DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp

(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from DuckTales: Treasure of the Lost Lamp)

Doug (vo): A lot of times, when people try to take a successful TV show and make a movie about it, the #1 complaint is that it just seems like a longer version of an episode. But with DuckTales, it kind of makes sense, because every episode was kind of like a mini movie. So, why not make an actual movie out of it? In this case, it definitely pays off and it’s kind of a shame that it doesn’t get more attention than it deserves. It’s funny, because this came out near the same time as The Rescuers Down Under, another adventurous Disney film that doesn’t get enough attention. It has all the great animation, the characters you remember, a lot of great action, a few good jokes, it’s an enjoyable family film.

Story

Doug (vo): Scrooge McDuck and the gang are on the search for the Treasure of Collie Baba. Get it? But their tour guide, named Dijon, is working for an evil sorcerer named Merlock, played by Christopher Lloyd.

Merlock: Just keep searching while I hunt outside! They will not escape!

Doug (vo): He knows that the real Treasure of Collie Baba lies in this magic lamp, and that with his magic talisman that can turn him into any animal, can combine it with the lamp to get unlimited wishes. The lamp, however, falls out of his hands and instead into the hands of Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby, who discover the crazy genie inside, played by Rip Taylor. He’s zany and goofy, of course, and befriends the kids very quickly. Once Scrooge discovers it, he uses it, of course, for greedy means, and while being chased down by the evil sorcerer, he discovers what truly matters and, blah-blah-blah, action, learning a lesson, all that good stuff.

Review

Doug (vo): Okay, so there’s no groundbreaking morals there to be learned here, but that’s not what DuckTales was all about. In fact, DuckTales wasn’t even much about action as it was adventure, and this is a really enjoyable adventure. I feel like all the characters we’ve grown to love are given the proper amount of screen time that they deserve. Christopher Lloyd is menacing, of course, as the villain, and Rip Taylor is an adequate genie. I do feel bad, because shortly after, a much funnier Disney genie would pop about that nobody could really compete with. But for something that’s more focused on kids and family and not really adult jokes, I think he works okay. It’s funny, because the animation on the show was already pretty impressive, so they had to up it even more for the movie, and it really looks good.

[The character, Dijon, is shown in several clips]

Doug (vo): The only thing that might raise a few eyebrows is the character of Dijon. I don’t know, is this an offensive character now?

Dijon: What a time we have been having. Yes. I was just now leaving. Goodbye.

Doug (vo): Back then, nobody thought twice about it, but nowadays with people’s sensitivities, I’m not sure if this could be taken the wrong way or not. I mean, he does have a thick accent and he is a thief, I personally never thought they were saying anything about an entire race, but maybe that’s why it never got such a major DVD release. I don’t know, he’s fine by me, but some people might take it a different way.

Final thought

Doug (vo): Like I said before, it’s just one big DuckTales episode, but we all really like the DuckTales episodes and what they had to give us, and here it is on a grand scale. I’d be lying if I said it was as good as the original few episodes that were tied together in the beginning, but, hey, we’re doing a movie now and you’d got to play by the movie rules, and for playing by the movie rules, I think this film does really well, and it’s entertaining, and it’s engaging. Does it have a ton of adult stuff? Not exactly. I’d say it’s more family-oriented. But there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s done well, it’s done creatively, and it’s a whole lot of fun. So if you like the show growing up or you’re a big fan of adventure, this is definitely one to check out.

[The final scene, showing Scrooge chasing Dijon downtown, is shown with dramatic blockbuster music playing instead]