ROCKS 4B: DuckTales Curse Of Castle McDuck-Hero For Hire-Duck In The Iron Mask

WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE SECOND DISCUSSION IN THE FOURTH STRAND OF THE NEW CLUB "R.O.C.K.S." - REWATCHING OLD CLASSIC KIDS SHOWS!
A big thanks to everyone that are joining us through all of this. It’s going to be an enjoyable ride!

Threads 4A through 4D will focus on the 80s classic DuckTales, and specifically this week, we're discussing the following episodes:

The Curse Of Castle McDuck
Hero For Hire
Duck In The Iron Mask

Just the usual friendly reminder to everyone that, whilst fans are obviously welcome to passionately discuss and give their views on these episodes, please remember to keep things on a friendly footing and respect your fellow posters.
Also, please do not post where or how to find the full episode online. And do not post asking others to PM it to you. You are however allowed to watch the show in whatever manner you want.

The Curse of Castle McDuck

This episode felt more like a Scooby Doo episode because of the basic plot similarities. Some bad guy using an ancient spooky myth to their own advantage only to be discovered in the end. Except here the druids weren’t evil.

The episode didn’t feel as “epic” as many other DuckTales episodes mainly because of the small main cast, but it is still not bad. It was nice to see a little bit of Scrooge’s background, his childhood photo, his toys, and his wooden piggy bank. :)


Hero for Hire

This is Launchpad’s episode all the way. Even Scrooge himself is relegated to a secondary role. Seeing as Launchpad isn’t the brightest character in the DuckTales universe, it was only a matter of time before someone uses him to do their dirty work for them. In this case it was the Beagle Boys and Ma Beagle. Though I have to admit I am not familiar with these three Beagle Boys. I wonder why they didn’t use the common trio (Bigtime, Burger, Bouncer).

I really liked Launchpad’s hero costume! It was like an inverse Bananaman costume. I wonder why they named him the “Webbed Wonder”? Maybe a nod to Spider-Man, but Launchpad didn’t shoot any webs etc. This was also the first time that I saw Launchpad without his headgear and saw his real Elivs hairdo. He is almost unrecognizable without his pilot’s cap.

The name that Bankjob Beagle adopts “Mr. Spielbig” is clearly a nod to Steven Spielberg. I liked this episode very much but I REALLY never liked Doofus! :mad: The end was very funny too when Laucnhpad “negotiates” his raise by agreeing to half his previous salary! LOL! :laugh


Duck in the Iron Mask

Another episode set primarily in a castle (not my favorite setting), but I enjoyed this episode more than “The Curse of Castle McDuck” as it had a more fleshed out story and more characters as well as more humor and action.

The story is clearly inspired by the work of Alexandre Dumas including some of the names (Montedumas). I like how the story segues from Dewey’s “twin identity crisis” into that of Count Roy’s evil twin. It was also nice to see Peg-Leg Pete as Captain Pietro. That’s one of the great things about DuckTales, many of the old Mickey, Donald, Goofy cartoon characters make an appearance in this series in one form or another.

There is no shortage of verbal humor with Launchpad having the best lines! :biggrin

Some really good episodes.

'The Curse of Castle McDuck' was my favourite of these three episodes. I like Scooby Doo and mysteries so this one really appealed to me. The title also reminds me of a Duckula episode. It's funny how many 80's cartoons had the characters visit an ancient castle in Scotland.

'Hero for Hire' was enjoyable and showed how good of a character Launchpad was to carry an episode by himself as the main star. I like how the Beagle Boys had different height and body proportions.

'Duck in the Iron Mask' was really good in terms of characters with the identity crisis between Huey, Dewey and Louie however I disliked the setting of the episode with the village dress and technology as if it was still the 17th century.

The Curse Of Castle McDuck

This episodeis important as I think it's the only time we get a present-day look at Scrooge's homeland. Yes, there is a Scooby Doo element to the episode, but there's more than that, it owes much to the Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound Of The Baskervilles too. The ending works well - the Druid circle is shown vaguely in the background at all times without it being obvious until the Druid points it out. There's a bit of incidental music here, when they decide they're going to get to the bottom of this mystery, that always makes me think of Defenders Of The Earth. It crops up a few times in the series.

Hero For Hire

Launchpad had several good episodes during the series' run, but this is probably the best one to really show off his whole character. The nephews are completely absent, and even Scrooge is only in a very few scenes, but it doesn't matter because Launchpad is a good enough character to carry the episode. The Beagle Boys being different ones from the main three, I looked it up, and apparently these three appear in a few episodes in place of the more regular ones. There's lots of other Beagle Boys besides these two sets, although usually these are "specialist" Beagle characters who join the regulars because they have a particular skill required for the job in hand, or they are the foreign relatives who live in the country that's being visited.

As for this episode, yes, it's a good one. The way the Beagle Boys use Launchpad to pull off their bank robberies works. He's stupid enough to do it. "Spielbig" for Spielberg is good - I wonder if they were tempted to say "Beagleberg" though! Gyro's invention also came through, although it is curious how it's only designed to detect the Beagle Boys - are there no other would-be robbers in Duckberg? Still, the story holds up.

Duck In The Iron Mask

Another important episode as it's the only time the triplets' identical appearance is ever explored as a character/plot point (other than the odd prank). And until you mentioned it Wilycub, I'd never noticed that the theme deliberately coincides with the twins Roy and Ray in this episode, which is odd as it's one of the episodes I remember best from my youth! Even when I watched the whole series again as an adult a couple of years back. It's like in Thundercats' "The Shifter" when Panthro and Snarf are arguing at the start, I spotted that as an adult, but not this for some reason!

In any case, it's another good episode. Peg-Leg Pete made several appearances in the DuckTales universe, never as the same character, as it were, Scrooge encountered a few different Petes. Launchpad did indeed get some great lines. I think my favourite is when Scrooge tells him to do something, "I am doin' somethin' - I'm crashin'!"

The story owes a lot to Dumas, the twin brother being held prisoner in an iron mask most notably, and the name Montedumas (Dumas and Monte Cristo), and of course the triplets done up as the Three Musketeers, but it also give a little nod to the Robin Hood legends. Roy and Ray are basically King Richard and Prince John, with Pietro as the Sheriff of Nottingham (or in this case Montedumas), the unjust ruler oppressing the citizens while the rightful king is away, or in this case, usurped. The two elements blend together very nicely. Reminds me, I need to watch my DVD of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood again!

I only got a chance to watch The Curse Of Castle McDuck but my kids and I enjoyed it. I really like the druids and the old castle setting. A bit of eerie with the usual laughs sprinkled in. Overall a solid episode.