Webbigail

Guten tag, mein friends

For our first review, let's all begin by singing a song. I'll start...

"Life is like a hurricane ..here in...Duckberg..."

I know you know the rest. So I'll let you hum it, while you read the review. Today I'm going to review one of DuckTales' main characters, Webby Vanderquack. A character so sweet that either you want to wuv her and squeeze her and hugs her forevers and evers....or you think she's so sweet she'll give you diabetes and should be avoided at all costs.

Background: For those of you who don't know, Webbigail Vanderquack is the granddaughter of Mrs. Betina Beakly. Webbigail came to live with Mr. Scrooge McDuck, when Mrs. Beakly offered to be his nanny and housekeeper. A job offered that was only made available with the promise that she would work for free, because Mr. McDuck thought this was a wonderfully cheap deal. But wait a minute...if Mrs. Beakly is not only working at his home, but living with him along with her grandaughter, doesn't he have to pay for not only her required cleaning supplies, but she and Webby's room and board as well as their clothing and other things that come with the cost of living? Maybe he's not getting so good a deal after all. But I digress...

As I said before, Webbigail, or Webby for short, was unbelievably precious. While the nephews were boyish boys who loved playing baseball and cowboys and Indians or looking for buried treasure, she was content playing house and telling others that  "As soon as I finish cleaning up this tea-pot. We can have a tea party with all my dollies..." (dawww....How cuuuutee.....) And when she played these games she often carried her doll 'Quacky' with her that had an outfit that mimicked her own pink shirt and 'feather'bow. Even Scrooge came to dote upon her overwhelming cuteness...much to Huey, Dewey, and Louie's chagrin.  As a lover of animals and generally a sweet little duckling all together, she was often thought of by the boys as nuisance and they didn't want this girly-girl duckling along with them on their boyish adventures. Wanting to be included in the group, Webby would often find herself getting into trouble by attempting to sneak along on their adventures. At one point she went so far as to run away and join the Beagle Boys, because she felt neglected by them. Thankfully, her preciousness often got her out of that same trouble as she charmed the socks off of many a villain. One batting of her sweet little eyes and 'dawwww..... I can't lock her up.' To which the boys would respond 'Oh brother...'

Positives: This was generally the public reaction to this little duckling. The girls loved her and the boys thought she had cooties. Though to her credit it ended up making her a more believable character. Unlike most characters that are meant to 'appeal to the female demographic' who are about as interesting as a cardboard cut out and twice as shallow, Webby actually had a personality and evoked an emotional reaction. Many a little girl...myself included...could actually identify with her and her girly ways. Also, its important to note that although she was both kind and sweet, she was never a girly-sue. She got into just as much mischief as the boys even if her motivations were different than their's and was just as much a help to the team even if the boys didn't believe it. She was a cutey, but she certainly wasn't useless.

Negatives: Of all her positive points she did have one major flaw. Unlike many of the main characters, she didn't have much 'carry-over' value as some of the other cartoon cast members. She wasn't created by Disney himself so she wasn't as valued as Scrooge or his nephews and she didn't have any abilities that could serve a purpose outside the Ducktale's universe. Unlike many of the main characters who appeared in the Darkwing Duck spin off series as well as its short run comic in that ended in 2011, Webbigail made her adorable debut in 1987 and then just as quickly dissapeared in 1990 with the end of the show. Despite the fact that she was popular, she was rarely eveyone's favorite character. Usually that honor fell to someone like Launchpad or even Gizmoduck. It's a lot easier to get behind a character who can defeat criminals with the same  panache as Inspector Gadget than it is with a female duckling who wants you to play dress up. Sadly, she just wasn't all that exciting.

Final Verdict: Webbigail Vanderquack was a likable and even lovable character even if she wasn't exciting enough to include in later adventures. And even though she didn't have what it takes to be a favorite character to this day she is remembered fondly despite her apparent ability to affect others with cooties.

Well that's all folks, I hoped you enjoyed your little sing-song as you read my review. May you all have a lovely day and I'll see you again next week.

God bless,
TheCleaningLady

Welcome

Dear Readers...not that I have any...yet,

Today I introduce myself. Tomorrow I hope you return. But that all depends upon my ability to at best inspire you and at worst at least entertain you. So let's get hopping shall we?

As I said, introductions are in order. I'm a graduated student fresh out of college from the lovely upper Midwest. I've had a lot of fun working the past few years as a housekeeper cleaning apartments at a local assisted living facility working for lots of Grandpa's and Grandma's who, since I've started, have come to refer to me as 'The Cleaning Lady'...hence my screen name. Also, I've spent the past five years studying history and loved every minute of it...well not every minute.... the classes were awesome. The homework...not so much. What I do love is kid's stuff. I love kid's games, kid's cartoons, kid's books....all those things that entertained us when we were young still entertain me today. That's why I intend to look back upon those things I enjoyed during my childhood. Admittedly there are some things as an adult I can't believe I was even exposed to as a kid. The same goes for the kids of today. That's why I hope to use my college trained mind and this here blog to see what from childhood is worth enjoying and those things that were....not so much...

Hopefully you'll take this journey with me as I delve into the world of kid's books, movies, toys, games, trials and triumphs to re-live those strange and wonderful days we call...childhood.

Blessings to you all....or rather those who are to come,
TheCleaningLady

Next Weeks Review: Introductions review - Webbigail