I am sorry if I don't want to be killed by a money shark!
The kids and Launchpad work together to capture a mystical money shark while Scrooge attempts to better his public image with a televised interview.
This episode contains examples of:
- #1 Dime: This episode’s Memento MacGuffin that Magica’s plan hinges on her acquiring.
- Abusive Parents: Magica clearly doesn't care about Lena's safety in regards to being in the Bin with Tiffany, and actually calls her "dumb" to her face.
- All Girls Like Ponies: Webby disguises the spellbook she smuggled into McDuck Manor as a book titled "So You Love Ponies?"
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Scrooge hates all kinds of magic: curses, incantations, card tricks...
- Artistic License – Biology: Not all of Huey's shark facts stand up to fact checking. Namely no living shark has the strongest bite force on the planet, that title goes to the saltwater crocodile (many sharks often actually have rather weak jaws for their size, as they rely more on how sharp their teeth are rather than on the force of the bite). It is speculated that the extinct shark C. megalodon had the strongest bite on the planet (said speculation based on scaling up living sharks that are believed to be similar to it as no actual megalodon jaws are known), and given the Ducktales world is full of monstrous creatures they may well still exist in it, but it's still a misleading statement on its own. Then again Huey might not have been reading right since he was in a state of panic.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: When Lena suggests that she and Webby play a sleepover game:Webby: According to an article I read about slumber parties online, the perfect sleepover game is—
Triplets: [burst into the room, wielding pillows] Pillow fight! - The Bad Guy Wins: Due to Scrooge's Involuntary Charity Donation, several villains, including Glomgold, the Beagle Boys and the Smashnikov brothers, manage to get away with much of his money and there's nothing he can do about it. On a darker note, Magica literally prevents Lena from trying to run away from her, and Lena is forced to cast off the friendship bracelet that Webby made for her.
- Becoming the Mask: Early on Lena tries to maintain her Pragmatic Villainy façade but Magica repeatedly calls her out on her real feelings. In the end Lena basically admits she's right and even tries to abandon Magica, only to find out that Magica doesn't care about her will in the matter.
- Berserk Button: Scrooge is revealed to have two more: he hates magic as he sees it a shortcut to hard work, and don't you dare get Scotland confused with Ireland or the proud Glaswegian will go on a rant about the differences between the two!
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Roxanne Featherly seems like a nice person, but quickly reveals herself to be a child-friendly version of Rita Skeeter; she does her research on Scrooge... and then frames Scrooge as a bad guy and engineers a confrontation between him and Glomgold just because the tension makes good TV.
- Brick Joke:
- Webby mentions that there’s a method for making a bed that’s used as an interrogation technique. When Lena returns from the bathroom, Webby is interrogating her stuffed bunny.
- Mrs. Beakley gives "What part of Ireland are you from?" as an example of a question Roxanne Featherly might as Scrooge. Roxanne ends up asking this very question during the actual interview later.
- Bullying a Dragon: The triplets lampshade how them picking a fight with Webby is this.
- The Bus Came Back:
- The news reporter Roxanne Featherly has not been seen since the pilot.
- After the money shark collapses, the Smashnikov brothers are among the people who come to pick up the gold. It's not clear whether they are still working for Glomgold or not.
- Call-Back:
- As Scrooge arrives home with the treasure in the Cold Open, the painting of him purchasing the deed to Duckburg, first seen in "McMystery at McDuck McManor", is right next to the door, as a reminder that he technically owns Duckburg (giving a further reason why he needs to boost his public image).
- Scrooge's hatred for magic was already established in "McMystery at McDuck McManor" by his reaction to the stage magician that Huey invited to the party. Here Webby explains that it's not the only form of magic Scrooge hates.
- A subtle one. Scrooge ends up being basically only a little annoyed at losing a monster-shark-sized portion of his money to his enemies, but as he noted in "The Great Dime Chase!", his #1 Dime is worth more to him than all the rest of his wealth put together. So all in all, the losses were minimal.
- Webby has added Lena to her board under "friends", and the picture she took of Huey, Dewey and Louie in the pilot is just offscreen.
- Characterization Marches On: When we saw Magica earlier this season, she was serious and downright scary. Here, she's just as over-the-top and hammy as Glomgold, taking advantage of the fact she's voiced by Catherine Tate. Also counts as
Character Rerailment back to her personality from the original series. Magica even seems to lampshade it by noting that her returning powers means she can do the Evil Laugh again and talk more. - Childish Pillow Fight: The boys try to surprise attack Webby and Lena with a pillow fight. The girls easily beat them thanks to Webby realizing they were coming ahead of time.Huey: Why did we pick a fight with Webby?
- Continuity Nod:
- Webby's chart of Scrooge's enemies includes a drawing of Santa Claus, their animosity alluded to in "The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverest".
- As Scrooge is rehearsing for the interview, there is a picture of him on the wall holding a large blue jewel, presumably the Jewel of Atlantis from "Woo-oo".
- Darker and Edgier: This episode confirms the fact that Magica is an Abusive Parent, that Lena is enslaved to her aunt, and that Magica does not give one thought about her niece's wellbeing. And the majority of the bad guys get away with a victory over Scrooge.
- Description Cut: Mrs. Beakley points out that the townspeople are getting fed up with the havoc Scrooge and the boys’ adventures are wreaking on Duckburg, which Scrooge objects to. Cut to a giant beanstalk laying in the middle of the town surrounded by debris.
- Did Not Think This Through: The boys try to start a pillow fight with Webby. Huey even asks why they thought it was a good idea.
- Effortless Amazonian Lift: Demonstrated when Donald, Huey and Dewey struggle to lift, let alone carry, a giant coin. Beakley comes along, and lifts both the coin and the three holding it with one hand.
- Epic Fail: Glomgold tries to destroy Scrooge's office by pushing a button but nothing happens.
- Evil Laugh: Magica shows off hers after saying she can feel her powers growing.
- Failure Is the Only Option: There was no way Scrooge was going to ace that interview. Roxanne deliberately rigged it just to get Scrooge to lose his temper.
- Feuding Families: Magica makes a comment that implies that her family and Clan McDuck have a blood feud going back centuries (though this would later be retconned in "The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!").
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: Scrooge reminds Louie of the policy for all money that comes into McDuck Manor and Louie finishes the phrase, clearly having heard it many times before.Scrooge: All money goes to the bin...Louie: ...not next of kin.
- Fluffy the Terrible: Magica objects to Lena calling the magical shark a monster.Magica DeSpell: It has a name, you know. I'll thank you not to refer to Tiffany that way.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Webby's page of possible dares, which range from being in a shark cage to eating a super hot pepper.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Lena must choose between her new friend and Scrooge’s first dime, the key to her freedom. Thankfully, she chooses Webby.
- Friendship Trinket: Webby makes a friendship bracelet for her and Lena. Magica forces Lena to remove it at the end.
- Funny Background Event: In the cold open, Donald was seen patting Dewey's head, much to Dewey's annoyance.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Dewey, Huey, Louie, Launchpad, Scrooge, Webby and Lena all get eaten by the money shark, but get out of it unscratched at the end of the episode. Justified in that they get Swallowed Whole, and Tiffany doesn't have any sort of digestive fluid, due to being made entirely out of money and treasure.
- Good Colors, Evil Colors: When using her magic for The Power of Friendship, Lena glows blue instead of her usual purple.
- Gosh Darn It to Heck!: After learning that Scrooge keeps his #1 dime on a string around his neck:Lena: So the stupid dime isn't even stupid in here!
- Hate Sink: It's not impossible to hate Roxanne Featherly for openly besmirching Scrooge on the news and make him out to be a bad guy. In fact, she even forces the poor duck to allow the bad guys to take his gold away!
- Heavy Sleeper: Donald. He sleeps through Launchpad stealing his houseboat and an entire mystical shark rampage. He wakes up utterly confused at the end.
- Hero Insurance: Deconstructed. The citizens of Duckburg are concerned that Scrooge's treasure hunts are causing damage to the city - indeed, his latest has left a giant beanstalk crashed across the whole town. Scrooge retorts that he always pays for the damages, and argues that the treasure invigorates the town's overall financial success.
- High-Dive Hijinks: The boys go for a midnight dive to the money bin, resulting in Dewey getting eaten by the money shark.
- Incredibly Lame Fun: Webby is excited for her and Lena’s sleepover, but only for the most boring parts like brushing their teeth and going to bed on time.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: When Beakley tells Scrooge about the TV interview the board set up for PR, an insulted Scrooge tells her that his character doesn't need boosting. Cue Launchpad popping up behind the giant beanstalk that fell earlier.Launchpad: Good news, Mr. McD! The beanstalk missed the orphanage! [holds up chainsaw]
- "Jaws" Attack Parody: A midnight swim, a Threatening Shark taking victims one by one, a battle that includes luring and harpooning the shark, a captain swearing revenge... The biggest twist on the formula is that the shark is a magical one swimming in gold rather than water. And it grows legs at the end.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Considering the others put in a lot of work and regularly risk their lives to get the treasure on their adventures, Louie does have a right to be miffed about Scrooge refusing to let them keep any of it.
- While Scrooge has no reason to suck up to Glomgold, the latter does have a point in that Scrooge often places profit before people. Not that Glomgold is any better; in fact, he's worse.
- Lucky Charms Title: The last S of "Jaws" is replaced with a $ in the title.
- Involuntary Charity Donation: The money let loose by Tiffany is spun as charity by Roxanne and Scrooge is forced to keep it up even as his Arch Nemeses collect it around him.
- Glomgold (in a poor disguise): Thank you, kind sir!Scrooge (wearing a very forced grin): You're... welcome...
- Laser-Guided Karma: Beakley tries to help Scrooge avoid it, but Scrooge pretty much seals his own punishment when he loses his cool during the interview and yells that he's glad Glomgold's office got wrecked. In the end, karma punishes Scrooge big time for his callous disregard of the collateral damage his adventures cause, as well as the fact that he's unwilling to share his wealth with his family.
- Meaningful Echo: Early in the episode, Magica calls Lena a "sentimental fool". Lena calls Webby this after she breaks her first attempt at the chant.
- Mistaken Nationality: During the mock interview Beakley gives Scrooge so he's prepared for what he'll be asked in the real interview, she asks him, "I love your accent. What part of Ireland are you from?" Scrooge, being a Scotsman, doesn't take kindly to that, especially when he's asked the very same question by the real interviewer.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Before the nephews even ask for his help, Launchpad bursts into the room, saying, "My best friend Dewey is in trouble! I can feel it..."
- Mythology Gag: The book Webby has for magic is called the Grimoire du Merlock. As in the Big Bad of DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Because Webby blabbed that Scrooge's #1 Dime isn't in the vault, the money shark decided to leave the vault, go look for it, and cause havoc doing so.
- Noodle Incident:
- The opening has Scrooge returning from what appears to be a raid on the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk.
- When Glomgold joins the on-air interview, Scrooge mentions that he's tried to blow up his mansion twice in the past week.
- Obviously Evil: When Scrooge remarks that Glomgold tried to blow up his offices twice the past week, Glomgold retorts, "Three, if you count now!" and presses a detonator that fails to do anything. Note that they were live on air at the time.
- Oh, Crap!: Dewey's reaction upon seeing the money shark.
- Papa Wolf: Launchpad swears a Quint-style vengeance upon the shark after learning that Dewey got eaten.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Glomgold wears one at the end to blend in with the scavengers.
- People Puppets: Magica is able to exert this over her niece, preventing Lena from running away at the end. It's unclear just how much control she can exert, but at the very least she can stop her from moving.
- Pooled Funds: Dewey is attempting to dive into the money bin when he's eaten by the shark. Later, Launchpad pilots Donald's boat through it like it was water.
- Power Glows: Done again with Lena. Only this time it seems to be activated by Webby's friendship, and her chant. The glow also changes from purple to blue.
- Power of Friendship: Webby believes it can stop the money shark. It does.Webby: Friendship is the greatest magic of all!
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Tiffany the money shark has glowing red eyes.
- Scotireland: Scrooge takes great offense at this trope, so don't think the two are the same place or you'll be subjected to a long rant about the differences between the two.
- Screaming Woman: Downplayed. Webby and Lena quite understandably lapse into this trope for a second after Huey and Louie get eaten.Webby: Because we're friends, you beautiful idiot.
- Slave to PR: What with his newfound reputation as a philanthropist, and still having cameras pointed at him, Scrooge can do nothing about the Beagle Boys and a poorly-disguised Flintheart Glomgold picking up his money.
- Partially averted with Glomgold. He publicly declares he's going to blow up Scrooge's office. On the other hand, he wears a disguise while collecting part of the money Scrooge 'donated'.
- String Theory: Of course Webby has a crazy string board.
- Swallowed Whole: The money shark eats its victims with a single chomp. At the end of the episode, they all get out of it unharmed.
- Take That!: Scrooge's interview is one to modern in-your-face "gotcha" journalism. Bonus points for the reporter actually doing her homework on Scrooge as seen with her chat with Scrooge before the interview starts and then blatantly disregarding it just to make better TV.
- Tempting Fate:
- Scrooge says his company does more good than bad and tells Roxanne she can ask anyone in town. She asks Glomgold.
- Later in the same interview, Scrooge says that there is no truth to the claims that his treasure hunting is a danger to Duckburg. Cue a report coming in about the giant money shark.
- Threatening Shark: A magical one made of gold.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: The Grimoire du Merlock
- Toothy Bird: Webby makes a big deal about she and Lena brushing their teeth at the sleepover party - despite both of them being ducks with beaks.
- The Unintelligible: Lena apparently thinks Donald is this.
- Wham Episode: We get an insight into Magica's bigger goal, and discover Lena has to do her aunt's bidding because it will mean her freedom. Until Magica gets what she's looking for, she's bound to her. Also, we have even more evidence that she's Becoming the Mask.
- Wham Line: Magica, in a moment of anger towards Lena, reveals that her plan is on a deadline, as "the Lunar Eclipse is soon at hand".
- Whole-Plot Reference: To Jaws, naturally.
