DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
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DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp marked the first theatrical animated movie by The Walt Disney Company that was not part of their animated feature canon, and their first movie based on one of their television shows. It is based on the 1987 version of DuckTales and was released shortly before the series' last few episodes originally aired.
The film opens on Scrooge, Launchpad, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby arriving at a dig site where Scrooge's diggers have found a map to a treasure Scrooge has been seeking for forty years - the treasure of Collie Baba and his 40 Thieves. Unbeknownst to them, Dijon, a digger with a severe case of kleptomania, is working for an evil sorcerer named Merlock, who is also seeking the treasure so that he can get his hands on a magic lamp that Collie Baba stole from him so long ago. Just as Scrooge and company find the treasure, Merlock steals it right from under their beaks. However, before he could do that, Webby found the lamp Merlock was seeking, which Scrooge allowed her to keep as a toy for her tea party set. Thus, Scrooge and company end up coming home with the very thing Merlock was looking for.
Back in Duckburg, the kids discover that the lamp contains a fun-loving genie, who disguises himself as a kid like them and grants their wishes without Scrooge knowing. Scrooge eventually finds out about the genie, and soon wishes for Collie Baba's treasure to be brought to his mansion so that he can finally brag about it to his patrons in the Archaeological Society. Unfortunately, Merlock and Dijon are still on the hunt for the genie, and they know that Scrooge has it...
In spite of the popularity of the DuckTales cartoon, the film did poorly at the box office, and as a result, plans to make more DuckTales films and a movie based on Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers were scrapped. Two years later, Disney would produce a more successful movie involving a genie who lived in a lamp...
- Air Vent Passageway: While infiltrating the money bin, Webby has to crawl through the air vent into the security room and then open the door for the boys.
- Animation Bump: This movie features some of the most beautiful non-cinematic Disney animation of the early 1990s.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In the movie, Genie mentions that Merlock wished for Atlantis to sink and Mt. Vesuvius to erupt. The Comic Book Adaptation adds that Merlock was also responsible for the creation of anchovy pizza.
- Be Careful What You Wish For
- Benevolent Genie: Unfortunately, he's magically forced to grant the wishes of even evil masters.
- The Cameo: A portrait of Donald Duck is placed back on a wall in Scrooge's mansion after Louie wishes for Webby's toys to return to their lifelessness.
- Cane Fu: Scrooge
- Captain Crash: Launchpad, as in the series, but here given a Lampshade Hanging as Launchpad admits that he's never had full flight classes, only a crash course.
- Chickification: Mrs. Beakley suffers from this.
- Darkest Hour: As the climax rolls around, Dijon gets the lamp and wishes his fortune...by taking Scrooge's. He takes everything from him, the Money Bin, his enterprise, even his house, and what little money the team is left with had to be given up to get Scrooge back from Dijon's goons. And then Merlock takes the lamp and raises a giant castle in the middle of Duckburg.
- Disney Villain Death: Merlock. After going One-Winged Angel, of course. (He's in his 'normal' form for the fall itself, though...)
- Never Found the Body: Merlock's first wish was to live forever. He may have survived (presuming there were no catches to his immortality). Of course, note that he was screaming as he fell.
- Hey, just because one is immortal doesn't mean that a thousand-foot fall wouldn't hurt like hell!
- Remember when Genie's Lamp disintegrated and Dijon turned back to normal? I'd say that hitting the ground is the least of Merlock's problems. Basically he probably died of extreme old age long before he hit the ground.
- Never Found the Body: Merlock's first wish was to live forever. He may have survived (presuming there were no catches to his immortality). Of course, note that he was screaming as he fell.
- Durable Deathtraps
- Evil Laugh: Merlock loves indulging in these.
- Evil Sorcerer: Merlock.
- Freeing the Genie: Scrooge uses his last wish to have Genie Become a Real Boy.
- Goofy Print Underwear
- Is There a Doctor In the House?: Dijon utters this after a booby trap lands on him.
Dijon: Is there a doctor in the pyramid?
- Laser Hallway: Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby have to go through one of these in the Money Bin.
- Living Forever Is Awesome: The nephews have this opinion about Merlock's first wish. The Genie has to point out to them that when you're as evil and insane as Merlock is, immortality is not a good attribute.
- Morphic Resonance: Merlock retains his mustache and goatee in all of his transformations.
- The Movie
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When Dijon finds the lamp, Genie dissuades him from giving it to Merlock by pointing out that Dijon could wish for a fortune of his own. As Genie mournfully tells Scrooge later on; "I didn't know he'd wish for your fortune!"
- Non-Serial Movie: The events of the film are never mentioned again in the series, although Scrooge recognizes Dijon when he appears in two episodes that aired shortly after the film's release.
- Older Than You Think: Ever noticed how this movie is similar to Aladdin? Well, that is because the latter took inspiration from this one, along with The Thief and the Cobbler.
- Ominous Floating Castle: Merlock uses magic to turn Scrooge's money bin into a Floating Castle that is very ominous.
- One-Winged Angel: Merlock
- Scary Scorpions
- Sue Donym: The kids name the Genie "Gene" when Scrooge first finds him.
- Shout-Out: Dijon tells Merlock that, when he gets the lamp, he will become "More powerful than locomotive! More faster than speedy bull! Able to leap tall buildings in a single town!"
- Super Speed Reading: Genie reads an entire encyclopedia in ten seconds.
- The Starscream: Invoked by Genie, who convinces Dijon to keep the lamp and wish for his own fortune rather than turn it over to Merlock for a reward. It goes horribly right.
- Three Wishes: Merlock has a talisman that allows him to override the three wish rule. Unfortunately, wishing for possession of the talisman is the one wish beyond the genie's power.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Merlock transforms into a variety of (non-anthropomorphic) animals.
- Wasn't That Fun?: After they survive the raging river ride.
- Why We Can't Have Nice Things:
Scrooge: Launchpad! Look what you've done to these ancient ruins!
Launchpad: Well, it could've been worse. It could've been somethin' new!