Wow, I am legitimately surprised at how awesome this reboot is. I honestly expected it to be nowhere near as good as it was. This is without a doubt the best piece of (new) animation I've seen in 2017. This ended up being better than pretty much every show out there right now. I'm not exaggerating, I truly think this is much better than any current CN shows, and Nicktoons. Granted, I haven't seen all of the current cartoons, but I've seen a majority of them. So far I've witnessed 3 new cartoons premiere in 2017.
Bunsen is a Beast!
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Welcome to the Wayne
I have yet to really watch Ok K.O.
Bunsen was meh, Cloudy was awful, and the Wayne was pretty good. But this, this is amazing! This is probably one of the best series premieres out there, heck, probably one of the best reboots out there!
Here's my opinions on the different elements in the DuckTales reboot.
The Characters
I will admit, the new voices for Huey, Dewey, and Louie are severely distracting. At first I really hated it, and it was really hard to adjust to. I mean, they could've gone with the original VAs, but essentially, I kind of think it's a good idea to change their voices. Why? Because this show treats their characters better than most variations of the triplets. Until now, I've only ever really seen the 3 as a group. Not really any difference in personality, the main thing setting them apart being their clothing. But this show takes these characters, and actually does something with them! They are given their own personalities. And it's not like they're shallow, 1-dimensional stereotypes either, oh no, this show gives them more complex/realistic personalities. They have different traits that gives each of them their own identity, but they manage to still keep them down-to-earth, and well rounded.
Huey is hard to describe. He's kind of on his own in a way. He likes to do certain things in a way that most people wouldn't want to do. Primary example being him playing travel music, and travel bingo on the long submarine voyage. I think he's probably the least brave out of the 3, though I'm not sure. It's interesting how he's not the lead of the group, since usually the leader of a group usually has his/her name first (Like Alvin and the Chipmunks).
Dewey was given a lot more character development than I expected. In fact, he seems to be the main character of the show (Or at least this episode). Dewey is the most excited, most adventurous of the group, and seems to cause the most trouble. But, he definitely has more emotion to him, primarily when he overhears Scrooge's remark about family. I really like how they developed the least recognized member of the trio. You remember Huey because his name is first, and you remember Louie, because his name sounds a little different from the first 2, but no one, not even me seems to think about Dewey that much. If he wasn't a character, and it was just Huey and Louie in the original series, it probably wouldn't make much of an impact, since he's usually just the middle-man who doesn't add much to the story. I really like what they did to Dewey, definitely a great, and needed change to the series.
Louie seems to be the most normal of the group. He acts pretty much like a regular kid. The main subplot with him involves him trying to teach Webby how to lie, done in a realistic fashion. Well, at least the way he acts.
Overall, I really love what this series is doing to the triplets. Giving them their own unique traits that make them stand out from each other is an excellent idea.
Then there's Webby. Oh my goodness, this series fixed Webby! Webby was my least favorite character from the original series. She was unmemorable, kind of annoying, and felt like a waste of space. But this series drastically improves her, and she is such an awesome character! They pretty much aged her to the same age as the boys (In fact, they all seem to be aged, appearing to be around the age of 10-12, rather than around 4-9 like in the original series). She's no longer the stereotypical "cute" girl addition to a cartoon in the 80s/90s, no, she's a character of her own, an original creation. Her geeky attitude mixed with a spirit craving adventure makes her a lot more memorable, and likable character.
Her Grandma is alright. She's a little edgier now, but seems to be relatively the same (At least from what I can remember, I haven't watched the original series in years).
Then there's Donald. I'm really glad Donald is a main character in this series, because Donald is such an entertaining character. If there was one thing missing from the original, it was Donald. Everytime Donald would guest star in the episode, it was really cool seeing him. But having be a main character? That's a great idea! Donald is Donald. No changes made to him, nothing, he's the same familiar duck we all grew to love and relate to at the same time. Donald isn't too much of a jerk, and isn't too much of a softie, he has the perfect blend between his compassionate side, and his temper. This is probably the best I've seen Donald in years, I thought "Clubhouse" softened him up, and the recent shorts made him a little too unlikable, but this is the perfect mix. A fantastic character, a great return of an icon added into this series.
Launchpad remains pretty much the same. He remains as the lovable goof that always made us laugh. He's still a great character, and a really funny one, too. My only complaint is they replaced his original VA. Sure, I can understand replacing the kids, and Scrooge's (Since Alan Young died), but since they can get Tony Anselmo to still voice Donald, how come they replaced Terry McGovern as Launchpad? Maybe because Donald is iconic enough that people would notice a difference? But Terry was willing to still do Launchpad! Oh well, maybe if they reboot Darkwing Duck, they'd bring him back.
The villain is alright. I don't remember him much from the original (The Beagle Boys stand out more), but I guess he's alright.
Finally, there's Scrooge. It's a pretty good rendition of Scrooge. The voice actor is no Alan Young, but the voice actor is obviously putting effort into his performance. Scrooge is a little edgier than the previous version, which is pretty nice, because, hey, the series needs to stay fresh, right?
Overall, the characters in this reboot are either just as good as the original, or even better, dare I say it. Donald and Launchpad are still classics you love, and Webby, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are given a much needed update.
The Humor
I like the humor in this show. The show doesn't get me laughing too much, but there are still a lot of really funny jokes. As mentioned before, Launchpad, and Donald supply constant laughs throughout the episode, and there were some funny things with the rest of the character. The humor mainly comes from Launchpad and Donald, and while that may be a little repetitive, it still manages to get me every time. Also, the writers are making an effort to make Huey, Dewey, and Louie funny, and sometimes it works. The opening scene with them is pretty funny, and how they invade Scrooge's personal space is funny as well. The writers have a great balance between trying to get laughs, trying to be serious, and trying to tell a story. I think the humor in this show is fairly balanced out, and well written, relying heavily on the character's personalities.
The Story
The story is your typical DuckTales adventure, but man, the writers really upped their game to make it a much more grand journey. This is helped mostly from the animation (Which I'll get to in a bit), but there's a lot of creativity in this show. Also, I must say, this show manages to get deeper than the original series did. That ending, that was one of the greatest endings I have seen in a long time. I haven't been surprised when watching something in a long time, and this was definitely a great shock. A fantastic ending, opening up tons of new possibilities. Not going to spoil it for those who haven't watched the episode yet, but let me tell you, it makes you look at the series in a whole new light.
The Animation
I LOVE the animation in this series! The new designs for the characters are fantastic! Some are given an update that fit modern animation styles, while others are given a nice adjustment to the new style. The new animation is surprisingly detailed, considering how most shows nowadays contain relatively simple designs (We Bare Bears, The Loud House, Teen Titans Go!, Clarence, etc.), and I love it. I didn't expect the animation in this series to be so wonderful. When I saw the new theme song, I was blown away at how fantastic the animation was. This is only modern cartoon I'm aware of (Aside from SpongeBob), that has fast paced animation. It's controlled, too. Sometimes it's fast, and when it's fast, it's laid out really well, and sometimes it's toned down, with more natural movements. It's fantastic, beautiful animation, the best animation I've seen in a Donald Duck related piece of animation since Mickey Mouse Works.
Overall, DuckTales 2017 is one of the best modern cartoons out there. This is the best Donald Duck related cartoon series since House of Mouse. Honestly, when House of Mouse ended, I didn't think Disney would ever return to fantastic content that can be enjoyed by all ages, as the characters were then given the spotlight towards toddlers. Sure, there was the Mickey Mouse 2013 shorts, and while those were pretty good, they weren't as great as House of Mouse. Finally, over a decade later, we get such a great cartoon. This is the definition of a reboot done right. I'm skeptical about how good or how bad the Nick reboots will be, but I know for sure that this reboot has a bright future. This is as good, dare I say it, even better than the original DuckTales. That's how much I love this series! The main characters are awesome, I don't find any of them unlikable. The animation is gorgeous, and the series definitely cares about the character's roots.
Ultimately, I give the pilot a 10/10. It's an Amazing Episode.
I'm really looking forward to this series, it's such an incredible series. I highly recommend watching it, even if you didn't see the original DuckTales, it's still a great episode.
Now, whenever a new series comes out, I usually predict how long it'll last. Usually it's between 1-3 Seasons, then once it passes it's third Season, I predict how long the series can last from there on, checking up on newer episodes. So far, out of all the series I've reviewed, I haven't witnessed a series that's passed it's second Season. Loud House might, though, so we'll see.
Anyway, I predict this series will have a good run with 3 Seasons. There's obvious public interest in this show, goodness, the episode has over a million views on YouTube, and I haven't heard a single bad review for the show. I think we're in for a great, lengthy ride. Sure, it could go the route of wrapping things up in Season 2 (Like Gravity Falls), but I honestly think this is going to last a good 3 seasons. Could it pass a third Season? I find that kind of unlikely, but if the series is successful, maybe.
