ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Duncan the Humbug
December 09, 2023
Duncan’s grumpiness reaches a new high every holiday season, leading to the other narrow gauge engines to feel less jolly. As a result, Mr. Percival puts his foot down and tells Duncan that if he behaves himself for a whole day, he’ll be rewarded with a fresh coat of paint.
The story is about as simple as a Duncan story can get, but that doesn’t make it inherently bad. It’s a decent idea to have the narrow gauge engines’ token grouch to complain about the troubles of winter, and what works about how it’s implemented here is that there actually is something at stake for Duncan, that being a fresh coat of paint. The stakes aren’t that high, but they are there so the viewer would end up rooting for him to keep his temper in check. It even has a nice moral of not letting your flaws get in the way of life. That’s a great message that I’d argue kids would wanna hear.
In fact, let’s talk about Duncan and how he was brought back. Yes, I’ll agree with the general consensus that his CGI model is pretty bad, with his shorter stature, wide proportions and weird red running plate, he looks like a narrow gauge hodgepodge. However, while his render is pretty weak, his personality is anything but. They absolutely nailed Duncan’s personality - he's stubborn and grouchy, but still eager to work and a great problem solver, much like how he was in the model series. It’s not perfect, I’d still argue his two spotlight episodes are basically the same story, but it still works for him.
Alright, I’ve praised this episode and its portrayal of Duncan enough - let’s talk about its legit problems. My biggest problem with the episode is the pacing. At first, it takes way too long to establish the setup, so by the time the plot actually gets going, the episode’s already halfway done. And as a result, we don’t get enough of Duncan trying to be cheerful. Even his big blowup at Luke, while it has a nice resolution, there’s no buildup to it. It just springs up out of nowhere and doesn’t really feel that warranted.
But at the end, Duncan the Humbug is still a pretty solid episode. Is it the best of the season? No, but its reintroduction…ish to Duncan and an intriguing plot with a nice message does make up for the bad pacing. If you’re a fan of Duncan or if you want a decent holiday romp, then I recommend you check this one out. For me, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t seen better, especially in Season 18, but this does at least make for a good episode, so I’m gonna give it a 3.5/5.
Final Score: 3.5/5
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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