"The Gift Guard"
Please, somebody tell me why I didn't do this one first! This is very clearly the least interesting duck story in the book, and now I'm stuck with it! Ack! Well, I suppose in its defense, it IS more Christmasy than the previous entries. Still, expect a short blog entry here.
Laaast Christmas I guarded our gifts, the very next day...please complete this couplet to win a free t-shirt. Disclaimer: t-shirt may not exist on prime material plane.
JUST THINK for a moment how insane that sounds: "the Christmas Eve that I stood watch over our Christmas gifts!" YOU WOT. Well, maybe it will make more sense in context.
...not really, no. If this is REALLY a concern, would it maybe perhaps make more sense to just keep the dang presents in your bedroom? No? Okay. Exhausted Donald is, if perhaps no the alarmingest looking...kind of alarming-looking.
AAAAAAAAaaaaaaa!
Sure, I suppose the robot dog is kind of cute looking. That's fine. Whatevah.
Okay, "that or your termite are carrying concealed weapons" is sort of funny. But...cowboy "suits?" Maybe "outfits?" "Costumes?" To be fair, maybe I'm wrong that this is weird--Merriam Webster lists "cowboy suit"--but it sure sounds wrong to ME. Maybe it's an age thing. When you google around most of the results are for formalwear with a cowboy aesthetic. And to be ULTRA-fair, maybe that's what Donald was getting for the kids! Who can say?!?
I mean, HDL aren't wrong: that IS some bullshit. And yet, in spite of that, Huey's look of pure, unfiltered hatred in the lower left there seems to be overdoing it JUST A BIT!
He will stab you and just sit there, staring, as you slowly bleed to death.
I can't help feeling there might be some sort of problem with Jimmy the Snake's logic there, but I can't put my finger on it. Note that even though these are positively identified as the "gift burglars," we really get no notion of why--or, indeed, if--they're specifically gift-themed. More could have been done with this concept.
Here's a funny out-of-context panel. O the remorse! The question is: what exactly is "iron glue?" The internet seems to indicate that there's no one widely-agreed-upon thing by that name. Glue made of molten iron? Well, I guess it's probably rather glue for sticking iron things--some kind of epoxy. Would the Ducks have it just lying around their house? So it seems.
So much for the gift burglars! And they didn't even get caught for stealing actual <i>gifts.</i> Tough life.
There are so many potential problems with this that I cannot, truly, even. Still, as long as everyone's happy, I guess.
Anyway, I hope we all learned a valuable life lesson today.
Labels: Tony Strobl, Vic Lockman
posted by GeoX, one of the GeoX boys. at
10:16 PM
10 Comments:
Clearly, the moral of the story is "If you fear burglars, lock your windows".
Yeah, I don't know why I just skated by that, but if he's so damn worried about being robbed...still, the burglars were definitely vindicated in their decision to leave all their burglary equipment at home.
I think they are gift-themed bulglars as they wanted their crimes to be in spirit of the season. If you going to commit a crime during Christmas you better make it Christmasy! I think the two are just big soffties for the holiday like that.
Then again - What if Christnas (let's say) dosen't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a litte bit more?
(or do you think I'm over thinking it?)
ALSO - The most interesting thing about this story for me - and I'm shock you didn't analise it Geox - is Gyro staying at Ducks house for Christmas? I would love to see scenes of him having diner together with the Ducks and then chit-chating with Donald before they go to sleep. It's rare to see Gyro share some casual life with other characters like that and If it was up to me I would take few panels to explore it!
The conundrum of who took the picture is a non-issue here, because clearly the photo was snapped earlier on Christmas Eve, presumably by Huey, Dewey, or Louie, and by the time the story properly opens the scene is already in the past.
The glue seems to have a similar effect on the electronic dog's brain to that of a human who sniffs it steadily for a while. Yet there is a fine irony in the fact that Huey intended to sabotage the dog by substituting glue for water, but the glue disconcerted the burglars sufficiently for them to give the show away and get caught. So the dog accomplished his purpose despite the trick that was played.
What really gets me though is how Donald can sleep comfortably with his feet glued to the footboard of the bed. It does make for a fitting gag on which to end the story--tying in the glue gag and the electronic dog into the final wrap-up. And Gyro has already said he can whip up a solvent so that Donald can get himself unglued when he wishes. But still--that would be an awfully uncomfortable position to remain frozen in for a few hours. What if he can't get back to sleep and wants to get up and fix a sandwich or something? Of course, it also precludes any trips to the bathroom, but perhaps cartoon ducks don't have to think about things like that. If Donald is OK with it, then I really can't complain about the ending of the story. Just that it would never work for me!
Yes! Kids in the 1960's wore cowboy suits! Maybe the phrase would have stayed in active usage if gazillion kids were still playing in cowboy suits. You wear a costume for Halloween, you don't wear a costume to play in every weekend.
Child-me liked the robo-dog, and was pleased that it managed to foil the burglars even after being sabotaged by Huey (who was, I grant, legitimately pissed). I think that the idea of detecting friend-or-foe by licking skin was a fairly advanced sci fi idea for the period; one can think up various quasi-scientific theories for how that could work. I could imagine it working better than a "lie detector," anyway!
Also, I like "it's not humanly possible for a duck to stay up all night."
Gyro clearly has to stay overnight to observe/explain what's happening with the robo-dog. What strikes me about the arrangement is that Donald apparently has two single beds in his bedroom, 60's-TV-married-couple-Petrie-style, with the second as guest accomodations. And yet, when Donald returns to his bedroom to be glued into bed, the second bed has disappeared! It's not just the viewing angle--there's no way that second bed could be in there. Maybe Gyro has a travel instabed in his pocket?
Though you can see why the creators stuck Gyro in Donald's bedroom--the natural thing would be for him to sleep on the couch in the living room, and he can't be on the scene when the robbers show up.
I didn't mention it, but yeah, I toss and turn a lot at night, and having my feet glued to the bed would just be a nightmare. Even if I were able to sleep, which I wouldn't, I can just imagine waking up in the middle of the night and trying to get up and just--what a nightmare. GOODNESS.
I really like the idea that you have to keep putting water in the robot dog to keep it functional; it makes the gadget seem somehow believable--it's kind like a humidifier.
Yeah, but how often does it need to be watered? Seems like it's often enough to make it pretty impractical. Gyro may need to revise his design.
A burglar alarm that needs to be refueled multiple times a night kinda kills the entire point, I'd say.
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