This is another of my personal favorite animated shows of all time. I was a kid from the 80's I remember watching this show in the early years of Nickelodeon at my Aunt's place when I was about six years old, I really had a blast with it. The show was actually a big hit at the time, however this show has flown under the cracks of time making it a forgotten gem.
I really like the animation which of course is in the same style as "Danger Mouse" another forgotten gem (and a show I reviewed) which makes sense as this was done by the same people that made that show. But that's fine by me as I personally wouldn't want it any other way as it really gives the show the comic flair.
From the character designs to even the background, I really like the design of the castle which looks menacingly cool with its gothic texture that you would commonly see in most of the yesteryear Victorian horror. But it's also kind of comical as it looks like a place that doesn't look to stable as some parts of the structure look as though they could fall at any moment.
The music is great, I really love the intro which is one of my personal favorite theme songs and intros to TV ever, which I feel is sorely missing these days. The beauty of the intros was that they really helped you get into what your about to watch and this does it with perfection. This is also one of the most unique intros also as it seems like it's going to be one thing, but it turns out to be another, which perfectly fits the nature of this show.
It starts out kind of scary with that Vincent Price like narrator delivering the narration. Making it feel like Vampire Ducks are a threat to be taken seriously but also felt like there might be a prequel stories there as it's mentioned Vampire Ducks come out different centuries. We of course hear of the formation of our main protagonist where it seems like were in deep trouble, but then of course something happens which you could call a miracle. After that we then have a rocking song that you can dance to with that spooky announcement of the title.
And then of course there is the outro which is another I can just dance to but also has some interesting black and white picture graphics with animation, almost looks like something Tim Burton could've done but once again fits the show well. The animation presentation is great it's the same style as the one from "Danger Mouse" which is fine by me as I wouldn't want it any other way and fits the comical nature of the show. The humor is also great in both visual and verbal humor, as usual with British comedy they just excel in verbal humor, the dialog is just hilarious as there are so many memorable lines and jokes that it will take more than one watch per episode to uncover most to all of them. This show also has a two way effect much, because as a kid there are probably some jokes you might not have gotten or passed you by, but when you view this show as an adult watching them again I find the episodes and show to be even funnier because I now was able to catch the jokes I missed.
I really like the premise which makes sense for the time the show came out as the Vampire genre in horror became big again in the 80's with films like "Fright Night" and "The Lost Boys" which were both also horror comedies in a way. And, even the Parody genre for Comedy movies from films like "Spaceballs" and "The Naked Gun". This show is basically a parody show, which makes is cool as it means creative freedom but exercised right. I really like how it parodies on the horror genre from the Vampire genre most notably the films from the Hammer company.
But I really like how it parodies on other genres mainly the sci-fi genre. In fact, you can say this show is kind of a parody on "Doctor Who" in disguise. When you think about it it makes sense, from our main protagonist Count Ducukla whom is you can say is a Time Lord as he is the latest version from his previous incarnations. The two-character Igor and Nanny are obviously the companions. And of course, the castle itself is the Tardis as it can travel in time, space, and all dimensions in the universe. How the heck they would have the sophisticated tech to do that is anyone's guess, but I personally didn't care it was a show you roll with it.
Really like the characters who bounce off each other well. From Nanny who is pretty much the third wheel flunky architype as she's well kind of a bird brain literally considering she's a humanoid bird. But she's loveable and is in a way really the good angel for Duckula, her character despite poor for brains has the biggest heart in the right place. She true to her title as she takes good care of her master, though overdoes it sometimes and does keep things tidy or as best she can with her abilities or lack there off. Her character I always thought might have either been a mutant or android one of the former Duckula's built but incomplete with her arm that's always in a cast which you can say reflects her impaired psyche. But her character has superstrength as she crashes though wall and can beat the crap out of anyone, which you can say makes Nanny also the muscle of the group.
Igor is also great as he's the right-hand man archetype as well as bad angel figure for Duckula. Really like the voice which sounds like actor Christopher Lee, which is an ironic reference. It's just funny how dry and droll he is. He is very much determined to steer his master into the path of wrong considering his former master went that way. Of course, he never succeeds considering the latest incarnation of Duckula wants to do his thing, but mainly of two factors Igor himself who should have considered the wrong path isn't the right one considering what happened to his former master in the end. Let alone Igor really isn't that good in the villain role or that he's probably not as bad as he thinks.
Count Ducukla himself voiced well by underrated voice actor David Jason. Really love the character as he sort of reminds me a little of actor David Tennant (if they ever make a revival wouldn't mind him doing this role). His character is just loveable as he is energetic even like that his character has a bit of common sense as being a vampire and sucking blood is the last thing he wants to do, and he can't do that as he's not really a complete vampire but a vegetarian.
He's adventures and has big dreams though that dream is mainly getting rich quick to reestablish his dynasty. Of course, in each episode nothing ever goes right though it's not always his fault or bad luck, but mainly because the world around him is nuts which is true as no one is normal in the world he lives in. It's just funny seeing how he reacts and how he struggles to straighten things out but, in a world, gone mad his efforts bear no fruit and of course in the end he just gets a tremendous amount of grief.
Which makes him a bit of a sad clown as we can sort of emphasize with him a little as it's true with us as there are times in our lives where things didn't go right or the way we want and how we did always do our best to make things straight again, so we can have piece of mind once more, though shame that doesn't always apply to Duckula.
This animated classic flies high.
Rating: 4 stars.
I really like the animation which of course is in the same style as "Danger Mouse" another forgotten gem (and a show I reviewed) which makes sense as this was done by the same people that made that show. But that's fine by me as I personally wouldn't want it any other way as it really gives the show the comic flair.
From the character designs to even the background, I really like the design of the castle which looks menacingly cool with its gothic texture that you would commonly see in most of the yesteryear Victorian horror. But it's also kind of comical as it looks like a place that doesn't look to stable as some parts of the structure look as though they could fall at any moment.
The music is great, I really love the intro which is one of my personal favorite theme songs and intros to TV ever, which I feel is sorely missing these days. The beauty of the intros was that they really helped you get into what your about to watch and this does it with perfection. This is also one of the most unique intros also as it seems like it's going to be one thing, but it turns out to be another, which perfectly fits the nature of this show.
It starts out kind of scary with that Vincent Price like narrator delivering the narration. Making it feel like Vampire Ducks are a threat to be taken seriously but also felt like there might be a prequel stories there as it's mentioned Vampire Ducks come out different centuries. We of course hear of the formation of our main protagonist where it seems like were in deep trouble, but then of course something happens which you could call a miracle. After that we then have a rocking song that you can dance to with that spooky announcement of the title.
And then of course there is the outro which is another I can just dance to but also has some interesting black and white picture graphics with animation, almost looks like something Tim Burton could've done but once again fits the show well. The animation presentation is great it's the same style as the one from "Danger Mouse" which is fine by me as I wouldn't want it any other way and fits the comical nature of the show. The humor is also great in both visual and verbal humor, as usual with British comedy they just excel in verbal humor, the dialog is just hilarious as there are so many memorable lines and jokes that it will take more than one watch per episode to uncover most to all of them. This show also has a two way effect much, because as a kid there are probably some jokes you might not have gotten or passed you by, but when you view this show as an adult watching them again I find the episodes and show to be even funnier because I now was able to catch the jokes I missed.
I really like the premise which makes sense for the time the show came out as the Vampire genre in horror became big again in the 80's with films like "Fright Night" and "The Lost Boys" which were both also horror comedies in a way. And, even the Parody genre for Comedy movies from films like "Spaceballs" and "The Naked Gun". This show is basically a parody show, which makes is cool as it means creative freedom but exercised right. I really like how it parodies on the horror genre from the Vampire genre most notably the films from the Hammer company.
But I really like how it parodies on other genres mainly the sci-fi genre. In fact, you can say this show is kind of a parody on "Doctor Who" in disguise. When you think about it it makes sense, from our main protagonist Count Ducukla whom is you can say is a Time Lord as he is the latest version from his previous incarnations. The two-character Igor and Nanny are obviously the companions. And of course, the castle itself is the Tardis as it can travel in time, space, and all dimensions in the universe. How the heck they would have the sophisticated tech to do that is anyone's guess, but I personally didn't care it was a show you roll with it.
Really like the characters who bounce off each other well. From Nanny who is pretty much the third wheel flunky architype as she's well kind of a bird brain literally considering she's a humanoid bird. But she's loveable and is in a way really the good angel for Duckula, her character despite poor for brains has the biggest heart in the right place. She true to her title as she takes good care of her master, though overdoes it sometimes and does keep things tidy or as best she can with her abilities or lack there off. Her character I always thought might have either been a mutant or android one of the former Duckula's built but incomplete with her arm that's always in a cast which you can say reflects her impaired psyche. But her character has superstrength as she crashes though wall and can beat the crap out of anyone, which you can say makes Nanny also the muscle of the group.
Igor is also great as he's the right-hand man archetype as well as bad angel figure for Duckula. Really like the voice which sounds like actor Christopher Lee, which is an ironic reference. It's just funny how dry and droll he is. He is very much determined to steer his master into the path of wrong considering his former master went that way. Of course, he never succeeds considering the latest incarnation of Duckula wants to do his thing, but mainly of two factors Igor himself who should have considered the wrong path isn't the right one considering what happened to his former master in the end. Let alone Igor really isn't that good in the villain role or that he's probably not as bad as he thinks.
Count Ducukla himself voiced well by underrated voice actor David Jason. Really love the character as he sort of reminds me a little of actor David Tennant (if they ever make a revival wouldn't mind him doing this role). His character is just loveable as he is energetic even like that his character has a bit of common sense as being a vampire and sucking blood is the last thing he wants to do, and he can't do that as he's not really a complete vampire but a vegetarian.
He's adventures and has big dreams though that dream is mainly getting rich quick to reestablish his dynasty. Of course, in each episode nothing ever goes right though it's not always his fault or bad luck, but mainly because the world around him is nuts which is true as no one is normal in the world he lives in. It's just funny seeing how he reacts and how he struggles to straighten things out but, in a world, gone mad his efforts bear no fruit and of course in the end he just gets a tremendous amount of grief.
Which makes him a bit of a sad clown as we can sort of emphasize with him a little as it's true with us as there are times in our lives where things didn't go right or the way we want and how we did always do our best to make things straight again, so we can have piece of mind once more, though shame that doesn't always apply to Duckula.
This animated classic flies high.
Rating: 4 stars.