Count Duckula (character)
<infobox> <title source="name"> <default>Count Duckula (character)</default> </title> <image source="image">
</image> <group> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Relatives</label> <label>Affiliation</label> </group> <group> <header>Biographical information</header> <label>Marital status</label> <label>Date of birth</label> <label>Place of birth</label> <lable>Date of death</lable> <label>Date of death</label> </group> <group> <header>Physical description</header> <label>Species</label> <label>Gender</label> <label>Height</label> <label>Weight</label> <label>Eye colour</label> </group> <group> <header>Behind the scenes information</header> <label>Voiced by</label> <label>First episode</label> <label>Last episode</label> </group></infobox>Count Duckula (full title: Count Duckula the 17th, as stated in the episode 'The Count and the Pauper') is a short green duck with black parted hair and the traditional vampire evening wear, complete with a cape. He has no fangs, although his more old-fashioned relatives do (three of which are an uncle named Vlad, an auntie named Lucrecia and a cousin named Don Diego).
Details:
Count Duckula himself is a deliberate send-up of many traditional vampire traits. As his name suggests, he is an anthropomorphic duck. Besides his vegetarianism and aspirations of fame, he is very squeamish and often cowardly. The Duckula family motto is "Per ardua ad sanguina", which means "work hard for blood".
He has a very modern outlook, and often despairs over the traditional vampire image he is expected to embody. He hates living in a dark, gloomy castle, and finds the behaviour of his servants to be depressing. Duckula frequently expresses frustration with Igor's attempts to change him back into a proper vampire and his lecturing Duckula as a disgrace and disappointment to the Duckula lineage. Although he retains some vampiric powers and qualities (such as teleportation and an image invisible to mirrors), he also possesses a lesser power, seen only once, which is the ability to create a lightning flash when angry. Duckula's most frequently-used power is teleportation, which consists of him launching upwards into a small storm cloud and reappearing in a flash of lightning elsewhere (as opposed to his predecessor on 'Danger Mouse', who appeared in a vertical explosion of flames).
He often goes outside in the daytime without suffering any ill effects, but this is likely because of his not being a full "traditional" vampire. It may also be a reference to the fact that Dracula, whom the character is based on, was able to move about by daylight in the original novel by Bram Stoker (1897), though with his powers reduced or rendered nonexistent until the sun set. In the episode 'Dr Goosewing and Mr Duck', Count Duckula briefly turns into a "proper" vampire, desiring blood from the villagers outside the castle, but he turns away from the door when he discovers that the sun is still out.
Although he is often egotistical and selfish, Duckula is good-natured, often trying to help people, although he usually succeeds only in making them hate him. He is prone to short-lived obsessions, often forming the plots for episodes, such as attempting to become a blues musician in New Orleans, prospecting for gold, becoming a cowboy or performer and opening Castle Duckula to the public.
The character differs considerably from his predecessor on the 'Danger Mouse' series. In fact, the only similarities, other than the name, is they are both vampire ducks with ambitions in show business with little actual talent. The previous version of Duckula was an evil villain, willing to blackmail and force his way into stardom (as opposed to the current Count, who merely tries to get in the legitimate way) and was fixated on being a television star, rather than settle for fame in some other branch of entertainment. He has far greater magical powers and makes much more use of them. He has a thick accent consisting of lisping, stuttering and occasional squawks. Most notably, he was not a vegetarian in the 'Danger Mouse' version. In his very first appearance, he threatened to drink Danger Mouse's blood, only to be chased away by the sun. The 'Danger Mouse' Duckula was destroyed and fell to ashes, resurrected during the 8th astronomical house of Aquarius.
Trivia
- Count Duckula's favourite food, as a vegetarian, is broccoli sandwiches.
- In some episodes, Duckula is seen wearing pyjamas with a Danger Mouse logo, a reference to another British animated television series produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television in 1981.
- Duckula speaks with an American accent, despite being voiced by a British actor.
