Scans_Daily

I think my problem is more that they SHOULD be portrayed sympathetically, but aren't, really. If they were simply 'ferocious savages' who had some unspecified beef against Scrooge, that would be different - that's standard adventure story material. Here, though, they have a specific origin which SHOULD put us firmly on their side - but they are, from the very beginning, the villains, and unsympathetic except in their backstory. This in and of itself I don't have a problem with - after all, it's not like villains with legitimate grievances are an exotic unknown - but it seems like a cheap trick somehow to give them a backstory which SHOULD put both us and the characters on their side, and yet doesn't. Perhaps we're supposed to infer that they've been wronged - certainly Barks isn't on Scrooge's side in this matter, since Scrooge is still portrayed as a jerk - but inference aside, nobody says as much throughout the story except Foola Zoola himself. Scrooge, of course, doesn't, the nephews don't, and while Donald, of course, has other things to worry about, he all but says 'I don't give a damn' at the end.
I'll certainly admit that there are far more offensive stories out there, but there's just something OFF about this one. It's still a good story, but my eyes can't help but be drawn to the flaw in it.