Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System! is the eleventh episode of Season 1 and the 11th episode overall of DuckTales 2017. It first aired on May 11, 2018, on Disney Channel and marks the series' introduction of Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera and his alter-ego Gizmoduck, as well as that of the DuckTales 2017 version of Darkwing Duck albeit in its TV show form.
Plot[]
Brilliant young scientist Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera is recruited by Launchpad McQuack who is feeling menaced by tech genius Mark Beaks' newest invention.
Synopsis[]
In the city of Saint Canard, the villains Quackerjack, Megavolt, and The Liquidator set off a bomb in order to rob a bank. As they are fleeing, the nearby streetlights are inexplicably smashed, and purple smoke begins to roll in. The culprit of both unexpected effects is none other than Darkwing Duck, who pursues the fleeing villains and soon confronts them. This is taking place in an episode of the Darkwing Duck show, which Dewey is watching at Launchpad's garage.
With Dewey being unaware of the show, Launchpad explains the nature of the series and its star, Jim Starling, to Dewey as he is getting together an outfit trying to look his best. Once finished, he and Dewey get into Scrooge's limo, and Launchpad reveals that he is celebrating finally receiving his driver's license. The two travel to the Money Bin, where Launchpad is expecting a party after having mailed his license to Scrooge to share the good news. However, no such celebration is forthcoming, and the pair find Scrooge with Gyro Gearloose in the latter's lab.
Scrooge is witnessing a presentation of Gyro's latest concept when the demonstration is wrecked by Gyro's new intern, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera. In the midst of dealing with the mess, Dewey reveals that Mark Beaks has introduced an uncrashable, self-driving car. Gyro and Scrooge immediately head off to investigate, but not before Scrooge tosses Launchpad the unopened envelope containing his driver's license, having not even checked inside. All four make their way to the exhibition of B.U.D.D.Y., Beaks' robotic driver. Scrooge is quickly impressed and expresses interest in obtaining a fleet of the automatons.
Feeling threatened, Launchpad challenges B.U.D.D.Y. to a race, and then sneaks into Gyro's lab with Dewey later than night looking for a way to ensure his victory. The pair are apprehended by Manny, now working as another of Gyro's interns, and conference with Fenton who offers to help. At the race, Fenton implements a complicated method in hopes of aiding Launchpad, but it does more harm than good. Despite utilizing multiple different vehicles in an effort to defeat B.U.D.D.Y., Launchpad loses the race.
Gyro, who was spying on the race, emerges and reveals that he has learned where the technology for B.U.D.D.Y. came from: it's based on his own Bulb Tech. To his fury, he learns that Fenton posted Lil Bulb's blueprints online while looking for help preventing Lil Bulb from turning evil again, and Gyro promptly fires Fenton. The despondent ex-intern joins an equally depressed Launchpad while Gyro, Scrooge, Dewey, and Beaks climb into B.U.D.D.Y.'s car. However, he quickly discovers that Beaks' modifications to B.U.D.D.Y. were mostly cosmetic, and the robot turns evil and takes the four hostages.
Recognizing the plight of their employers and friends, Launchpad and Fenton launch into action, with Launchpad using Scrooge's limo to pursue them while Fenton activates an invention of Gyro's that he attempted to show off earlier. The device, a set of robotic armor, assembles around Fenton and transforms him into Gizmoduck, who puts his suit to use in an effort to rescue B.U.D.D.Y.'s hostages. While he succeeds in doing so, his inexperience with the suit leaves him at B.U.D.D.Y.'s mercy, and Launchpad and Dewey come to his aid.
After a tense confrontation on the road-during which Launchpad and Dewey learn that Fenton is using the suit-B.U.D.D.Y. is knocked off a cliff into a river. Back at the Money Bin, Scrooge acknowledges Launchpad's receipt of his license and also his appreciation for his driver/pilot. Fenton attempts to claim that the Gizmoduck suit disappeared, but Gyro dismisses his fabrications and reverses his decision to fire Fenton. Unbeknownst to them, Mark Beaks is now determined to claim Gizmoduck for himself.
Cast[]
- David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck
- Ben Schwartz as Dewey Duck
- Beck Bennett as Launchpad McQuack
- Lin-Manuel Miranda as Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Gizmoduck
- Josh Brener as Mark Beaks
- Jim Rash as Gyro Gearloose, Gizmoduck Armor (uncredited)
- Corey Burton as B.U.D.D.Y., The Liquidator
- Jim Cummings as Darkwing Duck
- Michael Bell as Quackerjack
- Keith Ferguson as Megavolt
Production Notes[]
Series Continuity[]
Trivia[]
- Main Cast Absences: Huey, Louie, Webby, Donald and Mrs. Beakley
- This episode introduces several features from the 1990s Disney Afternoon series Darkwing Duck, which, in the continuity of the DuckTales reboot, exists as live-action television series:
- The show's main setting, Saint Canard, was previously confirmed to exist as a city not far from Duckburg, as first mentioned in "Woo-oo!"
- However, the characters Darkwing Duck, Megavolt, the Liquidator, and Quackerjack are all fictitious in the DuckTales universe.
- The Ratcatcher briefly appears in the background as Darkwing Duck's vehicle.
- Launchpad gets his driver's license in this episode.
- According to Launchpad's driver's license, his birthday is September 18th, but in the original series episode "A DuckTales Valentine", he said he was an Aries, which would mean his birthday is between March 21st and April 19th. This is presumably a difference in canon between the two series, and reflects the airdate of the original DuckTales cartoon.
- A billboard advertising S.H.U.S.H.-with a picture of Vladimir Gryzlikoff appears during the Darkwing Duck footage from the episode's beginning.
- The sequence when Launchpad jumps Scrooge's limo on the way to the Money Bin is modeled after a scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
- Fenton's 'transformation' sequence into Gizmoduck resembles character/mecha transformations from various anime.
- The plot of this episode is similar to that of the TaleSpin episode From Here to Machinery.
- Fenton suggests modifying the car with an oscillation overthruster, which happens to be the name of the macguffin in the movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
