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DuckTales: From the Confidential Casefiles of Agent 22! (2018)
*Crickets chirping*
Episode has poor timing, and again perfectly displays DT's continuity problem of having far too much (unimportant) dialogue and storylines crammed into just 22 minutes, and the final product seems rushed and incohesive as a result. This leaves no chance to build up any tension (note that the opening scene almost immediately starts with a fighting scene, which has no trace of any musical score for some reason, just complete silence occasionally interrupted with these fighting grunts that make it sound like a 1980s video game). Ludwig Von Drake, a great character who has appeared in many Dusney shows, and had been handled with respect to the originals up to this point, is drawn completely off-model and is completely out of character, with the show portraying him as some unlikeable braggart, rather than the pompous but good-hearted and absentminded professor he was in the originals. The show limits him to some flashback in the 1960s, but I suppose the fact that they spoiled their own chances of using the character again is only good, as they simply don't seem to be able to figure out how to use the character properly, instead of making him some walking reference to the old cartoons, and giving zeri thought to characterization or character design. Also, apparently the jokes with nobody being able to finish a sentence before being interrupted is funny? Or is it a time issue? Definitely the weakest episode thus far.
DuckTales: Day of the Only Child! (2018)
Too many cooks and still a lack of main characters
Once again, this episode is representative of the show's tendency. To focus too much on the differentiated nephews. They are too different from each other to be considered anything like their original counterparts, but too similar to each other in both appearance and character to really be considered individual. Individualizing each triplet also fuels DT's conituing problem of having far too many characters and storylines go on at once, leaving little to no depth to each storyline, with 101 things hastily crammed into one episode. Doofus Drake is nothing like his original counterpart, which begs the question: why not just create a new character, rather than insensitively marking your territory on one of the classic characters? Donald is still practically absent from the show (despite initially being advertised as a main character as a major marketing ploy to gain more viewers), and Scrooge and even Beakley are nowhere to be seen. Confusingly, there is also almost no trace of any musical score in this episode, often leaving awkward, prolonged sequences where characters are just looking around or talking to each other in a poorly paced way, without any accompanying sounds. Perhaps it was used to create a specific, awkward atmosphere for some scenes (e.g. The Doofus scenes?). Doesn't succeed, anyway. Just gives off a sense of amateurism
DuckTales (2017)
Crude, angular drawings and far too self-referential
I had been looking forward to this show since it was announced in early 2015, so when it was finally released I was hugely disappointed. The animation and art are of the crude, angular "edgy" kind that dominates today's TV animation. Up to this point, these classic Disney characters and their storylines were always noted for their superb animation, character design and background artwork, that were a pivotal part of the awe and excitement that came with each adventure and truly engaged the viewer in a genuine and charming way. This cartoon abandons this legacy altogether, and even goes so far as to claim that the reason why the characters are so off-model is because it was based on the art styles of Disney Legends Carl Barks and Milt Kahl, as if to shift the blame for their poor performance to these two icons, whose work bears absolutely no resemblance to the crude drawings of the Ducktales reboot series. This comparison is highly insulting to the works of these two artists, who are both noted for their sublime artwork (in comics and animation, respectively) and extensive work on the Disney ducks.
Voice acting is based on "celebrity" status and not on whether or not someone fits the character. A lot of voices are television actors and not professional voice actors, leaving the voice work awkwardly paced and poorly acted.
The show abandons virtually all characterization from the characters' original incarnations, to the point where they are similar in name only to their original counterparts. The showrunners basically created an unrelated TV cartoon, using the DuckTales show and character names just as a marketing trick to get more viewers. The humor is endlessly self-referential and sarcastic, and every sense of adventure or excitement is deflated by some snarky sarcastic comment by one of the nephews, who, along with the show's sitcom-esque structure are more reminiscent of Quack Pack than anything else.
In the end, any reboot of this beloved franchise would have naturally done well in ratings, but this could and should have been done so much better. The show had such huge potential, but all it does is focus of change for the sake of change. Don Rosa, comics creator who worked on a number of popular Disney comics featuring these characters, has also expressed his dislike of this show, saying it "bears virtually no resemblance whatsoever" to Barks original comics. I couldn't agree more...
Legend of the Three Caballeros (2018)
Beautiful, polished animation and an amazing throwback to classic cartoons
Unfortunate that the show has only been released in the Philipines so far, but I can testify that this show is genuinely fantastic. Finally, it seems like Disney has returned to the type of classic, on-model animation that made it so popular. It is a perfect hommage to the original film and classic Disney short subject of the 30s and 40s in both humor and visuals. Some of the regular voice actors gave been replaced (Jaime Camil is now the voice of Panchito, which fits him like a glove), but the voice acting is still terrific. Storylines and adventure scenarios are very genuine and exciting, and not too cluttered or deflated with bad jokes. The show also takes clear influence from the Carl Barks and Don Rosa comics, including the inclusion of Daisy's nieces, April May and June instead of the usual Huey, Dewey and Louie (thereby cleverly solving the "Smurfette effect") and Clinton Coot.
Remarkable how refreshing it can be to just not follow the crowd for once, and go back to the roots of these classic characters. It makes the series stand out from the crude, angular, and endlessly sarcastic/self-referential cartoons that dominate today's TV sceens. A true Disney renaissance!