Rewatching DuckTales! Most long-running cartoons eventually do a “Attack of the 50 Foot [female character]” episode, and episode 92 is the DuckTales one, with Webby in the spotlight.

Here’s what happens: Little Webby wants to play with the boys, but she fears they never even notice her. Scrooge, meanwhile, learns of a rare ape on the verge of extinction. He wants to save the animal and display it in his new safari theme park. To catch the ape, he hopes to use Bubba’s bloodhouse-like tracking skills. Webby wants to come on expedition, too, but Scrooge it’d be too dangerous for someone as little as her. Meanwhile, Happy Jack, owner of a rival circus, also plots to capture the ape. He allies with the Beagle Boys, promising them a way to get a Scrooge.

Upon landing in the jungle, Webby reveals she’s stowed away on Scrooge’s flight. Jack and the Beagle Boys are also there, spying on Scrooge. The Beagles disguise themselves as apes for an attack, and everyone gets separated. Alone in the jungle, Webby finds and befriends the giant ape. She notices it acts more like a small monkey than a giant beast. Deeper in the brush, everything is huge, including the plants and insects. Webby deduces that a pond of sparkling water made the monkey gigantic. When the Beagle Boys attack again, Webby is knocked into the water and becomes a giant.

Webby gets lost and eventually reunites with Scrooge and the others. They attach giant balloons to her to fly her back to Duckburg, where a doctor starts working on a cure. From there, it’s a series of gags about Webby living life as a giant around the mansion. Webby then learns that the Beagle Boys and Happy Jack succeeded in capturing the giant monkey, and Webby sets off to rescue it.

Webby tries to rescue the monkey, drawing the attention of Happy Jack, who now wants to capture her for his circus. Webby and the monkey then scale a skyscraper, with her in the King Kong role and the monkey in the Fay Wray role. To complete the image, Jack and the Beagle Boys circle them in bi-planes. The doctor reveals that missing ingredient for Webby’s cure are three hairs from the monkey, so he and Scrooge sweep in on Scrooge’s helicopter to pluck out the hairs. Webby gets a genuine badass moment when she punches the villains’ planes out of the sky.  The cure works, shrinking both Webby and the monkey back to normal size. Scrooge returns the monkey to the jungle.

Humbug: We never learn what becomes of Scrooge’s safari theme park, but he doesn’t keep the animal in captivity at the end, so that’s something.

Junior Woodchucks: Huey, Dewey, and Louie learn their lesson at the end, inviting Webby to play with them.

Maid and maiden: Once again, Webby’s ability to make connections with animals is her superpower, saving the day in the end. She doesn’t do all that much as a giant, eating a ton of food and nearly wrecking the mansion when tries to jump rope.

Everybody walk the dinosaur: Bubba’s tracking skills are so sharp that he beats the other kids at hide and seek every time.

Foul fowls: Happy Jack has the same motivation as Scrooge, to capture the rare animal and put it on display. Except that he’s broke while Scrooge is rich. The Beagle Boys this time are the go-to combo of Big Time, Burger, Baggy, and Bouncer.

Down in Duckburg: Scrooge’s doctor is Dr. Von Swine, who appears at first to be a quack (heh) but he comes through in the end for Webby’s cure.

Reference row: The 1958 film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is more famous for its sensationalist title and poster rather than the movie itself. I’ve seen it, and you’re not missing much. The seemingly forgotten 1993 comedy remake starring Daryl Hannah is far more interesting.

Thoughts on this viewing: There’s a lot of plot to set up Webby as a giant, and then there’s a lot of plot to get her back to normal. This means we don’t spend much time with everyone dealing with her predicament. Mrs. Beakeley doesn’t even appear, strangely. The King Kong ending is a lot of fun, but overall this one’s a bit of a missed opportunity.

Next: Have you ever danced with a duck in the pale moonlight?

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