Not ponytails or cottontails no – DUCKTALES! A-woo-oo!
DuckTales has been one of my all-time favorite Disney things since the original show debuted over 30 years ago. Huey, Dewey, and Louie (especially Dewey) have been some of my Disney characters for as far back as I can remember, and getting to see them center stage, amidst action and adventure was something I watched on repeat over and over again. When I got a bit older, I came into the Carl Barks and Don Rosa comic adventure of Scrooge and Donald, and that did nothing but cement my undying love for the Disney ducks forever.
So, when it was announced that Disney was going to reboot DuckTales, I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I was thrilled because I have a 6 year-old daughter, and she is right in the age wheelhouse for the show, and now she absolutely loves it. I was a bit more hesitant for my own feelings, seeing as how I have such a strong attachment to the original. All of that, however, was completely washed away upon viewing the first episode, and I absolutely ADORE the new show. The original will always hold a large part of my heart, but I might actually enjoy the adventures and character development of the new cartoon more, and it’s especially cool since so much of draws from those classic comic adventures.
I mean, the three nephews have VERY distinct personalities now, and as Webby was most certainly an annoying tag-along to me in the original, she is tied with Dewey as my absolute favorite character on the new show. She is awesome, and I am so glad for that, especially for my daughter. The show pays such great tribute to the cartoons and comics that came before it, but it most certainly has its own tone and personality and it is all-in with those choices. If you can watch this and not have any fun, I am really sorry, but my kid and I have re-watched disks countless times, and they have not gotten any less enjoyable.
So, of course there would be toys, right? They were a little slow out of the gate, but a company called Phat Mojo (who I have no prior experience with) have put out a series of action figures and accompanying pieces over the summer. It seems as though Target has been the primary place to find these, but as the show gains in popularity, I hope that means we will see more toys in more places. My daughter and I had to have all of the standard figures, as well as the Sun Chaser plane, and while we are having a lot of fun playing with them, overall, I find the output to be kind of a mixed bag.
I am not going to mercilessly pick apart every detail of every figure here, because like I said, these are fun, but some quality and overall design choices make me stop short of saying that these are really great toys. Pretty good, not great. But FUN! Mostly. I like that these figures all match the style of the show well, and the expressions, particularly on the nephews emote everyone’s personalities successfully. Phat Mojo also did a pretty good job of getting us the must-have main characters from the first season in Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby, Donald, Launchpad, and Glomgold (for a villain), and at 7-8 buck a pop (the kids are packed in twos), the value is certainly there.
If you are going to pick these up though, make sure inspect them thoroughly for paint defects. Overall, I was able to piece together a pretty good set, but I have seen some terrible paint QC issues, and I have a friend who is the biggest Duck fan I know, and he passed on the series entirely because he could not find good paint applications. Also, the articulation is a little basic here, and while I was not expecting Marvel Legends levels or anything, a bit more functionality would have been appreciated. The adult characters could really use some elbow movement, especially Scrooge for his cane, and while accessories are appreciated, so many of them are pretty well useless due to figures not being able to hold them. Except for Louie’s cell phone, that one is awesome.
On paper is really rad to get the Sun Chaser plane, too, but in reality, it is pretty disappointing. It is mostly on-model, except for that fact that it is WAAAAAAAY too small, and only one figure can fit in the entire plane at a time. Again, I was not necessarily looking for a full scale Sun Chaser, but it would have been really nice if Scrooge and the kids could join Launchpad onboard. Then again, Scrooge and Webby cannot even sit due to their legs being glued in place and slightly inhibited by their outfits, but still, I would have been willing to pay more for a better execution here, and that is the dad in me talking, not even the collector.
I know, I am probably being a bit too critical here, but that is only because I want toys to be as awesome as they can be, no matter the intended audience. Just because you aim something at kids doesn’t mean that attention to detail should not be paid, my kid certainly bemoans the fact that Webby cannot sit and that her goggle cannot stay on without help. So, even though I would take more figures in this line, I hope that Phat Mojo does a little better in the future. This is a GREAT property and most of their stuff looks nice, so let’s get the details squared. As I said, regardless, these are fun to play with, so head over to Target if you wish to partake.
