ROCKS 4D: DuckTales Treasure Of The Lost Lamp

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WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE CONCLUDING DISCUSSION IN THE FOURTH STRAND OF THE NEW CLUB “R.O.C.K.S.” - REWATCHING OLD CLASSIC KIDS SHOWS!
A big thanks to everyone that are joining us through all of this. It’s going to be an enjoyable ride!

Threads 4A through 4D will focus on the 80s classic DuckTales, and specifically this week, we’re discussing the movie adventure “Treasure Of The Lost Lamp”.

Just the usual friendly reminder to everyone that, whilst fans are obviously welcome to passionately discuss and give their views on these episodes, please remember to keep things on a friendly footing and respect your fellow posters.
Also, please do not post where or how to find the full episode online. And do not post asking others to PM it to you. You are however allowed to watch the show in whatever manner you want.

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I had never seen this movie as a kid and only watched it for the first time now. To be totally honest I was very disappointed with it for a number of reasons.

I found the story execution to be very uninspiring. The first 10 minutes or so when Scrooge and the gang go looking for the treasure of Collie Baba (nice pun there!) are probably the best part of the movie, IMHO. During that time I was super excited. But the excitement went downhill fast after that. A big chunk of the story then just revolved around the genie and the nephews getting into various kinds of mischief with their wishes while still trying to keep the genie’s identity hidden. I found all of that to be quite boring and was just waiting for something else to happen. There are just so many things that one can do with a DuckTales story but the writers just didn’t fully capitalize on it.

After watching this it has become quite evident (to me at least) that Disney’s Aladdin which was made a few years after this movie was heavily inspired from it. But with Aladdin, they did get a lot of things right which they missed with this movie.

Talking about the characters, the genie was really annoying! His voice, his over-the-top acting, the way his body trembles before he grants a wish. He reminded me of the robot Ben from “Treasure Planet” who was equally annoying. I can understand the writers’ decision to have the genie be a kid so that he can better befriend the nephews (and probably appeal to the younger audience), but that just didn’t work for me.

Merlock could have been a great villain but was underutilized. Voiced by our very own Doc Brown! He did seem a bit similar-ish to Rasputin (also voiced by Lloyd) from “Anastasia”.

The animation, while certainly more detailed and colorful than that of the series, to me felt “over-animated”. Everything and everybody is moving around too much, even when having a normal conversation. There are large gestures by everyone in almost every scene. No “quiet moments”. So much movement is not necessary, even in an animated cartoon.

In conclusion, I have to say that I enjoyed the series more than this movie, even the weaker episodes (even the ones starring Doofus!). :wink:

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This is my second time seeing the movie. Personally I found the movie a bit average and bland. The story really wasn’t as exciting or interesting as the series episodes.

The movie does start good but after the first 10 or 15 minutes it really loses the excitement. This movie is nowhere near as good the five parter pilot.

I would also agree with Wilycub that some scenes really seem over animated…but not in a good way.

Christopher Llyod is a great actor but personally I don’t think he suited the part or was given much a chance to give a dynamic performance. Rip Taylor as the Genie was just usual Rip Taylor.
Merlock was a rather boring villain. I would have preferred Magika or the Beagle Boys to have been in the movie or at least been involved with Merlock’s introduction.

To be quit honest the movie highlights why I never liked Duck Tales as much as Disney’s Rescue Rangers, Gummibears or Tail Spin.
Scrooge is a charismatic and resourceful character but his greediness really makes it hard sometimes to be really liked.
Huey, Dewey and Louie really did nothing to tell them apart.
Launchpad, Webby and co really didn’t have much else to do in the movie.

The biggest issue I have with Duck Tales though is that the vast majority of what I have seen is about Scrooge’s greed trying to get more money/treasure or someone trying to steal his money/ his money being stolen then them getting it back.

I do still like Duck Tales and plan on downloading and watching more of it but for me personally it’s easy to understand why the shows was never one of my favourites compared to Disney’s other shows.

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I only saw this movie for the first time in about 2009, and have mixed feelings about this movie. I do like it, but there are things wrong with it.

The start, right there in the plane, is a bit random. They should have had something prompting them to go looking for the treasure rather than starting with them en route in the plane. The crash course joke was a good one though. There were two or three instances of it in the series, but always as a throwaway aside. Here, it’s suddenly important - they’re flying, and Launchpad accidentally lets slip that he never had proper flying lessons (although surely he must have had some sort of training from his parents, if you watch the episode “Top Duck”). Scrooge reacts with understandable shock, and Launchpad’s response, “well, I took a crash course . . .” is perfectly done.

The absence of any of the regular villains was a mistake. Sure, Merlock is an all-powerful sorcerer who takes over the show in the end, but some of the regular villains would have been good. Glomgold in particular springs to mind. Surely he’d have something to say about Scrooge going after this treasure? There’s actually an early episode with a similar premise where Scrooge and Glomgold are both searching for some treasure and stumble on a lamp with a genie in it. Alternatively, Magica could help unleash Merlock and then realise she’s made a mistake and has to side with Scrooge at the end . . .

The first part of the adventure, when they’re getting the treasure, was a good, fast-paced adventure. No question. When they get back to Duckberg, however, things are a little slower. The bit with the nephews, admittedly for the younger audience, was a little drawn out and could have been trimmed a little. Or at least, tweaked in such a way as to give the triplets their moments to each stand out as individuals.

Dijon getting the lamp and his three wishes was perfectly fine, he is a substitute for the Beagle Boys in a way here. They would have wished for the same things in his place, and then bickered among themselves, which would have led to their undoing. But we couldn’t have that here. We needed a big and scary finale, which Merlock does provide. The “unlimited wishes” concept though was introduced a little oddly. Perhaps he could have been shown looking for the talisman as well or something. It’s like, all he needed was the lamp right from the start. Surely with the powers he had, it would have been simple enough for him to find it, especially as he’d wished to live forever! (Incidentally, does that mean his fall didn’t kill him? We never found out!)

Christopher Lloyd’s performance . . . yes, a very distinctive voice, but it does seem like something isn’t quite right. Probably the character wasn’t fleshed out enough for Lloyd to really sink his teeth into.

Animation-wise, however, you can tell from the outset that they’ve made a lot more effort than they could afford to make for the series. The animation itself is great. As for the point about the scenes being too busy animation-wise, I’ve not thought about that before. I suppose it’s to keep the young audience watching.

In conclusion, it’s a little bit misshapen, but OK.

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At first I thought I had seen the movie before but it was this episode I had seen.

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I haven’t seen that episode, but I believe a scene from it is shown in the show’s opening theme where Scrooge and Glomgold both try to grab a magic lamp atop a rocky pile or something. That’s the episode you guys are referring to, right?

You also make a very good point Mark and Liam that additional villains like DuckTales regulars , Glomgold, Magika and the Beagle Boys would have been a good choice to add to the movie. It would have helped make the story more interesting. Like how in the first five parters even though El Capitan was the main villain, the regular villains helped to fill out the story. Now that I think about it, it is strange that they were not included. Usually such movies often try to include as many of the characters form the series as possible (e.g Transformers The Movie, ThunderCats Ho! The Movie,)

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I’m not sure the Beagle Boys would have worked in this one - Dijon (who later appeared in a couple of season 4 episodes) was the “comic relief” baddie here, but certainly with sorcery and treasure in the mix, there was scope to include both Magica and Glomgold, even in just a minor capacity.

I wonder if it Glomgold was originally planned to be in the script, but Hal Smith proved unavailable? His other character, Gyro Gearloose, is also absent from this adventure, and indeed, apart from Doofus, is the only regular goodie not present. (Well, Bubba and Fenton aren’t there either despite their characters having appeared in the series prior to this point, but I’m not counting them as they did nothing to enhance the show.)

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I didn’t know Dijon was in some episodes.

Wait until we do G.I Joe The Movie. :wink:

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Dijon appeared a few times in season 4, most notably in the 2-part finale, “The Golden Goose”.

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I will have to watch that along with that other episode with Scrooge and Glumgold fighting over the lamp.
Is there any noeable episodes with Magika?
Also what episode is the scene from of Scrooge and his nephews walking down the stair in the intro?

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The walking down the spiral staircase scene comes from the episode “Hotel Strangeduck”.

Magica appears in “Send In The Clones”, “Magica’s Shadow War”, “Magica’s Magic Mirror”, “Dime Enough For Luck”, and “Nothing To Fear”, and of course “Duck To The Future” which we covered last week. She didn’t appear much in the later seasons, I think her only appearance after season 1 is “The Unbreakable Bin”.

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You guys actually just reminded me of a personal pet project that I had started just for fun. I was trying to identify all the episodes whose scenes appeared in the opening of “DuckTales” and “Rescue Rangers”. I managed to get quite a few but couldn’t identify all of them and when I asked others they couldn’t either so I gave up on the project.

Maybe you guys can help me fill in the blanks? :slight_smile:

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That would be an interesting project.

Going to have to watch that. Always wanted to see the episode that scene was from.

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Some of the clips in the title sequence weren’t in any episode at all.

I’ll set the ball rolling if you like. I remember a couple of years ago watching the whole series and having a lookout for all these bits.

I’ll include the lyrics as reference points:

Opening shot of the boys and Scrooge dancing - NOT IN ANY EPISODE

“Life is like a hurricane”
Scrooge’s money chasing him in a title wave - I think it’s from the start of episode 10, “Earth Quack”

“Here in Duckberg”
Helicopter flying over the city - that’s definitely from episode 6, “Send In The Clones”.

“Racecars, lasers, aeroplanes”
Beagle Boys in the car - not sure
The nephews firing the ray gun - from episode 16, “The Money Vanishes”
Launchpad looping the loop - from episode 24, “Top Duck”

“It’s a duck blur”
Scrooge walking into a forcefield and getting an electric shock, with Gyro in the background - from episode 9, “Armstrong”.

“Might solve a mystery”
Scrooge and the nephews walking down a spiral staircase - from episode 13, “Hotel Strangeduck”

“Or rewrite history”
Gyro on a horse with a lance resting on a unicycle - from episode 17, “Sir Gyro De Gearloose”

“Duck Tales! Woo-oo!”
Scrooge diving into his money - might be from the very first episode, or it might be something generic not used in the show at all.

“Every day they’re out there making Duck Tales! Woo-oo!”
Shark chasing Scrooge and Webby who are in a submarine, Webby kisses the shark - NOT IN ANY EPISODE

“Tales of derring-do, bad and good luck tales!”
Huey in a page boy’s outfit fleeing from a Beagle Boy that’s been turned into a dragon - episode 6, “Send In The Clones”
Scrooge in the hand of a giant Beagle Boy - it’s part of his nightmare sequence which I said already I think is at the start of episode 30, “Earth Quack”
Magica laughing - not sure about this. I don’t think it’s in any episode but I could be wrong.

Scrooge and Huey standing on top of the Beagle Boys’ heads, with custard pies being thrown everywhere - NOT IN ANY EPISODE

“D-d-d-danger! What’s behind you?”
Huey fleeing from a Beagle Boy - again episode 6, “Send In The Clones”

“There’s a stranger out to find you!”
The nephews unlocking a treasure chest to reveal a mummy that chases them - NOT IN ANY EPISODE

“What to do to scramble to some Duck Tales! Woo-oo!”
Scrooge and El Capitan running for their lives as the gold floor crumbles behind them - episode 5, “Too Much Of A Gold Thing”.
Three giant robots hi-fiving each other - episode 10, “Robot Robbers”

“Every day they’re out there making Duck Tales! Woo-oo!”
Huey and Gyro in a spaceship retrieving Scrooge who can’t grab a dollar, an alien grabs it and laughs at him - NOT IN ANY EPISODE

“Tales of derring-do, bad an good luck tales! Woo-oo!”
Scrooge in a minecart running along a ledge - an early one, it’s either episode 18, “Dinosaur Ducks”, episode 12, “Master Of The Djinni” or episode 14, “The Lost Crown Of Genghis Khan”. I can’t remember
Tiger sniffing the nephews then cuddling them - NOT IN ANY EPISODE
Webby in the picnic basket in hiding - I think that’s episode 18, “Dinosaur Ducks” but am not 100% certain.

“Not pony tales or cotton tales, no - Duck Tales! Woo-oo!”
Scrooge and Glomgold climbing the stalagmite to get to the magic lamp - episode 12, “Master Of The Djinni”
Scrooge and the nephews appearing from underneath the pile of gold - NOT IN ANY EPISODE

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[SIZE=5]THANKS A LOT, LIAM!!! [/SIZE]:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup You helped me complete the list by identifying the ones that I didn’t know. Now my list is complete! :biggrin The only one not identified by either me or you is the one of Magica and her crow. I think it is from an episode, but not sure. The ones that you were missing are:

“Racecars, lasers, aeroplanes”
Beagle Boys in the car - from “Hero for Hire” (I only discovered this when I watched the episode recently for our discussions! :))

“Duck Tales! Woo-oo!”
Scrooge diving into his money - from “Earthquack”

“Tales of derring-do, bad an good luck tales! Woo-oo!”
Scrooge in a minecart running along a ledge -[COLOR=rgb(255, 77, 77)] “Earthquack”

I am VERY impressed by your knowledge of DuckTales! As a child I only had a few episodes recorded on VHS and watched them over and over. How I yearned for new cartoons back then! But now, thanks to our ROCKS discussions, I get an excuse to watch many episodes which I ad never seen. :slight_smile: “Tom & Jerry” was probably the only cartoon whose every episode I had on VHS.

I had even mentioned this in a thread sometime ago, but don’t you think that it is interesting that the opening featured scenes from episodes as far as episode 29. This means that when the pilot was aired, they had already completed animating episode 29. That’s very impressive and shows Disney’s dedication and good work methods. Compare this with some other cartoon shows which struggle to complete every episode on a tight deadline. The result is often poor animation, poorer stories, and reused footage.

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I guess we can go through all the Magica episodes to potentially find it.

Yes, title sequences are a curious subject. Some have title sequences that are entirely made up of special footage not meant for the show itself, or if it does crop up, it’s very fleetingly. Thundercats is a good example of this (it does crop up, but not in regular sequences). Visionaries too. While others have titles including episode footage, which is mainly the early stuff, as in Defenders Of The Earth, where I think all the actual episode clips come from the first 9 episodes.

Of course, it could be that “Earth Quack” was produced early on in the series, but wasn’t shown until later for some reason.

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A lot of scenes in the Bravestarr intro are used/re-used in multiple episodes.

I was talking about the A-team intro last night and aside from the view of Los Angeles every scene is from the series. Nearly all of the season one scenes are from the pilot episode.

That’s awesome you had every episode of Tom & Jerry. I had recorded quite a few of the episodes and even have a couple DVDs.
There is loads of great cartoon shows to cover in ROCKS. :smiley:

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Absolutely. Mark and I have been discussing what the next one we’re doing is. After covering four American shows, it’s high time we watched a British one, so that’s what we’re doing the next couple of weeks!

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Are there many episodes featuring her?

Great idea! There’s many good shows to choose from like Duckula, Danger Mouse, SuperTed, Bananaman etc. Looking forward to see which one you guys pick! :slight_smile:

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We’ve already settled on Danger Mouse, and selected some episodes. I’ve watched some of them already to refamiliarise myself with the series.

As for Magica De Spell, as I said above, she appears in “Send In The Clones”, “Magica’s Shadow War”, “Magica’s Magic Mirror”, “Dime Enough For Luck”, and “Nothing To Fear”, and of course “Duck To The Future” which we covered last week. She didn’t appear much in the later seasons, I think her only appearance after season 1 is “The Unbreakable Bin”.

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