DB Reviews- Ducktales 2017 reboot

Hello all you Disney Duck fans out there! It's me, DB and I'm back to bring you another review!

Image from Screen Rant

As you can probably tell, I'm doing a review for the 2017 reboot of Ducktales, Disney's classic TV show where Scrooge McDuck, his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, ace pilot Launchpad (before he worked for Darkwing) and Webby go on grand adventures in search of treasure or just to escape or stop the diabolical doings of many classic villains like Magica Despell, The Beagle Boys and Flinthart Glomgold! 

Let me get a negative thing about this series out of my chest. I think that this series needed the original voice actors from the hit show back in the early 90s. Back then, this show was a Disney Afternoon staple! I loved this show back then! The voice actors from the original version of this show gave each character their own personalities. Each of these actors became famous for portraying each character. The voice actors on the new reboot? I don't think they're quite as good as the original actors, with the exception of Donald. The person that did Donald's voice did a real good job! He sounded just like the classic Donald that we know and love! 

With that out of the way, I have to say I like this reboot. It's not bad at all! Each episode has a story that's easy to follow and has action scenes, which is a must for a Ducktales show! Some parts of each episode are based off of the original early 90s series and other parts are based off the comic book stories, especially those created by Disney duck legend Carl Barks! 

The easter eggs featured in the 1st episode were really neat! The animators made all sorts of references to the classic version of this series as well as references to the other HUGE MEGA hits of the Disney Afternoon era! Some of the eggs included: The lamp from Ducktales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (which is a film that I definitely enjoyed when I was younger) and the robot with the 3 lights on it's head, which is a reference to the classic version of this series. Dewey even mentioned Cape Susette, where Baloo, Kit, Mrs. Rebecca Cunningham and Molly reside in the series Talespin (a series that I highly recommend you to see! It's out on DVD now!). Also, the men in the meeting with Scrooge mention St. Canard, the home of the "terror that flaps in the night" himself, Darkwing Duck (which is another great series!). Also, the Junior Woodchucks were mentioned in episode 1! 

I noticed that the creative team behind this version of the series changed a few things around. They made Mrs. Beakley and Webby into totally different characters compared to their classic 90s counterparts. Mrs. Beakley is more serious in this version of the series then she was in the 90s version and Webby is more adventurous! I think that some fans of this show might find Webby's more adventurous side appealing. They might say that this version of her is better then her 90s version, though the animators did make a reference to the 90s version by pinning Webby's doll to the wall. Also, Huey is the only one of the nephews wearing a hat in this version, though each nephew's respective color is still the same. I remember that all 3 of the nephews wore hats in the original series. Do I like the new Webby and Mrs. Beakley? Yeah, though I like the new Webby better. However, I don't think I saw a Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers reference. I think they should do one of those in a future episode. 

I could see this series getting a good 4 or 5 seasons on Disney XD! Perhaps even 6! I think that they should put Gyro Gearloose and Gizmoduck in future episodes! Also, I think that they should make more Disney Afternoon references! Perhaps they could have Darkwing or Chip and Dale or maybe even Bonkers make cameo appearances. 

So overall, I like this reboot! The original is still 10x better, but still! I think you should see an episode or two of this reboot. Also, I think that Disney should look into rebooting more of their Disney Afternoon series, like Darkwing Duck. They have to get Jim Cummings (Darkwing's voice) back for that reboot! I'd love that! 

One more thing. I even liked the new version of the main title song in this series (even though it was only in episode 1). I've always loved Disney music and this is one song I like a lot! My review: I give this series a "WOO-OO"! 

"You might solve a mystery, or rewrite history! Ducktales!" 

DB Reviews- Smurfs: The Lost Village

Image from DVD Release Dates

Hello everyone! It's me, DB and after many, many months of not blogging, I am back for my review of Smurfs: The Lost Village! WARNING! This review does contain spoilers!

The story centers around Smurfette, the only female Smurf in the Smurfs village. However, she wasn't a real Smurf at first. Gargamel, the main villain of the Smurfs universe, created her from a lump of clay and sent her to find the village and capture the Smurfs. But, with the help of his powerful magic, Papa Smurf turned Smurfette into a real Smurf and she joined the team!

In this adventure, Smurfette was curious about her role in the Smurfs. While she was finding her role, she finds a new Smurf, one that she, and the rest of the other Smurfs, have never seen before! Against Papa Smurfs orders, she, Hefty Smurf, Brainy Smurf and Clumsy Smurf set out on a grand adventure to discover who the new Smurfs are and stop Gargamel from completing his latest scheme to take all of the Smurfs magic and become the most powerful wizard of all!

First off, I like the fact that the writers gave Smurfette a back story in this film. It helps set up the climax of the film and I think it was needed in the Smurfs universe! The story in the film itself was good too. A little too much, but still good.

Secondly, I think this was Demi Lovato's best film since the Camp Rock series! To me, she did a very good job as the voice of Smurfette! Smurfette was originally voice by Lucille Bliss in the original, classic cartoon. Now Demi has done the same for a new generation of Smurfs fans! Great job, Demi!

I think Rainn Wilson did a good job voicing Gargamel! Hank Azaria (of the Simpsons fame) played the role in the 2 live action films prior to Wilson, but I think Wilson still did good as the animated version of Gargemel. He brought the 60s cartoon style of the character to the big screen and to me, that was needed for this film.

Joe Manganiello (of Magic Mike fame) protrayed Hefty. I liked Hefty in this film. We can definitelly see that Hefty has a crush on Smurfette!

Jack McBrayer played Brainy Smurf. You might remember McBrayer as Fix-it Felix, Jr from Wreck-It Ralph!  It's good to hear his voice in roles other than the famous video game character, but his role as Brainy wasn't as good as Felix. I can't wait to see (and review) Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2!

Frank Welker did a good Azreal, Gargamel's cat! Is it as good as his Scooby-Doo? Nope, but it's still good! He's well trained in animal voices for cartoons!

Another great addition to the Smurfs universe was made in this film, the introduction of an all female Smurf group! Julia Roberts portrays the leader of this group of Smurfs. She has added a good voice tone to this character. It's a deep voice, but not as deep as Papa Smurfs, who himself was voiced by Mandy Patinkin, who did good too. Michelle Rodriguez and Ellie Kemper did good as Smurf Storm and Smurf Blossom, especially Rodriguez!

I think the animators did a great job designing the characters and bringing them into the CGI world for a third time! Even Gargamel looked like he did in the original cartoon!

So overall, there are alot of good things in this movie (which I mentioned, a lot!) Smurfette's backstory was definitely needed, the voice actors did (yep, I'm saying it again) good and the story was (here it is, one more time) good too!

My review: Smurfs: The Lost Village is ONE TO WATCH! Thanks for reading!