Okay, those are all more recent than my experience with CN, so maybe their policy has changed. I was thinking of their various Batman series, Ben 10, Scooby-Doo, and the like. I should've offered the caveat that my experience with Cartoon Network is a bit rusty, since I don't think I've watched anything on there in a few years. But I guess I didn't realize how long it had been. But the core point remains, that it's not exclusively a Disney practice to end kids' cable shows after a few years.
I never denied that was the case; I merely said it wasn't exclusive to Disney. Other children's cable networks have done much the same thing in the past. That's why I think it has more to do with toy companies and their desire for new product. I remember reading that that was Cartoon Network's reason for cancelling or rebooting all its Batman and Ben 10 shows after 65 episodes or less. So it stands to reason that if the Disney Channel does the same thing, it's motivated by the same commercial considerations.
Season two premieres October 20 and there will be a Christmas episode this year (the latter confirmed by Tennant at a Q&A panel earlier this month).
The show triumphantly returned with its second season yesterday and the premiere was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the introspection into Louie's character and how he fits in with the rest of the family while also subvert the adventure genre. But the best part was how Scrooge noticed Louie's particular skill set (carefully analyzing the situation and executing the the best plan) is just like his mother, the very thing that Louie needed to hear at this point in his life. I'm also thrilled that Ghost Duckworth is here to stay. Plus, Magica has taken her rightful spot in the opening, replacing one of the Beagle Boys, now that she has been properly revealed in the show.
Yeah, it was pretty good. It still annoys me that this show is more invested in deconstructing the idea of adventure and showing the personal downtime between adventures than actually just going on adventures, but this one turned it around in the last act by having the offscreen meta-adventure become onscreen and the key to resolving the personal arc. I liked the bit about how 30 years of trying to figure out what Donald was saying made Scrooge great at charades.
Yeah, I would like to see more full-blown adventures, but like you said, the meta-commentary was properly built into Louie's personal arc in the episode and made it more satisfying than some of the previous meta-commentaries. I laughed so hard at that joke that I had to rewind the episode because I missed several lines after it. Seems like the writers are paying attention to fan criticisms.
I enjoy this show but it has been frustrating at the same time. Christopher finally explained to me why. It’s the lack of focus on actual adventures. The personality of the characters are great. I guess there is a little precedence from Carl Barks’ original comics. In addition to the adventures in the Uncle Scrooge title he also wrote and drew a separate Donald Duck book. Also both books had secondary comedic short stories about day to day life in Duckburg. Closer to a sitcom. The difference is in a single comic he told both adventures and domestic comedies. While this show is mostly focusing on one at the expense of the other. I am hopeful that as the show produces more episodes and the characters have been fully developed, we see those personalities showcased in actual adventures. This episode was good start in that direction. Duckworth is a good example. The episode that showed he died and is now a ghost felt like a bizarre one time change. But now with him setup and finally using him as a character and not just a plot twist - it works.
Oh, I loved the Duckworth sight gag where he "possessed" the painting to levitate it back up to the wall he'd just finished dusting.
I loved this offbeat intrepid adventure, complete with accepting oneself's weirdness. Or rather another's, as in this case, Huey accepting Dewey's weirdness. I quite liked Fethry's quirkiness, right down to his love of oddities and the fantastical not inherently stemming from being a scientist since he wasn't even one. I don't think I've ever seen the character before (I don't think he was in the original show), but apparently he's been part of the Uncle Scrooge canon for more than half a century, so I'm glad he's now part of the show. Hopefully we'll get to see more of him in the future. I love how Launchpad was busy off on his own side adventure again. I think that's a great running gag.
Other way around. Huey = red, Dewey = blue, Louie = green. He's a character that was created for Disney comic books published outside the US, and was never used in the Carl Barks Duckburg stories. Don Rosa reluctantly included him in his Duck family tree as a second son of Donald's Uncle Eider (whose wife was a loon -- interracial marriage!). According to Wikipedia, this is his first animated appearance. I thought this was a stronger episode than usual. Perhaps because it did such a good job of really conveying an air of adventure and wonder for once rather than just paying postmodern lip service to the idea. The animation on the hydrothermal vents and the giant krill was beautiful, the music was almost as impressive as Ron Jones’s work on the original show, and there was a marvelous sense of discovery and awe.
Oops, thanks for the correction. I was thinking about how Dewey kept wanting a fish named after himself and got confused when I wrote that. Yup, that's what I really loved about this one. Gorgeous animation and properly capturing the spirited adventure with exploring the depths of the unknown, finding new discoveries, and fleeing giant monsters, while also maintaining the deconstructing nature of the show, like the monster isn't actually a monster (even if that's a common theme unto itself).
I didn't expect to see a direct continuation from the season finale, particular in regards to what happened to Flintheart Glomgold, but the result was a nice story about who Glomgold is and what truly drives him. This episode has been sorely needed as he's been largely used for shallow slapstick comedy and didn't have much characterization beyond his stupid schemes that literally blow up in has face. While the Bourne Identity-esque amnesia story is a common one, I did like how the episode explored his nature with the surreal dream (I'm a sucker for surreal dreams) and the flashback to his days in South Africa (although doesn't that make Scrooge really old?). I wish it didn't go with the predictable ending by returning to the old norm without him learning anything from his humble experiences as a fisherman, but I did like how it set up the yearlong contest between him and Scrooge (but hopefully that storyline will play out different from how it did in the original series).
I got the impression, given how hale and healthy he seemed to be in his Duke Baloney persona, that "Glomgold" uses the fake beard to look older than he is, as part of his attempt to copy and outdo everything about Scrooge. Although it was established last season that Scrooge actually is well over a century old, what with various magic spells and fountains of youth and whatnot he's found in his adventures. Anyway, the South African origin helps reconcile the two versions of the Glomgold character -- the Carl Barks version, who was South African, and the '80s DuckTales version, who was Scottish. Also, apparently the "Duke Baloney" name is an allusion to the Duke of Baloni, the second-richest duck in the world, from a Scrooge/Donald comics story.
The episode said that Glomgold’s successor went to school in Mouseton. Which is were Mickey Mouse lives in the comics. That might be the first time that name has been used in animation. The old shorts never gave a specific name for where he lived. Newer cartoons usually followed that tradition. While the theme parks have his house in Toon Town. The tv series “House of Mouse” had the restaurant which the show was named after on Main Street. Also a location in the Magic Kingdom in Disneyland, Walt Disney World, etc.
Well. I didn't expect The Three Caballeros to show up. I probably would've enjoyed the reunion more if I had seen the film more recently than my childhood, but it was still fun watching Donald chumming it up with them to the point that he decides to lie about to them about his life and career (and them in return).
Nobody expects the Three Caballeros! Their chief weapon is surprise. Surprise and fear. Fear and surprise... Their two weapons are fear and surprise -- and ruthless efficiency. Their three weapons are...
I'm binge watching the newest episodes today since I'm doped up on cold meds. I again like this return to my childhood...