ducktales initial reaction

as someone who's always loved cartoons and grew up loving gravity falls, i've been meaning to check out the ducktales reboot for a few years. especially after amphibia and the owl house ended. but, for whatever reason, i never actually started it. until my brother asked if i'd watch it with him today, which finally gave me the motivation to watch the first few episodes.

so far i'm really liking it, it definitely has a similar vibe to gravity falls and its successors (which may also be due to dana terrace working on it, i didn't pay much attention to the credits but i did notice her name). it also, surprisingly, reminds me a LOT of rise of the tmnt. it's been about a year since i watched rottmnt, and didn't realize how much i would enjoy a new show similar to it. weirdly enough, i find it even more reminiscent of rottmnt than any of the other tmnt shows i've watched since last year. maybe this is ben schwartz' fault, maybe they're genuinely similar.

as for my thoughts on the actual content of the show (the first six episodes of it at least):

i like most of the characters, obviously the triplets and webby being the standouts as the main characters.

huey is my favorite, even though he's had the least content focused on him. (which i'm sincerely hoping changes after the first six episodes, i feel like he's gotten much less focus than his brothers and i'm very sad about it.) i can't explain it, i just really like him. he's nice.

webby is a close second, i find her so endearing. i know that the canon explanation for her way of behaving is that she's VERY sheltered, but it's impossible for me not to think of her as an autistic character. this of course makes her stand out to me and makes me really like her. (the same can actually be said for huey, but it's too early for me to be sure that isn't just my brain associating him with abed) my brother and i were so happy for her in episode six when we thought she finally got a friend outside of people just in her house, and another girl close to her age to hang out with. then we were very upset when we realized lena was just manipulating her. poor webby deserves better. i also like how she crawls around on walls.

dewey is super interesting, it seems like the show has given him the most attention so far. he reminds me a lot of leo in rottmnt, and not just because they're blue with the same voice actor (though he does seem to have a specific type of character he's cast as a lot). they both have a lot of insecurities leading them to try very hard to get attention, and are a lot smarter than they present themselves as. as early as episode two we can see dewey be the one to figure out that the entire city is turned upside down, and later remember this information to get the crystal from the ceiling and stop the room from flooding. this, plus him being the only triplet actively pursuing the mystery of their mother, shows that he can be curious and observant AND use his observations to problem-solve, much like leo. still, in the aforementioned episode two he runs into traps constantly and generally acts reckless. the traps were upside down, but still. and that isn't a defense, considering that he was disappointed by this and said it made them less exciting, then still activated a different trap in that room that got launchpad seriously hurt.

louie seems to be mainly characterized by laziness and lack of ambition. but, there are also definitely things contradicting this. the episode where he got the A plot was about him going to great lengths to do something he even didn't want to do. his main motivation was a fear of getting in trouble, but being afraid of getting in trouble to the extent that he would do all the things he did that episode kind of contradicts "laziness" as a trait. especially since he's described as the evil twin, and has done things in other episodes specifically against the rules, like using a water only cup for punch. he also lies all the time, but doesn't seem to be afraid of getting caught in a lie. and, when he finds out he did a ton of work for nothing it doesn't even cross his mind to be upset. it's hard to tell if this is poor characterization due to it being a kids show and still very early into season one, or if this is going to be explored later that his reluctance to do anything hard is not actually laziness but a lack of motivation.

the main mystery that has been introduced so far (i know this show has mysteries similar to gravity falls since it's one of the main things of heard about it, so i assume there are more after this initial one) is who the triplets' parents are. specifically their mom. it does a good job of making us care about it right off the bat through how much dewey cares about it, which is presumably why he got so much attention immediately. they also tell us her name and show us pictures of her, so the mystery isn't even who so much where she is and what kind of person she is. this means no "big reveal" later, but doesnt affect my interest in learning more about her.

two final things:

1. i assumed i would be annoyed by the intro since my younger cousin used to be obsessed with the original ducktales theme and would play it on repeat for literally hours. he didn't even watch the show, he just played the song. i was wrong, my cousin was right and the intro is a banger.

2. this is the first show i have watched ever where i've recognized almost every actor. i'm super face blind so i take a while to recognize actors in live action things if their voice isn't distinctive or if they don't talk much. however, i'm good at recognizing voice actors. especially ones in a lot of cartoons. in this show we have

ben schwartz as dewey- my brother hates this man so i always recognize him instantly. also he's leo in rottmnt, which i was pretty obsessed with for a while.

danny pudi as huey- i love abed. i like community overall, but the only part of it i really love is abed(and troy.. and annie. and the dean. but still.), and he means a lot to me as a character. we don't get a lot of good autistic representation, and danny pudi did such a good job as him.

[actor name?] as louie- this voice actor played panda in we bare bears. he sounds just like panda, i don't know the actor's name but he has a distinctive voice.

[actor name?] as webby- i had a pretty intense steven universe hyperfixation as a kid. i would recognize sadie anywhere

david tennant as scrooge- he's just in a lot of things. specifically i watched doctor who a lot with my mom when i was little and he was her favorite doctor, plus i've seen the first season of good omens. he's also very popular on tumblr, where i spend a lot of my time.

beck bennet as launchpad- my parents watch a lot of snl, i watched it with them as a preteen, when he was on the show (is he still on the show? i don't know any current cast members?)

i also definitely recognize the voices of lena and webby's grandma. they sound super familiar, i just can't pinpoint other characters played by them.