Rewatching DuckTales! Our heroes fight crime by committing crimes of their own in episode 74, “The Billionaire Beagle Boys Club.” This part four of the “SuperDuckTales” five-parter than originally aired as a prime time made-for-TV movie on ABC.

Thanks to a Beagle Boys scheme, Scrooge relocated his money bin to a mountaintop, and he hired bumbling accountant Fenton Crackshell to help make the move. Scrooge then had a security robot built, only for it to go out of control. Fenton donned a robot suit of his own to become the heroic Gizmoduck. But now the Beagles have hacked Gizmoduck’s suit and forced him to bring the money bin to them. The Beagles hide the bin inside a mock donut factory, and Ma Beagle goes on a wild spending spree. Without his money, Scrooge falls on hard times. He’s forced to sell his mansion, and the buyer is… Ma Beagle!

Ma Beagle tries and fails to impress Duckburg’s high society snobs, while Scrooge tries and fails to find evidence that her newfound fortune is really his. Scrooge and his family stay over at Launchpad’s, while Huey, Dewey and Louie sneak into the mansion in their own search for evidence. They discover Megabyte Beagle controlling Gizmoduck with a remote. They grab some evidence and make a run for it. Scrooge returns the next day with the police. Ma Beagle has already paid off the mayor, though, and Scrooge is the one who gets arrested.

After a failed attempt to bust Scrooge out of jail, the boys get an idea for getting Gizmoduck back on their side. They switch Megabyte’s remote with a toy remote. Gizmoduck doesn’t want to help, feeling remorse for what the Beagles had him do, so the nephews use the remote to make him rescue Scrooge from jail. They pull off the rescue and Scrooge learns Gizmoduck didn’t betray him.

The Beagles make a run for it in that giant truck thing the money bin is attached to, driving the building through the city. Gizmoduck chases them, only for the entire building to go off the city docks and into the ocean. A grizzled old sailor tells Scrooge he better act fast, because in treasure hunting the law is, “finders keepers.”

To be continued!

Humbug: What’s this evidence that Scrooge wants to get from his mansion? His money, of course. He says he’s memorized the serial numbers of every dollar he’s ever made.

Junior Woodchucks: When the three nephews sneak into the mansion, they wear matching dark green stealth suits. This leads to jokes about the boys not being able to tell who is who.

Fasten your seatbelts: Launchpad is back living in that little shack by the airfield. He has hammocks strung up all over the room when Scrooge, the boys, Mrs. Beakeley, Webby, and Ducksworth all move in with him.

Maid and maiden: Mrs. Beakeley tries to get Scrooge out of prison by using Ma Beagle’s methods: A grenade baked into a pie. The plan, for lack of a better word, backfires.

Your move, creep: Gizmoduck’s only real high-tech wonder this time is his awesome strength, busting through prison walls with his fists. When the money bin crashes into the ocean, Gizmoduck doesn’t follow, saying he can’t do water.

Foul fowls: Not only did Ma Beagle pay off the mayor, but the Beagle Boys show up at the courthouse to all sit on the jury. Both Bebop and Bankjob show up dressed as judges. Also, this is the second and final appearance of Megabyte Beagle. The Disney Wiki doesn’t say that he’s the only Beagle Boy not to have a “B” first initial. Instead, it merely states that it’s “rare” for a Beagle Boy to have another initial.

Down in Duckburg: Look closely and you can see the snobs from “The Status Seekers” and the wacky characters from the Explorers Club prominently seen in “The Lost Crown of Genghis Khan.”

Reference row: The phrase “billionaire boys’ club” has had several uses over the years. I suspect this episode’s title uses it in reference to the 1987 miniseries, based on the true story of a criminal Ponzi scheme that ended in murder. The internet informs me that today, Billionaire Boys’ Club is the name of a successful fashion brand.

Thoughts upon this viewing: This is the fourth act in a five-act story, so here’s where the characters are at their lowest points before bouncing back for the finale. A lot of it is goofy sitcom stuff, but it works when taken as part of a whole.   

Next: Aliens of the deep.

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