Well so, this newDuckTalesturned out great.
The gang met Greek gods, and someone built a problematic Uber for superhero justice.
Did I mention the voice of Allison Janney?
Credit: Disney Channel
Did I mention the voice of Lin-Manuel Miranda?
Did I mention the voice of Don Cheadle as Donald Duck?
But the newDuckTalesdigs deeper into the comic book source material, too.
He was alone in his mansion, fist-clenching on a red armchair, beak festooned with a determined frown.
Notable addition: McDuck cries!
More than just a feat of rebootery,DuckTalescarved some new directions for these characters.
The emotional palette got complicated.
Scrooges nephews had clear delineations.
Louie (green, Bobby Moynihan) was lazy, money-obsessed, the leisure class personified.
A sense of lost history regained defined the series.
Standalone adventures dug into McDucks century-plus lifetime as an explorer tycoon.
If theres one reboot crutch the newDuckTalesleans on, its a penchant for turning everyone into an action hero.
Visually, the new Mrs. Beakley suggests Henry Cavill wearing shoulder pads made of other Henry Cavills.
But theyre all suchdrollaction heroes.
Allison Janney guest-starred as an old Scrooge flame, Goldie OGilt.
On the newDuckTales, shes a master thief, an ideal foil for straight-edge Scrooge.
There was a sweet humanity to the original interpretation.
Reunited after long decades, Goldie and Scrooge swapped stories about their apparent immortality.
Found a fountain of youth in Wronguay, Goldie said, no big deal.
Stuck in a timeless demon dimension, Scrooge retorted, sounding quite proud of himself.
Sorry, wait: There aremultipletimeless demon dimensions?
Some of the bestDuckTalesmoments are like that: tossed off, self-aware, dizzy with overcomplication.
From Hades heart I stab at thee!, simultaneously paraphrasing Herman Melville andThe Wrath of Khan.
Dewey spent a birthday party communicating via keytar, wearing the golden Daft Punk helmet.
He sits thereupon, a ruined king on a throne of garbage, a clever image thats grandanddeflating.
All of which would be cute-cool drapery, if the newDuckTalesdidnt have a real gift characterization.
But Micuccis great performance gives Webbys effusiveness an air of lonely-kid striving.
Theres depth in the supporting cast, too.
On some (great) shows, hed be a throwaway gag.
OnDuckTales, he got a job.
Lots of these characters (even Manny!)
pop up in Saturdays finale, The Shadow War.
Its a great wrap-up, satisfyingly closing out a couple plot threads while finding room for the large ensemble.
Theres one aspect I struggled with; Ill have a spoiler-y review up over the weekend.
But Shadow War made me realize another reference point for this new shows achievement.
That pretty well sums up the newDuckTales.
Further crossover: Theres a moment in the finale when Scrooge comes face-to-face with Magica, voiced byWhoalum Tate.
The Doctor and Donna, reunited?
It began with the family setting off in the plane.
Scrooge promised them our greatest adventure yet!
Instead, the gang spent the episode onboard a half-crashed plane, dangling high above the clouds.
Despite the single location, the stakes had never been higher.
