. She was genetically engineered by FOWL and then rescued by Mrs. Beakley before she could be used for evil. So that’s what the Harp was talking about in Mervana. And it also explains why Beakley was so paranoid about keeping Webby safe. But that’s not the crazy part: the crazy part is that Bradford used Scrooge’s DNA to create Webby. Which means…Webby is a clone/Scrooge’s daughter.

My brain almost shut down over the course of several minutes. Of all the plot twists I expected, I never thought that they would come up with this!! If it weren’t for the fact that Bradford was holding everyone hostage to get Scrooge to sign a magically binding contract on the Papyrus to never adventure again, I would be overjoyed.

Family is the Greatest Adventure of All

Ultimately, Bradford’s defeated when the family discovers a flaw in his contract. It says that Scrooge can stay with his family as long as he gives up adventure. But something that Bradford could never understand is that family is the greatest adventure of all. It’s the perfect encapsulation of the show’s whole theme. Whether you’re related by blood or by the bonds you share, family is an adventure; you just have to be willing to embrace it. Bradford never could, which is why he loses. And Scrooge’s real villains (who FOWL brainwashed into serving them) give him a fitting punishment. In an echo of what happened to her brother, Magica strips Bradford of his sentience and turns into a mindless vulture. A fitting punishment indeed.

And thus, the biggest adventure of DuckTales comes to an end, with the heroes flying off to new adventures. Fenton and Gandra are reunited, Donald decides to adopt May and June as he and Daisy go traveling around the world together. Which is great for him. After all the things he’s gone through in his life, giving up on his own wants and needs for the sake of his family, he truly deserves a chance at happiness.

As for Scrooge? He gets to spend time with his family, including his newfound daughter.

Until We Meet Again, DuckTales!

But does this mean that the adventure’s over? That DuckTales! is done and we’ll never see these incarnations of its characters? Not a chance. After what Disney has done, they’d have to be out of their mind to let the likes of Scrooge, the Triplets, Della and the others fall by the wayside again! In fact, they’re already planning on continuing it. Starting two weeks from now, we’ll be getting a limited podcast series, “This Duckburg Life”, starring the cast of the show.

So, am I sad that DuckTales! is now over? Yeah, a little. But I also know that this isn’t the end. Just like the original DuckTales inspired the reboot, the reboot may inspire someone else to pick up where the show left off. It’s a mystery as to what comes next, but that’s part of what makes it so much fun!

In my humble opinion, I consider “The Last Adventure” to be a near-perfect masterpiece that captures everything that DuckTales! wanted to teach people both young and old. How the world is full of wonder and adventure waiting to be found. That you need to learn to ride the waves of life rather than fight them to be happy. And that the greatest adventure of all can be the one you share with your family. Thank you, DuckTales! for four years of amazing storytelling. Woo-ooo!

I Give “The Last Adventure” a 5/5

Stray Observation

• This whole time, Manny the Headless Manhorse was a reference to the freaking Gargoyles show. Well played, Matt and Frank. Well played

Oh, and Check out these DuckTales! Articles that I wrote for The Game of Nerds!

The Greatest Characters on DuckTales

DuckTales 2017 is Disney Afternoon Love Letter

Eleven Best Guest Stars in the 2017 DuckTales Reboot

My Favorite Episodes of DuckTales 2017

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

DuckTales! Season 3, Episode 15 Review

What do you when you fire someone from a job because they’re not good at it, or because they’re jerks? You look for people to replace them. As it turns out, the same thing can happen with Gods in the Disney Afternoon-verse (that’s right, that’s the name now.) When a position in the Greek Pantheon suddenly opens, the kids find themselves competing to be the new Olympian Idol.

Good Riddance to Ya, Zeus

I want you to remember the version of Zeus that Disney gave in the 1997 film Hercules. Now, I want you to throw that in the trash, because the Zeus from the Greek Myths is nothing like that. To sum the mythological Zeus up: he’s a pig-headed jerk who tries to date any pretty girl he sees and acts like a sore loser. So take out the womanizing, and you’ve got the DuckTales! version. And after one too many misdeeds, the gods of Olympus decided to strip him of his power and rule.

I don’t know why I enjoy it so much, but there’s something so satisfying about seeing jerks get what’s coming to them. And seeing this version of Zeus become a butt-monkey is just so satisfying to see. I quite a good kick out of seeing him come up with a convoluted scheme to earn back his power; it works, but no one respects him anymore.

Oh, and there’s the matter of who’s going to take his place.

The Kids Prove their Self Worth

Connecting this back to the Olympian Idol thing, the Duck Boys and webby are in a rut when they fail an adventure with Scrooge. Worse, Scrooge’s drive to succeed leads him to disregard the signs that they need his approval and try again with another team. Ergo, when Selene comes to offer Della the chance to take Zeus’ place, they each try instead.

The results are as predictable as they are hilarious, in my opinion. Louie learned that the “Midas Touch” is a curse for a reason. Huey couldn’t handle that big brain of his. Webby was less a Princess and more a demon of friendship; and Dewey? Don’t ask, but let’s just say that he was my favorite fail.

I enjoyed seeing the kids suffer this crisis of confidence, and when Zeus’ plan ended up going awry, they’re the ones that saved the day. When all’s said and done, though, they realize that being a god isn’t as great as it sounds. I don’t blame them, either. As much as I’d want to use the power to end climate change and cure cancer, I know it would backfire somehow!

Donald and Daisy…Plus Storkules

So, remember how Donald met Daisy earlier this season? Well, now they’re dating, and it’s going great. Or at least it does until Storkules shows up and acts as a third wheel during their date night.

We all know that Donald and Daisy are meant to be, regardless of the incarnation; ergo, any strife that happened in this episode would get resolved with little trouble. Still, it’s nice to see Daisy react to how crazy Donald’s life can be and learn to accept him, either way. Not to mention, Tress Macneille.

Olympian Idol: A Fun Filler Episode.

So, “New Gods on the Block!” Didn’t advance the over-arching plot involving F.O.W.L. at all this week. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned form watching cartoons with serialized elements, it’s that not every episode needs to move the plot along. They can have self-contained stories that, when the show ends, will likely be remembered just as fondly as the bigger story. I enjoyed this episode, and I just like DuckTales!

I Give “New Gods on the Block” a 4/5

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DuckTales Season 3, Episode 4 Review

I may not have liked last week’s episode, but I loved this week’s episode of DuckTales. Mainly, because it touched on an important life lesson in a hilarious fashion. That lesson being the importance of telling the truth, no matter how hard it may be. And, I might add, it does it while referencing some of Disney’s past work.

The Lost City of Hippie Merfolk

This episode sees the Duck Family (minus Launchpad) try to solve the first mystery from the journal of Isabella Finch. Legends speak of Mervana, a city home to people who turn into merpeople in water, and of a magic talking harp that is there treasure. However, when they find Mervana, they learn its people are underwater hippies. They live under the sea in honor of their King, Honestus, who left to find his “truth” in the sea.

When I first saw Mervana, I immediately thought of The Little Mermaid. The inhabitants and the aesthetics just screamed this Disney classic. Heck, Webby even quotes the first line from the movie’s song “Part of that World.” It also helps that Aletheia, one of their guides, is voiced by Hynden Walch. She has a history of playing Princesses. And to sweeten the hippie vibe even further, their other guide, Vero, is voiced by Greg Cipes. He’s got a history of playing vegan hippies.

Gushing over guest actors aside, Mervana seems too good to be true. At least, to the more cynical members of the Duck family like Beakley or Louie. However, they don’t want to voice their thoughts in front of the ever-optimistic Webby. Her enduring optimism is one of her defining traits, and Mrs. Beakley doesn’t want her to lose that.

Hearing Some Hard Truths

As it turns out, Beakley and Louie were right, as Mervana has a dark secret that not even its people know about. When they find the Harp of Mervana, she explains what happens to Honestus: he ignored the Harp’s brutal honesty and went to live alone in the sea away from his problems. As a result, he turned into a Lovecraftian-esque fish-monster. Worse, the Harp also tells Webby that her grandmother was lying to her about her suspicions regarding Mervana.

This dual-realization hits Webby pretty hard. Like, it almost shatters her worldview. As a result, she briefly becomes more of a cynic than Louie. It stinks seeing the upbeat and optimistic Webby devastated like this. However, an important part of life is learning that not everyone has the best of intentions.

Ironically, it’s Louie of all people who ends up getting Webby’s groove back. He basically tells how that while it’s important to always see the positives in life, you shouldn’t let it blind you to potential danger. It’s a balancing act, and a truth that Webby had to learn sooner or later. I’m honestly glad she learned it now, though, as it could end up hurting her even more in the future.

Speaking of learning some hard truths, once the Duck family brings Honestus to his senses, Mervana learns some hard truths. By running from their problems, they wound up making them worse. So, they have to work to fix them. And it starts by fixing Mervana. Or as Scrooge hilariously calls it “get a job, you hippie’s!” Classic Scrooge.

One Mystery Solved

So, one big mystery gets solved by the Duck family, and Webby learns a valuable life lesson about truth. Beakley said she did as well, but the Harp claims in the final moments that she’s still keeping secrets from her granddaughter. Which begs the question: what sort of secrets is she keeping?

It certainly makes for an interesting plot thread to pick up on as the season progresses. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing where this leads. With F.O.W.L. on the hunt for the Duck Family, this is the kind of tension that could spell disaster in the end. I can’t wait to see how it turns out over the summer!

I Give “The Lost Harp of Mervana” A 4/5

Stray Observations

• I found Della’s hatred of fish to be hilarious. She was stuck on the Moon for ten years, but she still hates fish.

• Donald’s never looked so peaceful before. Too bad it didn’t last.

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Ducktales, “The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!” Review

We live in a world where superheroes reign supreme in pop culture, and at the moment, Disney seems to own the majority of them. Even Ducktales has its own superhero in the form of Fenton Cabrera, AKA Gizmoduck.

Past episodes have shown that Fenton loves being Gizmoduck, but being a superhero is a hard job. He’s working so hard helping others that can’t even get his own life together. That may have changed in this episode, though.

While out looking for materials for an experiment, Fenton runs into this super-cool scientist named Gandra Dee. And despite him trying to downplay it, Huey uses the Junior Woodchuck Guide to point out that he’s interested in her. So when Fenton invites her to his lab to talk shop, he and Webby team up to play matchmaker.

It’s as hilarious as it sounds. Fenton has no idea what he’s doing, which is sweet. But once he just starts being himself, he and Gandra do end up bonding over their shared love of science. Also, Gandra used nanites to upgrade her body to generate electricity and turn her eyes into a wireless camera.

So yeah, the date’s going great. Except it turns out Gandra’s working for Ducktales equivalent of Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Beaks. He uses Gandra to get the password to the Gizmoduck suit out of Fenton, drinks and incredibly dangerous amount of Gandra’s nanite serum to Hulk out and kidnap Webby and Huey.

It’s actually a pretty awesome superhero fight, and while Gandra makes it clear she’s only looking out for herself, she does end up help Fenton take down the newly minted Mega-Beaks. Using his weakness for social media against him is brilliant!

But alas, Gandra flies the coop before Fenton can thank her. Though she does leave behind a gift: the equation to help with that project he created.

So, what did I think of this episode? I liked it. It had all the hallmarks of a classic superhero story: mild-mannered hero who’s overwhelmed by his double life, potential love interest with gray morality, and a comic book ending. It may seem cliche, but it’s a tried and true formula in superhero stories. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

I Give “The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee” a 4.5/5

Plus, it makes sense that they do a Gizmoduck episode now, because tomorrow’s episode is going to involve this 90s Disney icon:

LET’S GET DANGEROUS!

Stray Observations

• This is the second episode in a row where we haven’t seen Scrooge McDuck.
• Did you guys notice how many weird things that Launchpad has dated over the years
• Fenton keeps a list of all the people who know he’s Gizmoduck. Not so good at keeping a secret identity, huh?

• I just realized that Dr. Atmozphere looks just like Doofenshmirtz!

Ducktales, “Friendship Hates Magic” Review

What’s a good way to help a reboot stand out from the original? By adding a well-written, never-before-seen character. Enter Lena De Spell, Magica’s shadow turned sentient “niece” who became Webby’s best friend. At the end of last season, Lena sacrificed herself to save Webby, but she survived as Webby’s shadow.

I thought that was the end to Lena’s story for the foreseeable future, but in this episode of Ducktales, we get to see the return of Lena. Also, the title’s a clear reference to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Two of the greatest cartoons of the decade for the price of one!

Ever since the Shadow War, Webby’s been researching a way to bring back Lena, who’s been following her around ever since, and making unheard but sassy remarks about her routine. When she runs into this other girl named Violet Sabrewing and strikes up a friendship, she ends up inviting her to McDuck Manor for a sleepover. Lena doesn’t take it very well.

What I like most about this episode is that it really gives Lena a chance to show off her character development. When we first met her, she only befriended Webby so she could get in with Scrooge, but then she actually became her friend. And in this episode, she proves how possessive she is of Webby.

If there’s one thing that I have learned, it’s that jealousy in cartoons can lead to disaster. I think we can all understand where Lena’s coming from, though: she doesn’t want the one person who cares about her to forget her in the end, and she sees a lot of her old self in Violet. At least, that’s what she thinks.

Turns out, Violet wasn’t trying to do anything wrong; she just wanted to satisfy her curiosity about the supernatural. I liked that the writers decided to go with the simple, straightforward route. Giving her ulterior motives would have just been a repeat of Lena, which would have been uninteresting. Instead, Lena ends up being the cause of the problems, as her negative emotions release dark shadows called Tulpas.

By the end of the episode, Webby, Lena, and Violet combine their powers to banish the darkness, and through the magic of friendship/plot convenience, the friendship bracelet Lena made for Webby restores her to the physical world.

Great, now they have to make sure that they continue to use Lena and Violet. If done right, they could be a great addition to the show’s cast.

Also, I really like the sub-plot involving Mrs. Beakley and Launchpad bonding over their shared love of heroes. And that means… DARKWING DUCK!!! That show has been teased time and again since Ducktales started, and if you missed the news, Darkwing Duck will get its own episode this Friday!

So, this episode, while a little bit creepy at times, turned out to be a heartwarming experience for all, and proof of why Ducktales is one of Disney’s flagship shows right now. When Star vs. The Forces of Evil ends this Sunday, Ducktales will be the most suited to take its place. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I give “Friendship Hates Magic” a 4/5.