A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill! is the nineteenth episode of Season 2 and the 42nd episode overall of DuckTales 2017. It aired on September 5, 2019 on Disney Channel.
Synopsis[]
The kids are pulled into a world made of their wildest dreams. Unfortunately, Lena's worst nightmare comes true: Magica De Spell is back and coming to reclaim what’s hers.
Plot[]
The boys, Webby, Lena, and Violet have a sleepover at McDuck Manor, which Lena uses as a celebration of her 1-year friend-iversary with Webby, which she has spent all week preparing for. The group party until the early hours of the morning to the point of exhaustion, but Lena at first refuses to go to sleep. Privately, it is revealed that she has been unable to sleep due to recurring nightmares involving her Aunt Magica beckoning to her, and her fear of turning into Magica. Webby convinces her that she needs some rest, and the group all go to bed together.
To their surprise, they wake up on a tropical island that does not seem to follow any logic, which they realize is a lucid shared dream-scape (in this case, they're sharing Webby's dream). Violet theorizes it is influenced by Lena's sleep deprivation affecting her magic. Lena admits to her nightmares, claiming she didn't want to foist her problems on her friends, though she stops short of explaining what her nightmares are about. The group quickly takes advantage of the dream-scape to have some fun by going to their different dream worlds: Dewey takes them to his dream of musical high school, Louie shows them his dream of being a lazy cat, Huey has a dream about having ridiculously long limbs (which turns into more of a nightmare), and Violet dreams of being in a quiet library reading; eventually they simply montage (literally) into an adventurous dream-scape. Throughout this, however, Lena finds herself stalked by the specter of Magica de Spell, who repeatedly possesses aspects of her friends' dreams to beckon her.
When it comes to Lena's turn to show a dream, she is transported to a castle-like location, where she learns Magica has in fact been possessing her dreams. Magica claims their connection is inevitable and that her friends will always fail her, and demonstrates by transforming Lena into a doppelganger of her. Lena's friends, thinking she is Magica, immediately attack her and call her a monster, breaking her spirit further. However, Webby soon realizes who she is when Lena saves her from a falling chandelier and spots the friendship bracelet she made, and with the help of her friends stops Lena from willingly giving her magic back to Magica and free themselves from the dream-scape.
Upon finding a now insane Magica on the McDuck Manor grounds, the group learns that Magica's possession of Lena's dreams was actually thanks to using a telepathic helmet and not actual magic, proving she is completely powerless. Satisfied that she truly is not like Magica, Lena and the rest of the group return to the Manor while Magica pathetically vows revenge.
Cast[]
- David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck
- Danny Pudi as Huey Duck
- Ben Schwartz as Dewey Duck
- Bobby Moynihan as Louie Duck, Imaginary Unicorn (uncredited)
- Kate Micucci as Webby Vanderquack
- Toks Olagundoye as Mrs. Beakley, Romantic Interest (uncredited)
- Catherine Tate as Magica De Spell
- Kimiko Glenn as Lena
- Libe Barer as Violet
- Susanne Blakeslee as Mrs. Quackfaster
Trivia[]
- Main Cast Absences: Donald (though he is depicted via a cardboard picture in Dewey's dream) (Launchpad appears as a whale in a dream sequence).
- The title is a play on the horror film franchise A Nightmare on Elm Street.
- Scrooge's money bin first appeared in the comics in the Carl Barks story The Big Bin on Killmotor Hill in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 135.
- Magica was creeping in the kids dreams just like Freddy creeping in other peoples dreams in the movie.
- When Launchpad in whale form jumps up from the clouds, it is a reference to the first Dragon Ball Z opening where Shenron flies up while Gohan runs across the landscape.
- Dewey's singing rivals in his dream greatly resemble the Glam Yankees.
- When Dewey begins his dream montage through an infinite loop, his face moves closer to the camera similarly to the Batman 1966 TV show when the scene transitions.
- The poison apple from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs makes a cameo appearance during Dewey's montage dream sequence.
- Louie's cat form seems to be based on the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
- One of the monster forms Lena-as-Magica transforms into references DC Comics' Man-Bat, the monster form of Kirk Langstrom fought by Batman.
- Phooey makes his animated debut, as a character appearing within the kids' dream as he was previously mentioned in What Ever Happened to Donald Duck?!
- The backwards talking of Mrs. Beakley in Louie's dream is a reference to the Red Room dream sequences from Twin Peaks.
- Louie's fat cat appearance closely resembles Garfield the Cat.
