IMDb lists this as episode 12. I enjoy this one—fun and inventive, with some good humor and plenty of spot-on character interactions.
Scrooge and Glomgold face off on a storied Scottish golf course, eager to show one another up as usual. However, a ball hit deep in the rough leads them to the entrance of an ancient, mystical course, where a lot more than bragging rights are at stake.
Nothing like coming upon a stone circle in the middle of the woods, leading to a legendary course played with a magical ball! I like the mix of fantastical mythology with the more mundane golf game. There are magical high stakes involved (no one has ever completed the course alive,) including a highly-entertaining pair of kelpies brimming with laughably-transparent attempts to lure the characters to a watery grave. But among all that, we also have Huey and Launchpad trundling along in a golf cart to give commentary and Louie, serving as Glomgold’s caddie, insisting on getting a tip every few minutes.
This is a fun one. Just as the story combines the magical with the mundane, the humor ranges from absurd to deadpan, and all the kids are right within their respective wheelhouses. Louie is in it purely for the caddie cash—“It’s a sport where you try not to score points to make it end sooner,” he notes. “Hard pass.” Huey is after a coveted commentary merit badge, though his overly-precise observations are hampered by Launchpad’s complete ignorance of the game. Webby is thrilled at the supernatural turn of events, mortal peril included.
As for Dewey, his story is tied up with Scrooge’s. Scrooge has no worries about his ability to beat Glomgold, at one point drawling, “Ugh, we’ve got another ten minutes of gloating before he takes a shot.” So he instead focuses his energies on taking one of the kids under his wing and passing down his time-honored golfing wisdom. Unfortunately for him, Dewey is the one who takes him up on the offer, and of course Dewey is a complete natural, pulling off impossible shots while ignoring every scrap of Scrooge’s advice.
I’ve noticed that Scrooge seems to spend equal amounts of time either casually even-keeled or hopping mad. Here, he starts out with the former, strolling around the course with confidence and making bemused side comments to the kids about the ridiculous Glomgold. But Scrooge loves winning at least as much as he loves money, and he can’t stand Dewey being better than him, especially when Dewey isn’t going about it the “right” way. This is when David Tennant’s performance shifts from good-humored snark to ever-climbing infuriation. It’s amusingly intense, very immature, and exceedingly Scottish. I like the random exclamations, my favorite probably being, “Heavenly hollyhock!”
No comments:
Post a Comment