"Duckman of Aquatraz" is the fifteenth episode of DuckTales. It aired on October 2, 1987.
Synopsis[]
One day, as Scrooge McDuck is enjoying some ice cream, he is placed under arrest for grand theft, charged with stealing a painting from Flintheart Glomgold's art gallery―specifically Pablo Piquacko's Duck à l'Orange. The Duckburg Tribune reports of this, and interviews Glomgold who reveals a videotape that he is using as his "evidence" for the crime. At the trial, the prosecutor frames Launchpad McQuack for crashing his plane with Scrooge as a passenger into the neighborhood of Glomgold's gallery on the night of the robbery. Forced to speak for himself, Launchpad says that if he did do it, then Scrooge told him to keep it a secret from everyone. The prosecutor shows the video Glomgold sent as his proof, showing a security camera shot from the main display room of the Glomgold gallery. With this evidence, Scrooge is found guilty and sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment at the maximum-security prison of Aquatraz.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie decide to search Glomgold's gallery for suspicious activity and find him commanding one of his minions, Pierre L'Oink, to get rid of a McDuck family portrait by dumping it from Duckburg Bay Bridge into a waterway, prompting the nephews to track him down. Meanwhile, as Scrooge is locked into his jail cell, he meets his cellmate, Mad Dog McGurk, who like him was sent there for a crime he did not commit. The boys succeed in salvaging the portrait from the ocean, but the paint is washed away by the water it has been exposed to, so that when they present it to the judge, he dismisses their evidence as "not good enough" until the nephews give further explanation. Eventually, the nephews make it to Aquatraz, accompanied by Webby and Mrs. Beakley, who decorate the prison cell to make it look cozy and cook for Scrooge and Mad Dog, and the next day, Mad Dog's mother comes in to give him a surprise visit, thanks to Scrooge. Then, Mad Dog decides to break out of prison, taking Scrooge with him in return for his kindness. The two are found by the warden, whose armed guards and attack dogs chase after them to no avail. When the nephews view the tape for the hundredth time in their room, they decide to look at it a little more closely, and come to learn that the "Scrooge" that stole the painting was really Glomgold in disguise. Scrooge is continuing his escape with Mad Dog, when the governor approaches him by helicopter and grants him an unconditional pardon. When interviewed at the end of the episode, Scrooge imposes his own unusual punishment on Glomgold: he is required to keep a painting of his rival over his fireplace for the next fifteen years. When Mad Dog gives him a hug, Scrooge concludes that he thinks he could use a bodyguard at the moment.
Cast[]
- Peter Cullen as Mad Dog McGurk, Reporter, Judge, Radio Voice
- Joan Gerber as Mrs. Beakley, Mrs. McGurk
- Ed Gilbert as Pierre La Oink, Newsboy, Prosecutor, Cafeteria Guard
- Terry McGovern as Launchpad McQuack, Cell Guard, Inmate
- Hal Smith as Flintheart Glomgold, Police Officer, Warden
- Russi Taylor as Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Webby Vanderquack
- Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck
Trivia[]
- This episode is noticeably similar to the Mickey Mouse Works short "Big House Mickey", where Mickey is framed by Mortimer for theft, much like how Scrooge is framed by Glomgold.
- Aquatraz is based on American prison Alcatraz
- The title is a pun on notorious criminal Robert Stroud's nickname "Birdman of Alcatraz"
- There would be no point in someone being convicted based solely on a recording, as there would be several arguments that would rule out this evidence, from a mere montage to someone dressed as Scrooge having entered the gallery and Scrooge could have said where he was at the time of the crime.
Home video releases[]
VHS
- DuckTales: Jailhouse Duck (foreign release)
Laserdisc
- DuckTales: Jailhouse Duck (foreign release)
DVD
- DuckTales: Volume 1
- DuckTales: First Collection (foreign release)
Gallery[]
