Ducktales Reboot First Impressions

In case you missed it, the much anticipated reboot of the Ducktales series made its debut on August 12th on Disney XD in the US. Disney is so confident about the series that it aired the premiere all day for 24 hours on the network, then have it up on streaming services like Amazon Prime, all the way to being easily available on Youtube. Seriously, Disney REALLY wants you to pay attention to Ducktales. As you may or may not have already known, Ducktales is a reboot of the original series of the same name back in the 80s, itself a loose adaptation of the Duck Universe comics written by Carl Barks and later by Don Rosa.

The series premiere begins with Donald and his nephews pretty much behaving as they are best known for in the classic short films. When Donald has to go to a job interview and the boys getting rid of their babysitter, Donald reluctantly takes Huey, Dewey, and Louie under the care of his uncle, Scrooge McDuck. However, Donald and Scrooge have an estranged relationship that isn't explained as to why, though it's been noted they haven't had any contact with each other in 10 years.

As the richest duck in the world, Scrooge appears very cold towards his nephews and the latter do question what became of him as Scrooge was famous as an adventurer during his younger years. Nevertheless, the boys' attraction to trouble led them to dangerous situations that sparked the fire back inside Scrooge, which motivates him to bring them along on a expedition to find the Lost City of Atlantis and its treasures. Donald would unknowingly join them as his job application has him work as a sailor for Scrooge's rival, Flintheart Glomgold, who is also after Atlantis.

First off, I am very happy that Donald has a more active role in this series as opposed to the original Ducktales where he is a guest character. I mentioned it before that it's because of Donald, who is my all-time favorite Disney character that I was drawn into Ducktales, eventually warming up to Uncle Scrooge as the protagonist. Donald's larger role in the reboot is much needed indeed as he hasn't had a series with him in a major role since the failed Quack Pack series. Yes, there's the Mickey Mouse shorts, but he is mostly a supporting character there.

Storywise, as expected of Ducktales, it has a more adventure-based narrative. But it also has a bit of drama thrown in with Scrooge and Donald having a very tense relationship. As Don Rosa's "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" was said to be a required reading for all the staffers involved with the reboot, I'm very interested if this new Ducktales will contain the same amount of drama and seriousness as in the comic book. While Gravity Falls and the Goofy movies have similar themes at some points, the scale is smaller when compared to the Duck Universe comics. I'd give a huge respect to Disney if they did made the reboot give just as much an emotional impact as would the comics.

That's not to say Ducktales shouldn't have any light-heartedness. I do welcome the shenanigans it brings. While there isn't anything in the first two episodes that would make you laugh (I mean, Disney is NOT known for their comedy, but that's another story), it did gave me a few chuckles. My favorite is Huey giving Launchpad instructions and Launchpad follows through instantaneously even though he is taking orders from a kid whom he just met.

The 1-hour premiere reveals that Ducktales will have plenty of lore that's waiting to be discovered. Observant viewers will notice the show gives many references to previous Disney shows like Darkwing Duck and Goof Troop, among others. Of course, these could be just mere Easter Eggs, or it is possible that Ducktales is intended to create an animated, interconnected Disney universe, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The biggest lore that got many viewers interested in is with regards to Scrooge's past. In the reboot, Donald was Scrooge's companion when he was still an adventurer. But it turns out Scrooge has a 2nd companion - Della Duck, Donald's sister and the mother of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Since then, there has been a lot of fanart and maybe a few fan fictions as well of Donald and Della together, painting them as incredibly close. You could say that the fans' interpretations of Donald and Della are similar to that of Dipper and Mabel in Gravity Falls.

In the comics, Donald became the legal guardian of the boys when Della met a tragic fate. It's unknown at this point if the reboot will follow through with that story, or just say Della went missing for several years. Regardless, the fate of Della Duck serves as the catalyst for the breakdown in relations between Scrooge and Donald, the latter becoming the nephews' legal guardian, explains his over-protectiveness to the boys, and the latter's troublesome behavior towards their uncle.

From what I've heard, a number of people who worked on the reboot have also worked on the Italian Disney comics. The Italian Disney comics are well known for further expanding the stories of the Disney characters and placing them in a number of genres and tones that are very popular. It does explain why the art style and animation of the Ducktales reboot seems a bit more in-tune with the comics.

Some people complained about the voices of the characters being not as good as the classic ones, especially that of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, who are given much older voices even though they're supposed to be pre-teens. Honestly, after watching the first few minutes, I was already accustomed to their voices. What's surprising to me is that although Huey, Dewey, and Louie are played by three different voice actors, I still couldn't tell them apart from their voices because they all sound quite similar to one another.

Mrs. Beakley is another surprise. She's supposed to be an elderly housekeeper at the McDuck manor except she's far more than that. While we don't know exactly how old she is other than she is Webby's grandmother, the best way I could describe Beakley is she is Ducktale's counterpart to Brock Samson of the Venture Bros. with a cool British accent. Best guess is Beakley is a retired Secret Service agent whom Scrooge hired as housekeeper and secretary, much to Beakley's chagrin with regards to the latter.

As for David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck, he fits the role perfectly. This is mainly because Scrooge is supposed to be Scottish and Tennant is a native Scotsman himself. So the two blend so seamlessly you actually believe Scrooge is a native Scotsman.

Out of all the voices in the series, the biggest surprise is Donald. Tony Anselmo has been playing the character for years. But Donald's voice wasn't meant to be used when talking seriously, and it's always used as a gag. If you've seen the classic Donald Duck shorts, you know his voice is part of that gag. Imagine Donald as Michael Stevens from VSauce and explaining serious science subject, and it would sound awkward with that voice of his.

But Anselmo has somehow managed to get that part of Donald's voice to work. When Donald speaks to the boys, he speaks as a parent. And when he shows his disdain towards Scrooge, he legitimately shows it - all while in the classic Donald voice. When you hear it, it doesn't sound awkward at all, but more like Donald's voice just comes out naturally you wouldn't even think about it. Now I want to hear Anselmo doing Donald's voice in the Paperinik and Double Duck stories as those place Donald in an even more serious role than he is in Ducktales.

And to all the aspiring voice actors out there, take Anselmo's role as Donald in Ducktales as study material. If you could do Donald's voice while engaging in a normal conversation, or reading Shakespeare while maintaining character and not sounding too awkward, you'd be hired.

All-in-all, I am very very impressed with the Ducktales reboot and is definitely THE Disney show I will be devotiing my full attention to when the series returns in September. It does justice to both the original series and the comics and Donald Duck is given his proper due that fans and critics truly appreciate. I do recommend you check it out if you haven't so already. The first two episodes of the Ducktales reboot is easily available almost everywhere, even on Youtube, while the series will return with weekly episodes coming this September on Disney XD in the US.

Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 3 Review

In case you missed it, Voltron: Legendary Defender came out last week in the US on Netflix. To my surprise, the third season's number of episodes was shorter, with just 7 episodes total. However, the 4th Season is said to be coming this October, which is two months from now as of this recording. I had the feeling Netflix is taking cues from Cartoon Network and started splitting episodes just because.

When I learned that the series will have 78 episodes total, I was both surprised and a bit concerned. It's because it's been awhile since we had an action-oriented animated series with an ongoing story arc that lasted for more than 50 episodes. In Japan, most anime wrap themselves up between 12 and 24 episodes. Sure, we have Dragon Ball Super and One Piece who are well beyond the 100 episode mark. But look up the rest of the pack and you will notice a number of them don't last that very long.

Of course, the US has a number of animated shows that go beyond 50 episodes, but that's mainly because the episodes themselves have almost no overarching plot. Even Batman: The Animated Series and Samurai Jack have mainly standalone episodes and only a number of them are part of a major story arc. The last series I can remember where you have to watch the show where it's an ongoing arc from beginning to end would be the Avatar franchise. Unless I am mistaken, there's only like a couple of episodes where it is a standalone, or a recap episode of sorts.

Long story short, I was expecting Voltron: Legendary Defender to wrap itself up after 3 seasons. But if the show is to have 78 episodes total, I just wonder how they can keep the show going without appearing like it's dragging itself for too long.

Anyhow, the main plot of the 3rd season of Legendary Defender can be divided into three parts - the search for the missing Shiro, who disappeared at the end of Season 2; the eventual transition of the pilots to the status quo we know from the original Voltron and GoLion anime; and the team's battle with Lotor. With this season only 7 episodes long, these major arcs get resolved rather quickly.

The search for Shiro was pretty much resolved within two episodes total, mainly in episodes 1 and 5. The first episode has Keith and the team desperately looking for Shiro. At the same time, within the span of 3 episodes, Keith and the gang would transition into the Voltron team we all know. I had no issues with the transition as it went smoothly and feels natural. Keith still has his hot-headedness, but he slowly shows markings of being a leader, just as Shiro wanted him to be.

Shiro's arc is exclusively in the 5th episode, as we see what became of him after Season 2, and eventually reuniting with the team. At that point, he can no longer pilot the Black Lion, as Keith is now it's new.....owner? Master? Anyhow, he does replace Allura's post as he commandeers the castle with Coran.

That being said, the episode slightly reveals that Shiro is more than he appears to be. As Shiro makes his escape from Galran captivity, he had a vision of him being subject in a series of experiments as part of "Operation: Kuron", highly implying Shiro is unknowingly playing as a sleeper agent for the Galra. Does that mean he will eventually betray the team? And what then? We will not know until many episodes later, not necessarily the next season.

I really do like the way Lotor is written in Legendary Defender. He is shown to be far more cunning and skilled than his Defender of The Universe counterpart, and has proven to be just as much an arch-enemy to the Voltron team as Zarkon. While he and Zarkon have the same goal of ruling the universe, Lotor's way of ruling differ from his father's that the two have an estranged relationship. Lotor also has an entourage of female Galra fighters by his side who are just as fearless as they are loyal, if not enamored to him.

I did not expect the series to play the multiverse card and that Voltron's origins and power stems from an ore that travels through alternate realities. The Quintessence, which is the power source of Voltron and Zarkon, actually originated from another dimension. Zarkon becoming a bad guy was mainly due to the overexposure of the Dark Quintessence that corrupted him and his wife Honerva, now the witch Hagar.

At this point, Zarkon's obsession with the Black Lion and Voltron now makes a lot of sense. Zarkon needs Voltron to open up the rift and extract the Pure Quintessence for himself. Lotor has the same idea and is following through with his plan. Though I do wonder if Lotor is also aware of his parents being corrupted by the Dark Quintessence and if it's a possibilty that he plans to use the Pure Quintessence to cure them. Or maybe he really just wants it for himself. Who knows?

Going back to the multiverse concept, although subtle and doesn't really say much, I get the impression that Voltron: Legendary Defender is not a reboot of the original Defender of The Universe series. Think something like the Powerpuff Girls or the Ben 10 reboots in which they are in actuality continuations of their past shows. In the case of Legendary Defender, the multiverse concept suggests the previous Voltron shows exist in other realities that are tied to the universe in Legendary Defender.

In episode 4, when the Voltron team entered an alternate universe where the Alteans are the bad guys, they encounter Sven, who is that universe's version of Shiro. Obviously, the Sven character is a reference to the original Sven in Defender of The Universe. But thanks to the multiverse concept, it could also mean that Sven in Legendary Defender is also a counterpart to the original Sven in Defender of The Universe.

I highly doubt that Legendary Defender will go far enough that the characters would cross over with the previous Voltron incarnations, let alone the GoLion anime. But it would be interesting to see if the two Pidges from Defender of The Universe and Legendary Defender meet and how they would interact, given that they have opposite genders. Hell, if Legendary Defender can somehow use the multiverse concept to introduce the Vehicle Team Voltron aka Dairugger, or the Gladiator Voltron aka Arbegas, I'd have them take my money along with my Netflix subscription.

Although short at 7 episodes, the third season of Voltron: Legendary Defender does a lot better than the last one. And I admit, I was wrong about the dragging part. The series has a lot of stories to tell and the writers did a very good job keeping it interesting and the viewer engaged in its plot. In the end, I am left vey satisfied overall and looking forward to its next season. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the 3rd Season of Voltron: Legendary Defender, a 4 out of 5.

In A Heartbeat Review

So just recently, the short film "In A Hearbeat" was made available and as of this recording, it was the #5 Trending video on Youtube. The movie has been hyped up for quite some time and it's finally out for us to see.

By looking at this promotional poster, you can pretty much get the idea what the short film is about. Ginger-haired boy has a crush on the Cool Guy and you get this anthropomorphic heart who's all giggidy on the whole thing it wants to make the shipping of the two happen.

What I didn't expect was that the heart was actually Ginger-Head Boy's own heart who bursts out of his chest and having a life of its own, then chases after Cool Guy unapologetically showing its affections. Ginger-Head Boy tries to stop his own heart to save the embarrassment.

I have a question about that, believe me. Shouldn't Ginger-Head Boy be dead after his heart bursted out? I know it's just make-believe, but still even an 8-year old can tell if your heart gets ripped out, you should be as dead as Kano's Fatality in Mortal Kombat.

Moving on, the whole fiasco got everyone's attention, Ginger-Head Boy feels so bad, his heart becomes broken, quite literally, and leaves the school. Cool Guy finds him, gets his heart back together, then the two sat next to each other while their hearts glow and formed into one. The End.

Yes, it's THAT short. And quite frankly, that is my biggest rant on the film. It has a lot of potential to be a great romantic short that it just fell apart! Ok, so a guy trying to win a girl's heart, or in this case, another guy's heart, is trope-ish. But if it's well written and well executed, it's gonna do wonders and no one will rant about it. But because the film is so incredibly short that there is virtually no build-up and it just falls apart after the halfway point! There is just no room for the viewer to invest in the characters! I WANT to care for these characters but the film doesn't give me a solid reason why I should other than do it for the movie's own sake!

What I would do, if I were to write this film (I'm not a writer, but if I were...), I would make the runtime go longer. Ginger-Head Boy's heart, instead of being this ultra-affectionate thingamajig, would be more of a matchmaker. Help the boy get closer to the guy; build a relationship; do a number of funny moments along the way; the two get closer; THEN we get to the broken heart part; THEN Cool Guy repairs the heart; THEN we get the ending. If that were to happen, I would appreciate this film a lot more.

The message is there. If you really love someone,  there's nothing wrong with that, no matter who that person is. It's just that the film is too short and the execution less than average that the message has very little impact.

I'm disappointed. I'm really, really disappointed. In A Heartbeat had a LOT of potential to be a really good film, and the animation is incredible you'd think it's from Pixar. But it just did not make the cut for me. I'm not saying it's bad film as it's not. But I won't call it as one of the best animated shorts out there either. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the animated short, "In A Heartbeat", a 3 out of 5.