"Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!" is the fiftieth episode of DuckTales. It premiered on April 4, 2020 and is the first episode of the third season premiere.
Plot[]
The Duck family are attending the Calisota Junior Woodchucks graduation with Huey expecting to be promoted to Senior Woodchuck; his lifelong dream. Della yells triumphantly that the legacy is alive. Webby asks why Donald is not wearing his old woodchuck suit, Della sadly reveals that he was kicked out, due to his anger and bad attitude as he was chased by mosquito. However, Huey is shocked to discover that he is competing against Violet who is revealed to not only be a member of the Woodchucks, but also has more badges on her sash than Huey. Launchpad, who is the acting Woodchuck leader, explains that they will need to compete in order for one of them to become a Senior. Huey becomes demoralized as he worries that Violet will best him. Meanwhile, Scrooge discovers that a painting of Isabella Finch, the founder of the Woodchucks, has a map hidden on it. An admirer of Finch, he coaxes Dewey, Louie, Webby, Della, and Donald to follow it to her hidden treasure.
Huey and Violet set off to plant their respective colored flags on markers hidden throughout the trail. Whenever Huey seems to get close, Violet would undermine him with a much more well-thought-out solution. Scrooge's party encounters a colorful bird that keeps squawking a happy tune that pleases the kids, but annoys Scrooge who just wants to follow the trail mapped out, but is forced to follow his ever distracted family. Huey, who is not allowed to use his Junior Woodchucks Guidebook, ends up mentally conjuring J.W. Guidebook to aid him in reaching the end. He immediately gets attacked by a "Nandi-Bear", but outruns it up a tree where he encounters Violet again. Violet gets rid of the bear, but Huey uses the opportunity to reach the next marker first, despite Guidebook's insistence that he help her.
Scrooge's party gets lead out of "electrified rain" by the bird, but Scrooge is unhappy as he believes it is distracting them from the real adventure. The bear arrives and scares them away with the bird grabbing Scrooge's map and making off with it into a cave with the family following to get away from the bear. Huey makes it to the last leg of the challenge which turns out to be a rickety old bridge above lava. Huey finally ignores Guidebook and tries to beat Violet when she arrives, but the bridge snaps. He resolves to create a latch rope to run to the other side while Violet manages to make a para-glider that uses the heat from the lava to lift her across.
Scrooge voices his displeasure over not being on the right adventure, but the kids tell him that they are already on one and that he should not have to rely on a map. Scrooge finally accepts this logic, and they continue to follow the bird. Huey nearly falls into the lava, but Violet saves him. Huey admits defeat as he chose to ignore his Junior Woodchucks instincts in favor of winning while Violet admits that she had tried and failed to be in the running for Senior Woodchuck after three failed attempts; earning a failure badge in the process. He lets Violet plant her flag, and they are taken to a secret underground room where they are reunited with Launchpad, Lena, Violet's fathers and Scrooge's party who unexpectedly arrived in the area. Huey sadly explains his loss to his family, much to their shock, Della furiously marches over to Launchpad, yelling at him that the challenge was rigged and her son deserves to win, but Huey, however, accepts his defeat.
Huey announces Violet as the winner and accepts a failure badge from Launchpad's numerous collection of them, he leaves with pride, even if he lost. Della angrily, but naively uses finger signals at him, meaning she is going to keep an eye on him. As everyone celebrates Violet's success of being a Senior Woodchuck, Huey recognizes the bird as the Twitter-Till Bird of Knowledge: Isabella Finch's pet's descendant. The bird was leading Scrooge's party this whole time, not distracting them. It unlocks a secret compartment in the cavern that contains Finch's final treasure: a journal full of notes of her adventures, some of which were unfinished or unsolved. Scrooge excitedly tells everyone that they now have new mysteries to solve and adventures to go on. Meanwhile, a small mosquito that was bothering Donald throughout the episode, turns out to be a mechanical one that is being used by the organization F.O.W.L. to spy on the family. The agents realize that they've found the map for an adventures. Bradford ends the episode by deciding that the race is on.
Cast[]
- David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck
- Danny Pudi as Huey Duck
- Ben Schwartz as Dewey Duck
- Bobby Moynihan as Louie Duck
- Kate Micucci as Webby Vanderquack
- Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck
- Paget Brewster as Della Duck
- Beck Bennett as Launchpad McQuack
- Kimiko Glenn as Lena Sabrewing
- Libe Barer as Violet Sabrewing
- Stephen Root as J.W. Guidebook
- Jameela Jamil as Gandra Dee
- Marc Evan Jackson as The Board of Directors
- April Winchell as Black Heron
Trivia[]
- Starting from this episode, the opening has been slightly modified again to include Della Duck, respectively appearing in the running, family close-up and airplane scenes with Launchpad. While shortened in this episode, the full version would not be seen until "The Lost Harp of Mervana!".
- It's revealed that Doofus Drake and B.O.Y.D. are also Junior Woodchucks. Doofus being a Woodchuck is a likely nod to the original DuckTales.
- Several elements (including the hats and uniforms, the designs of the camp and the Tri-Crested Tittertwill) are inspired from Camp Woodchuck at Tokyo Disneyland.
- This episode introduces Violet's fathers: Indy and Ty Sabrewing who are unvoiced. They are the first LGBTQ+ couple to appear on DuckTales.
International premieres[]
- October 11, 2020 (Japan)
- March 19, 2021 (United Kingdom) (Premiere on Disney+)
- October 13, 2021 (Italy) (Premiere on Disney+)
- November 8, 2021 (Portugal)
Gallery[]
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