"Robot Robbers" is the tenth episode of DuckTales. It is based loosely on the July 1965 Uncle Scrooge comic story, "The Giant Robot Robbers" by Carl Barks.
Synopsis[]
One day, Scrooge is at home reading the newspaper. While reading, Scrooge learns that his construction company has lost a bid to Glomgold’s construction company. According to the article, the reason Glomgold won the bid was because he proposed to build a banking complex within just six weeks, which Scrooge claims is impossible. Outraged at Glomgold’s victory, Scrooge marches out to pay his rival a visit.
At the construction site a press event is going on. Glomgold spots Ma Beagle, who is snooping around the site, passing off as an apple vendor, when she’s really trying to take pictures of construction blueprints. Ma agrees to give Glomgold half of her paltry profits and a free (rotten) apple if he lets her stay.
Glomgold then gives a speech on how he won the bid because he promised he could build the complex much faster and cheaper than Scrooge could. Scrooge shows up at the site just as Glomgold reveals his “little” secret. Glomgold has four gigantic robots, built for construction purposes that are going to build the complex for him. Gyro, who built the robots, surprises Scrooge by revealing that he’s inside one of the robots’ heads, controlling it.
Scrooge then yells at Gyro, telling him that he never should’ve built another robot. Gyro states that Scrooge told him never to build him another robot, and that he built these robots for Glomgold. Scrooge also complains that the last robot Gyro invented almost took over the world, but Gyro claims to have made an improvement with these robots. While the last robot had a computer for a brain, these robots rely on their operators to serve as their brains. With Gyro as an operator, Scrooge isn’t so sure he considers it an improvement.
Glomgold asks Gyro to give a demonstration with the robots, while he boasts that Scrooge made a mistake with passing up the offer to finance the robots. Within minutes, the robots have already built a small portion of the complex. Scrooge is also surprised to see that Launchpad is promoting Glomgold Construction by flying a banner from his biplane, but a quick crash gets Launchpad fired by Glomgold.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie were building the complex bank placing boards while Gyro is working.
Ma sneaks into the silo that houses the robots while they're not in use, and waits for the robots to return at the end of the day. Then Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Gyro hear whistling to go to the silo. After narrowly evading a security guard, Ma climbs into one of the robots and takes control of it, breaking out of the silo and leaving the construction site. She takes the robot to jail, and uses it to break Bankjob, Burger and Babyface out of jail. The Beagles then return to the construction site, where the boys each take control of the other three robots. After crushing a police car, Ma suggests that she and the boys should go and “paint the town”.
Soon a group of cops show up, and order the Beagles to surrender, but Ma realizes that they don’t have to surrender while they’re in control of the giant robots. The cops shoot at the robots, but their bullets have no effect on them, forcing the cops into retreating.
Launchpad learns of the robots' whereabouts, and reports back to Scrooge the next day. Scrooge concludes that the robots were a mistake, and that he can’t let them get to the Money Bin or he’ll be ruined. Launchpad and Scrooge search for the robots in Launchpad’s helicopter, and find them in the middle of destroying an expressway.
Scrooge suggests that they land, so that they can sneak up to the robots on foot. Launchpad accidentally leads Scrooge into the sewers, but Scrooge likes the idea, and decides to spy on the robots from a sewer grating. He finds out the ones controlling the robots are the Beagles. Glomgold shows up and stupidly decides to kick one of the robots, but ends up hurting his foot. The Beagle Boys get back at Glomgold by playing hockey, using crossing barriers as sticks, and Glomgold as the puck. After getting smacked around a fair bit, Glomgold gets knocked into the sewer where Scrooge is.
Launchpad then remembers that Gyro's last robot blew its fuses when it was exposed to water. This gives Scrooge the idea to lure the robots into the Duckburg Reservoir. Scrooge then forms a truce with Glomgold at this point. They then ride around in Launchpad’s helicopter, flying a banner that reads “Ma Beagle Has Fleas!” which gets the Beagle Boys’ attention, causing them to follow the helicopter. However, Ma knows that it’s probably a trap, and tries to stop her sons, who end up falling right into the reservoir, submerging them. Ma uses her robot to break open the dam, causing all the water to pour out.
Launchpad receives a call from Gyro, who tells them that these robots are waterproof. When the reservoir is drained, the Beagle Boys try to attack the helicopter, but they miss. Scrooge goes to pick up Gyro for additional help, while the Beagle Boys try to destroy the Money Bin. Though they manage to destroy the Money Bin's outer concrete shell, the boys are unable to break through the metal underneath. Ma, who’s taken a glance at the robots' instruction book, realizes that the robots’ batteries are running low, and that they need to recharge.
Scrooge, Gyro and Glomgold are at a power station, where Gyro has channeled all of Duckburg’s power into the station’s breaker switches. Gyro explains that the overload of power will cause the robots to blow their fuses. When the Beagles head to some nearby power lines to recharge, Gyro insists that they wait until all four robots are recharging at the same time. The opportunity never arises, so the switches are pulled only when the three boys are recharging. Although those three robots are disabled, Ma’s is still working, so she take her sons out of their robots and places them in with her.
The ducks flee in the helicopter while Ma’s robot chases after them. Gyro explains that the robot shouldn’t run out of power for a whole day. Launchpad pilots the helicopter over to Glomgold’s construction site, where they lure the robot into a cement mixing building. After closing the door, Glomgold fills up the building with quick-setting concrete, rendering the robot immobile. The Beagle Boys try to flee from the robot, but get stuck in the concrete before it fully sets. Ma, however, waits for the concrete to fully set before making her getaway. Her sons are soon arrested.
Afterwards, Scrooge admits to Glomgold that the Beagle Boys' rampage wasn’t as bad as they originally thought it would be. Glomgold sneers that Scrooge is lucky that Glomgold's robots weren't too badly damaged, but his relief is short-lived, when a policeman tells Glomgold that the mayor has ordered the robots dismantled permanently. He also gives Glomgold a bill for all the damage that his robots did to the city. Glomgold is aghast - he has to rebuild half the city, but without his robots he has nothing to rebuild it with. Scrooge cheerfully offers to have McDuck Construction handle the job. "How much will that cost?!" Glomgold demands, to which Scrooge smugly replies, "How much you got?" and exits with a laugh, leaving Glomgold to throw the city's bill to the ground and jump on it in helpless rage.
Cast[]
- Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck
- Chuck McCann as Duckworth, Burger Beagle
- Hal Smith as Flintheart Glomgold, Gyro Gearloose, Huey, Dewey, and Louie
- June Foray as Ma Beagle
- Terry McGovern as Launchpad McQuack, Babyface Beagle
- Peter Cullen as Bankjob Beagle
Trivia[]
- This is Ma Beagle's first appearance.
- Throughout the episode, Burger speaks in Bouncer's voice except for one scene where he, Bankjob and Babyface get electrocuted.
- This is the episode in which Huey, Dewey, and Louie appear in the robots.
- The events of the previous episode, "Armstrong", are mentioned, when Scrooge says that "[Gyro's] last robot almost took over the world."
Video releases[]
- DVD - DuckTales: Volume 1
Gallery[]
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External links[]
