Count Duckula 

The misadventures of a vegetarian vampire duck and his servants.

Stars:

Barry Clayton, Jack May, Brian Trueman

Cast

Series cast summary:
Barry Clayton	...	Narrator / ... 51 episodes, 1988-1993
Jack May	...	Igor / ... 43 episodes, 1988-1993
Brian Trueman	...	Nanny / ... 43 episodes, 1988-1993
Jimmy Hibbert	...	Sviatoslav / ... 43 episodes, 1988-1993
David Jason	...	Count Duckula / ... 42 episodes, 1988-1993

Storyline

Count Duckula is an egotistical vegetarian vampire duck who lives in a castle that can travel anywhere he wants to go. He lives with his servants: Nanny, his large and stupid nanny who always has her arm in a sling, and Igor, his evil butler. While Nanny accidentally destroys furniture and Igor attempts to turn the broccoli chomping duck to the dark side, a vampire hunter lurks around with a wooden stake-in-a-gun and unattractive intentions. Although "Duckula" is a spin-off of "Dangermouse", the humor is of a completely different and original style.

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Plot Keywords:

duck | vampire | nanny | spin off | butler | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Horror

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Certificate:

TV-Y

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 1988 (UK)

Also Known As:

Comte Mordicus

Filming Locations:

Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cosgrove Hall Films,Nickelodeon Network,Thames Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min (65 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Count Duckula" is a spin-off of "Danger Mouse", in which Count Duckula was an villain and had once teamed up with Danger Mouse's arch-enemy Silas Greenback on one occasion.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Castle Duckula. Home for many centuries to a terrible dynasty of vicious vampire ducks. The counts of Duckula! Legend has it that these foul beings can be destroyed by a stake through the heart, or exposure to sunlight. This does *not* suffice, however, for they may be brought back to life, by means of a secret rite, that can be performed once a century when the moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius.
Igor: [performing ritual] ... bat wing blood.
Nanny: I'll get it!
Narrator: The latest reincarnation did...

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Connections

Referenced in Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht: Klassenfahrt (1992)

User Reviews

Sharp, Snappy, and Satirical

I don't often rate things a pure 10, but I may have to with Duckula. It's one of my favourite cartoons _ever_. Unlike many of the other posters here, I didn't run into it in my childhood, but instead in my teenage years--a perfect time, as that's when I was twisting into the sarcastic, British-humour-loving, slightly Gothic science fiction/fantasy geek I am now. It was EXACTLY what I was in the mood for, and my brain just ate it up. I've seen a lot of cartoons, and no other show gets quoted _half_ as much by me or members of my family, as Duckula. Over a decade since we were able to last see an episode, and we'll still toss out random lines whenever we feel like it.

What makes it not only good as a children's cartoon, but so very appealing to the older child or adult's mind? Simple--the writing. It was simply one of the snappiest, wittiest things I've ever seen. You have goofy puns and Abbott-and-Costello back-and-forths. You have colourful, bizarre characters and time-and-space travelling adventures to exotic locations. You have vampires and a creepy castle, for those to whom the Gothic elements might appeal. And even some slapstick that small children can understand and laugh at. It had everything.

And, on a more "serious" note, the writing was good because it didn't fall into stereotypes. Duckula was a monstrous fiend...who wasn't monstrous. But not a saint either; he had _lots_ of personality faults! Dr. Von Goosewing, the vampire hunter, would NORMALLY be a good guy, but in this situation he's cast as the antagonist! (Notice I don't say "villian".) He's also a mad scientist, which is even more fun. Occasionally we'd get an episode in which we would learn something about the background/past of a main character, or see a _real_ vampire, an actual bloodsucking fiend--the show didn't take itself too seriously, but that grain of seriousness in there makes the comedy that much better.

Put all that together with lovely detailed backgrounds, appropriate music, wonderful voice-acting from all involved, the delightfully creepy narrator and his classic sign-off line, and, as a cherry on top, the occasionally goofy credits, and you've got a classic for the ages.