Welcome to OMG Ducktales WooHoo!

I've made it no secret that I love animation as a medium, art form, and story telling tool. I find that some stories are better suited for animation than a live action adaptation. There's a lot more freedom with animation to exaggerate emotions and character features.

So about DuckTales...WooHoo!

When I was a small child and would go to visit my grandparents in Michigan, they had a VHS tape that had two episodes of DuckTales. These episodes were "The Curse of Castle McDuck" and "Dinosaur Ducks". Since DuckTales came out in the 80s and I showed up somewhere in the 90s, these were the only episodes I really saw of the show. I did have a VHS copy of DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, but it doesn't feature all of the characters that would be created for the 3 season long show.

I enjoyed what little of the original DuckTales I was able to watch, but I knew that it was flawed. Deeply flawed. The DuckTales movie featured a very racially insensitive character who also appears in the final season of the show. And though I can probably credit "The Curse of Castle McDuck" with my interest in ancient British culture, I admit that seeing Uncle Scrooge take advantage of the Druids in the episode made me feel a little uncomfortable even as a kid.

Because I have no life and a Disney+ subscription, I opted to finally watch all of the original DuckTales episodes to get a better idea where the reboot (which is fantastic by the way) came from.

I'll be honest, I didn't have that much hope that an 80s cartoon would hold up well after nearly 30 years...and I was sort of right. The original DuckTales is definitely entertaining and easy to just kind of leave on in the background while I clean my apartment.

But there are also a lot flaws. Deep, deep flaws. Thankfully, most of these weren't carried over to the new series. 

Like a lot of 80s entertainment, depictions of characters not coded as alabaster white are more than a little problematic...especially characters that are coded as being middle eastern (one of my biggest complaints of the movie I mentioned earlier as well). There's also some classist stereotypes that are also harmful.

I can confidently say that the reboot took steps to either update characters to not have these same problematic issues or has opted to remove the character entirely. Fenton and his mother, for example, goes from being a white trailer trash characters in the original to middle class Latinos, one of whom now works in law enforcement, in the reboot (I 100% prefer Fenton's mom in the reboot to the original). The character Dijon seems to have vanished completely (not that I'm going to complain about that). And efforts have been made to have more inclusive, less culturally insensitive story narratives in the reboot.

Another thing the reboot has going for it that the original doesn't is character development.

The reboot DuckTails has also made an effort to give better characterization to its leads. In the original nephews,  Huey, Dewey, and Louie, were fairly generic boys who were pretty much interchangeable - so much so that it looks like they all shared a voice actor. Webby was basically the annoying little sister trope. Mrs. Beakley seemed to serve no purpose in most of the original episodes. And Duckworth was just there to be a butler.

The only character who has any emotional arc in the original is Scrooge and that's a shallow assessment at best.

Now the reboot has character arcs galore. 

To start, the boys now each have distinct personalities and I can tell them apart (not only because of the different voice actors) by their mannerisms. Louie is definately the "laziest of the bunch with a laidback posture, while Huey is much more mature and responsible. Dewey is an energetic ball of energy in pretty much ever scene he is in (especially if Webby is with him) and it shows. I don't even need the color schemes to tell the triplets apart.

Both Dewey and Louie have great emotional story arcs over the 2 seasons I've watched of the reboot. Louie definitely takes after Scrooge in his money hungry ways, but lacks the hard work ethic Scrooge has. He also is very dissapointed that he wasn't named Rocket like his mother (Della) wanted to name him. Dewey's character journey is equally interesting and often involves Webby as an accomplice/instigator to their antics. Much of season 1 is dedicated to him finding out what happened to his and his brother's mom and the conclusion is really good.

If I had one complaint about the reboot's treatment of the triplets, it's that Huey seems like an afterthought or is treated as a the "stick-in-the-mud" in most of the episodes. As I've only seen the first two seasons (and an occasional episode in Season 3), I can only hope that eventually Huey gets the same character development his brothers are getting.

Webby is probably one of my favorite characters in the reboot and probably wouldn't exist as she is today with out characters like Mable Pines from Gravity Falls. She's hyper and feeds into Dewey's energy, which makes them have a great relationship. She also no longer feels like a "tag-a-long" but a fully realized character with her own motivations. I love the episodes that really focus on her and the friends (not just Dewey and his brothers) she makes.

That leads in to Mrs. Beakley. Like I said earlier, in the original, she's just kind of there to mother and tsk the children. In the reboot, she's basically a retired Bond girl and I love it. She's strict and worries, but is also fully capable of protecting the kids. She works for Scrooge before the series starts (which means that Webby grows up in Scrooge's house) and we get the impression that her employment is more as a deceptive bodyguard than housekeeper or nanny.

Duckworth they turned into a ghost. He's not a nice ghost either and it's implied a couple of times that he didn't make it into heaven in the afterlife, but managed to get somewhere else.

Scrooge is updated too. He's still the money loving adventurer, but his backstory is better fleshed out, we get to meet his parents, and he really truly loves his family...even more than his money. He's still the pinnacle of the "good capitalist" trope, but he's given a much more rounded character.

I could go on and on about the DuckTales reboot, but that isn't the purpose of this post. I watched the original cartoon to see where and how the reboot made it's updates. I can safely say that the reboot is a lot better than the original in pretty much every way. Though it's deeply flawed, I can understand why people love and still watch it. 

Do I recommend the original DuckTales? Not really. 

Is the reboot DuckTales a perfect masterpiece? No, it has its flaws like any story - though it might take another 30 years to recognize that.

Go watch the reboot and when you run out of those episodes, check out Gravity Falls or The Proud Family or Kim Possible. 

In another 30 years, we'll probably get another reboot of these classic cartoons. Transformers seems to have a new cartoon every five years or so. The My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic did a fantastic job at rebooting the series. I do hope that some of the cartoons I grew up with get an updated reboot eventually. I'd love to see a modern take on Hey Arnold, Rugrats, or Code Name Kids Next Door - especially that last one as two-by-four technology must have improved since the early 2000s.

What are some stories from your childhood that you hope get a reboot? I've already listed a few of mine, but I've got a whole list that grows every year. Nostalgia is powerful, but that shouldn't mean that something we enjoy isn't free from criticism. The adults in the room can still share their love of DuckTales with their kids, but I hope it's with the reboot.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Love of Animation

This week, I was saddened to learn about an arson attack committed at the Japanese animation studio Kyoto Animation. 33 people were killed with another 30 injured. Most of the victims were young women in their 20s and 30s.

Though I'm not super familiar with the animation studio's work, I was heart broken to hear about the incident and hope that the perpetrator is brought to justice. From what I understand, he is currently in police custody.

Following the news, a lot of people who couldn't pay their respects in person took to social media to talk about their feelings on the attack and how the studio's animated series and movies touched their lives.

Animation is a beautiful art. One that I think doesn't always get the appreciation it deserves.

There's something magical in the seamless world building created in animation. I never question the reality that Sen finds herself exploring in Spirited Away nor the appearance of the monsters in Moana. Everything fits in without looking fake or unreal. Contrast this with some CGI (particularly early CGI) and I'd take the animated world versus an unrealistic live action one.

Unfortunately some animated series from the US, also known as cartoons, are often only associated with children's entertainment, which isn't a good idea. I wouldn't want a child watching South Park or Futurama.

Gravity Falls is definitely one of the best animated series I've seen in a while that is also family friendly.

I have distinct memories of watching anime (Japanese animation) as a teenager and having someone ask me why I was still watching cartoons at my age. At first I was insulted by the comment, and then horrified by the idea that a young child would watch Black Cat (a fairly violent anime that was in fact geared towards teenagers).

However, I can't fault people for thinking that animation is only for kids. A lot of animated movies are meant for general audiences, especially if they have the Disney logo (or are of the knock off Disney variety) and cartoons, especially if they were made by Hanna-Barbera, were well known to be made on a shoe-string budget for kids. Once the 80s rolled around and regulations loosened on advertising to kids, cartoons were used as a 20 to 30 minute ad for kids to nag their parents into buying the accompanying toys (see anything made by Hasbro).

That doesn't change the fact that people who have since grown up, still look back on the animated works of their youth with fondness. This is likely why we've seen a recent surge in reboots of older series and/or live action remakes. Disney is currently raking in the cash by creating life action remakes of all the 90s movies I grew up with. Personally, I prefer the original animated versions, but there are a few of the remakes I don't mind. I admit that I'm curious as to the changes they made to Mulan (will it be closer to the original story from China?) and Halle Bailey seems like a great fit for the role of Ariel.

I'm not even going to touch the number of sequels that have come out this year.

Animation is some of the first art we're experienced to. Some of my favorite memories are of waking up early to watch Rugrats, Scooby Doo, or Bugs Bunny before my parents woke up. One of the first movies I saw in theaters was The Lion King and it blew my young mind away.

I'm currently writing this blog post while watching Spirited Away. It's one of my all time favorite movies (though Castle in the Sky will always be my number one Studio Ghibli film). I don't think I'd enjoy it nearly as much if it weren't animated. The world building, backgrounds, and characters all seem so tangible animated.

Castle in the Sky is beautiful and I recommend it to everyone.

The tragedy at Kyoto Animation is heart breaking and I hope the people who were injured are able to recover. They touched a lot of people's lives through their work.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Iconic Part 2: The Cartoon Icons of my Childhood

When I asked on Twitter what people found to be "iconic", the one response I got was about classic cartoons. I then did a Google search for "iconic cartoons" and every image that popped up I recognized. From Homer Simpson and SpongeBob SquarePants to Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Scooby Doo, there was a wide variety of cartoon characters that seemed to fit Google's definition of iconic.

My childhood afternoons in a nut shell...

But I guess that's what it means for something to be "iconic". It's an image that represents something and I can easily picture an image of Scooby or Bugs representing some of my favorite cartoons as a kid. In fact, I bet if you showed any child in the United States a picture of Scooby, Mickey, or Bugs, they'd be able to identify them. These characters seem timeless and appeal to a wide variety of people.

Heck, every few years there seems to be a new incarnation of these iconic characters. I think I've seen at least 6 different versions of Scooby Doo (including A Pup Named Scooby Doo and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo) and Disney has been making new shorts with Mickey for a few years now.

Which leads me to a new question. How do we know when a character from our childhood becomes iconic?

Is it when we start seeing reboots being made (such as the new Ducktales or Powerpuff Girls)? Is it when they jump from the small screen and get their own movie made (like the three Rugrats or Transformer movies)? Is it just because they still have a huge fan base that won't go away even after nearly a decade being off the air (the original Teen Titans show - I don't know what this "Go!" nonsense is). Or is it when the children who grew up with these characters have become adults with children themselves and want to share their happy memories with their kids?

It's probably a combination of all these things. I know I wouldn't have any idea who Rocky and Bullwinkle are if my mom hadn't loved the show so much. I wouldn't have found a love of mysteries without my dad introducing me to Scooby Doo.

We're starting to see a resurgence of cartoons from the 1980s and 1990s being remade or having a reboot. A lot of people my age are really excited to see these characters come back and some of the new shows are really good, maybe even better than the original (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is so much better than the 80s version and it doesn't feel like they are just trying to sell toys). Though not all of the reboots have been successful, it's still so much fun to see fans react to hearing that their favorite shows might get a modern update.

I wonder what cartoons will be considered iconic in the future. Will we see a Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls reboot in 20 years? Will we ever get a live action Steven Universe movie?

Iconic cartoons often fill us with nostalgia. They bring back fond memories of happy, carefree times. And we want to share those happy feelings with those we are closest to.

What are some of your iconic childhood cartoon characters? Let me know in the comments or on my Facebook.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.