Could it be that we're just out of practice at deciphering Donald-speak? For me, it's been many years since I've needed to try.
In the old Disney shorts, Donald didn't have to give exposition dumps, it was all just about him losing his temper where it served its purpose adding to the chaos of his tantrums. Back to DuckTales, the nephews are horrible! They have annoying personalities and their voices are simply grating. I never really watched much of the originals so I don't thinks it's nostalgia talking or whatever. With them being such a big focus it makes it hard to watch. IMO, the whole thing felt too quickly paced to me, even the commercials are hyper. I've watched modern cartoons albeit generally on Cartoon Network so I don't think it's me just being an old man. I think it'd be better served taking it down a notch or two.
I just saw a few minutes of the pilot and I'm not impressed. The voices for the nephews aren't working for me, the animation is dull and just the presentation looked incomplete, since the version I watched had all the action take place in a rectangle that was at a 45 degree angle, on top of what looked like an ink blotter, as though the rectangle was a photo on a desk.
What? That's not what the proper version of the episode that aired on TV looked like, so you can hardly blame its makers for how somebody else distorted it. Where did you see this?
I've been waiting for this since it was first announced and it met every expectation I had while still managing to be a lot funnier that I was hoping! I get easily hyped for, and also easily entertained by, a lot of cartoons so it was really unlikely that I would have disliked this series, but it was still great. But the nice surprise was how funny I thought Glomgold Flintheart was. Definitely a modern style comedy-villain, but he had some of the best jokes. "He thinks he's SOOO rich, and SOOO Scottish >:O!" was lol-funny for me. Absolutely love the casting, voice acting, and overall design of the series. This is definitely a show I will follow week to week.
^Okay, that looks like one of those bootleg videos that shrink the image down so the automatic plagiarism detection software doesn't spot it. You should've waited for the legitimate version, which is now up on DisneyXD's YouTube channel:
Actually I was just searching for reviews and that popped up. Anyway, I'm really not liking Webigail, as I've just watched a few episodes of the original and she seems better in the 80's version. In the 80's she's presented as more of a little sister to the nephews (not to mention but she has that little duck accent, just like the nephews and To a lesser extant Donald). Also Donald's explanation for being away and why Scrooge is taking care of them is more acceptable, as Donald joins the navy in the pilot movie (or 5-part episode as it is on DVD).
I don't remember Webby having anything other than a sweet little-girl voice. I just watched a clip on YouTube to make sure, and she definitely didn't have the raspy quality that the nephews' voices had. Perhaps the similarity you hear is due to the fact that Russi Taylor played all four children.
I was watching Castle McDuck last night, and Webby does have it, not as much as the boys, but it sounded like Russi Taylor was giving her a feminine version.
I finally had a chance to watch the two episodes and I loved them. The animation style is wonderful and I particularly like the basic color palette and the background aesthetic. The show also has a lot of humor, both the harking back to the original show and the new show's own brand of sharp humor. Only Tennant's Scrooge, Micucci's Webby and Olagundoye's Beakley stood out positively to me, but I'm sure the rest of the cast will shine more in future episodes. I agree that Donald is really hard to understand but I always had that problem with the character so that's nothing new for me. Webby was especially a highlight, going from a passive annoyance to a gung-ho adventuress who pushes the triplets around. I also loved all the visual references in Scrooge's "garage" to the various adventures of the previous season. Hopefully that means the new series will be focusing on creating its own adventures instead of retelling the old ones.
I just finished rewatching the two episodes and I really enjoyed them. It is not easy to update a show and capture the magic of the original but the reality is that Disney managed it with this new version of DuckTales! Great acting, lots of funny moments and adventure in true DuckTales style. I'm really looking forward to more! I also hope that Disney finally releases season 4 of the original show in DVD!
My wife and I really enjoyed the premiere. This show is already among my favorite 10 currently-running comedies. As usual, though, we need the subtitles if we want to consistently understand Donald. On a funny note: my wife didn't think Scrooge sounded Scottish. She didn't know David Tennant is himself Scottish because he used a different accent on Doctor Who.
Also, most Americans' idea of a Scottish accent is a caricature that's very different from the real thing. David Tennant is the first actual Scot to play Scrooge McDuck, and the second non-American (Alan Young was an English-born Canadian).
This reminds me of an article I read about one if the American actors on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think he played Spike. He had to use a voice coach to learn a British accent, but some fans in London complained that he didn't sound British. The voice coach had actually taught the actor a British accent, but it was an obscure regional one that is not normally found in London. I've been hesitant to say someone 'doesn't sound ___insert nationality/region__' ever since.
^I recall reading that James Marsters got help from Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) to improve his Spike accent. I once complained that the guy who played the Irish character who was briefly an Angel regular in the first season -- Doyle? -- had a very unconvincing Irish accent, only to be informed that he was genuinely Irish. So I've been there too.
"Normal is overrated." That there is the very essence of this show. By demonstrating the triplets embrace of Webby's weird quirks, the series shows to kids of all ages (including us adults set in our ways) that not only is it okay to be different, it's a strong and positive quality. I'm like how the show is breaking up the cast to have their own side adventures, with Donald and Mrs. Beakley (she's a spy!) resolving differences and the triplets doing their own individual stories. Louie learned the importance of a hard day's work and Dewey teamed up with Webby to learn about his mother, while Huey sat out for the episode. Margo Martindale as Ma Beagle is inspired casting, just as I figured she would be (and not just because of Justified). Launchpad hasn't had much to do, but we've finally met Gyro as well as Lil Bulb! Four episodes in and there's already plenty of stories to mine for and we haven't even met Magika, Goldie, or Gizmoduck (or even Fenton) yet.