"Pearl of Wisdom" is the twenty-fifth episode of DuckTales.
Synopsis[]
Down in the tropics lies a small piece of land known as Banana Island. Heading toward the island is a submarine operated by a Pete-like criminal named Sharkey and his assistant Yardarm, traveling there in hope of finding something worth stealing. While spying on the islanders through the sub's periscope, Sharkey discovers a large pearl in the hand of a stone idol and goes through his disguises. That night, Sharkey, disguised as a fellow islander, goes after the pearl, while bringing along Yardarm, hiding in a fruit basket. While Sharkey distracts the islanders by dancing for them, Yardarm snatches the pearl with an extendable, mechanical claw. The two crooks leave the island, and Sharkey already knows who he can sell the pearl to.
The next day, at McDuck Manor, Scrooge is on the phone with his shipping company, complaining about how he has a whole fleet of cargo ships not being used. Huey, Dewey and Louie tell Scrooge that they want to enter a marble-shooting contest going on in Duckburg Park. Webby herself is also interested in shooting marbles, and follows the boys to their room, where they're struggling to find their marbles. Webby tells the boys they'll have to clean their room to do that, so with no other choice, the boys get to work in order to find their marbles, including a shooter referred to as the Great Masher.
Meanwhile, Sharkey, posing as a not-so-French entrepreneur named Monsewer Ratt, sells the pearl to Scrooge for $100,000 and leaves, but Scrooge is happy because he knows the pearl was worth more than he paid for it. Scrooge, having also been informed that the pearl came from Banana Island, puts the pearl away in a display case and heads off to the Duckburg Explorer's Club to learn more about the island, hoping that he could possibly find more pearls there (or bananas, as far as Duckworth is concerned). Webby, who does not have a Great Masher of her own, asks Scrooge if he has one she can borrow while he leaves the house. Not really paying attention to what Webby just said, Scrooge agrees. In a hurry to get to the park in time for the contest, Webby spots the pearl and, mistaking it for a Great Masher, takes it, replacing it with one of her own marbles.
At the Explorer's Club, Lord Battmountan informs Scrooge that the pearl he just bought may be the legendary Magical Pearl of Wisdom. Battmountan tells Scrooge that if he goes to the island and stands in the surf at dawn while holding the pearl, he will be granted infinite wisdom for a short period of time. Scrooge likes the idea, as he could use the wisdom to expand his financial empire, though Lord Battmountan points out that it may just be a myth. But back at McDuck Manor, Duckworth discovers that the pearl has been replaced with a marble, which reminds Scrooge of the marble contest. After freaking out, Scrooge heads over to the park to retake the pearl.
Meanwhile, Yardarm, having done some reading while Sharkey was selling the pearl to Scrooge, tells him that the pearl may very well be the Pearl of Wisdom. Seeing that Webby has the Pearl, Sharkey and Yardarm follow her to the park, but with all the witnesses around, they have great difficulty stealing the Pearl back. Scrooge then shows up at the park just as Webby is about to shoot the pearl, and she messes up her shot, causing the pearl to bounce away. While Scrooge, the boys, and Webby go after the pearl, a squirrel runs off with it, but tosses it away when it realizes that it is not edible. The chase ends near a lake, where Yardarm manages to snatch the pearl and flee away with Sharkey in their car, while Duckworth drives after them with Scrooge and the kids. Sharkey and Yardarm reach the docks, where they take off in their sub. Scrooge goes after the crooks in one of his cargo ships, as it has sonar that can detect the sub. The ship manages to catch up with the sub, but Sharkey and Yardarm notice and shoot a torpedo at the ship. Luckily, Huey manages to set the torpedo off prior to it hitting the ship, by shooting it with his Great Masher.
Thinking the missile has hit, Sharkey and Yardarm manage to reach Banana Island just before dawn. This time, they take the islanders captive by threatening to shoot them with the sub's cannon. Sharkey is excited because he will soon have enough wisdom to pull crimes of the century every day. Unbeknownst to the crooks, Scrooge and the boys, dressed in stealth gear, head to shore in a raft. As Sharkey gets ready to stand in the surf, Scrooge and the boys sneak over to Sharkey, disguised as bushes, and grab the pearl right out of his hand. Yardarm shoots and almost hits Scrooge, and although he does not hurt him, the pearl does go flying out of his hand. Two of the nephews fire marbles where Yardarm is standing, causing him to lose his balance and blow a hole in the sub, sinking it.
Scrooge and Sharkey fight over the pearl, and by the time the sun rises, they both wind up holding the pearl at the same time. As a result, they are both granted with temporary infinite wisdom. Sharkey realizes that he will just end up in jail if he continues stealing, while Scrooge realizes that the pearl truly belongs to the islanders, and that he should not use it for mere profit. The leader of the islanders explains that the pearl's magic allows one to make the right decisions, in addition to the proper and most fulfilling ones. Thus, Scrooge returns the pearl to him. The episode ends with Scrooge, the kids, and even the crooks partying with the islanders, as the island's leader explains that even though this was not the first time the pearl was stolen, it had always found its way back to the island. Scrooge then concludes that the islanders have far too many more bananas than they can possibly eat, and agrees to sell the surplus bananas for them, which he can transport around the world with his cargo ships.
External links[]
- Disney Wiki: Pearl of Wisdom
- DuckTales Wiki: Pearl of Wisdom
- "Pearl of Wisdom" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Pearl of Wisdom" recap at TV Tropes