DuckTales: Treasure of the Lost Lamp

Intended to be the first of a franchise, which never really took off, DuckTales: Treasure of the Lost Lamp is an enjoyable but uneven film. There are times when the animation and vocal work are at the level of the high-gloss studio films, and there are times when it looks, sounds and is written no better than any of Disney’s TV shows. The cut-corners are glaringly obvious, but there’s still a certain charm and good nature to this tale of Scrooge McDuck and co. Basically, it’s a riff on Arabian Nights with McDuck after the treasure of Collie Baba (get it?), finding a lost lamp and giving it to Webby, his adopted niece. Of course it contains a magical genie (voiced by Rip Taylor, who is manic and hilarious), and of course there is a magical villain who wants to repossess the lamp and the genie (Christopher Lloyd). While predictable, it still contains numerous moments of pure joy and fun such as Huey, Dewy and Louie wishing for ice cream to rain down for the sky or Webby wishing for all of her stuffed animals come to life. It’s frivolous and kind of forgettable unless you grew up with it like I did.