Cartoon Clash 5 - Oh Duck, There Is More!

Welcome to another duckstatic edition of Cartoon Clash. In Part 1 I examined “The Mighty Ducks” and “Quack Attack” so check the last version of Cartoon Clash if you want to read my thoughts on those shows. Part 2 I’ll be reviewing “Duck Tales” and “Darkwing Duck” two cartoons from the Toon Disney era.  As before I’ll be reviewing the shows based: catchiness, lyrics, and memorability.  Time to start quacking; oops, I mean to start reviewing these shows.

Duck Tales: (1987-1990)

Catchiness: The song starts with a thumping catchy 80s bass line which I am an immediate fan of it. The song is complete with trumpet work, and basic synth lines. The chorus is pretty damn catchy. So far so good Duck Tales.

Lyrics: The lyrics for this song are very well written, and in fact the best I have ever reviewed. Because the lyrics are so good for this song I’m doing a lyrical analysis for them.

Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg
Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes, it's a duck-blur!
Might solve a mystery
Or rewrite history!

In these lines the narrators says life in Duckburg is not boring at all. In fact life in Duckburg is pretty exciting so much so that the narrator says race cars (not the political kind) are pretty prevalent in Duckburg. 

DuckTales! Woo-oo!
Everyday they're out there making
DuckTales! Woo-oo!
Tales of daring do bad and good
Luck Tales!

Every day they are making stories about rich ducks with power to control time, and rewrite history. Money can truly buy happiness if I’m correct.  This song has the best chorus written I have reviewed.

Not pony tales or cotton tales, no,
DuckTales! Woo-oo!

Who would write a show about pony tales or cotton tales? Oh wait the former actually exists.

Memorability: This song was designed to be stuck in your head by the way the singer sings it. The chorus is wonderful, and the instrumentation is fantastic.  Memorize the song is easy, and fun to do.

Notability: Some have called this song one of the best cartoon theme songs of the late 80s to early 90s.  It was so memorable that a YouTube video using real ducks reenacted the song opening credits.

Notes: There are several different versions of the song.  The Disney afternoon version cuts another verse. The full version extends the song for two minutes and it sounds like heaven unlike the last review.

The full version of the song includes an extra verse, and more of the bass line between the songs.  It could be the video I was listening to the song, but the audio quality on the full version has more harmony than the original.

Darkwing Duck: (1991-1992)

I always thought this cartoon was good but I never realized how good it was until I was an adult. I watch a few episodes of Darkwing Duck and found it hilarious, because the main character is an egotistical duck. He provides his own narration between scenes  and takes full of credit everything. Darkwing Duck gets thumbs up from me for being a different and hilarious cartoon.

Catchiness: Pretty catchy song. The song chants “Darkwing Duck” ,  “Let’s get dangerous” , and “When there’s trouble call DW” as the main choruses. The song is built with a funky 80s beat similar to Duck Tales, but faster bpm.  I like the harmonization effects when they repeat the show name.

Memorize: A few passes on the song you’ll get the most of the lyrics. On the first pass I remember Darkwing Duck, and let’s get dangerous. Unlike the last few cartoon shows I reviewed, this song has a cool beat that inspires you to learn the words.

Lyrics: The lyrics are well done here. They explain who Darkwing Duck is as a character, and what his job is for the city. 

Notes: The ending credits contain an awesome saxophone work with the song. I still prefer the original opening credits of the song. There is not much else to say about it. It is a fantastic theme song that deserves a listen for you. (I’m serious go listen to it now!)

Enough Musical Analysis: Who won the battle?

This was an extremely tough decision for me personally. I enjoy both shows theme songs very much, and there were no significantly visible errors on both shows. However I can’t let a tie happen since no one likes ties at all. That would be a boring conclusion to this review. Instead I rather cause fan wars, which on paper seem like a better choice. Here are the scores for each show.

Duck Tales (5/5)

Darkwing Duck (4.5/5)

What decided it for me was the baseline for Duck Tales.  Duck Tales is easily sing able, and as bonus danceable.  The easy rhymes provide nice ear candy and this song has never worn its welcome out for me. Darkwing Duck is a different vibe show, and everything about the song fits very well.  The mysterious tone of the music, and superhero rhymes work do justice to the song.  In the end the songs came down to personal preference for me.  Now my integrity and my reviews are not for sale,"Wait a minute, how much are you offering, Mr. Scrooge?" 

I'm $ean rich.

Me: Glad that review was over. Toughest decision I had to make on Cartoon Clash. 

window breaks

Me: Who is there?

DW: Darkwing Duck, the master of surprise and of his odd analogies. 

Me: Never heard of ya.

DW: I am the terror that flaps through the night.  I am the brick that breaks your window.  I am Darkwing Duck. 

Me: Darkwing Duck, why are you here?

DW: I saw your blog post, and I’m not happy about the result.

Me: I didn’t even post it yet. How is that even possible?

DW: Let’s get dangerous!

Me: Someone help me. A duck has kidnapped me.

DW: No one is going to believe you. Since you prefer dancing ducks to me. Mu ha ha ha

DW: I’ll get Quack Pack  to help you make the right decision between shows.

Me: Nooooooooooooooooo!

Will Sean be able to get himself free from the clutches of Darkwing Duck? Will he make the right decision between shows? Find out next time on Cartoon …

DW: Actually I’m going to be anticlimactic and let Sean go. The Quack Pack crew was too much trouble to bring to my hideout. 

Me: Last time I do anything related to ducks on this blog for a while.  All this trouble over a simple blog post. No more bribes from fictions cartoon ducks.

Me: Duck me, side ways.