Count Duckula

Count Duckula was a British animated television series that originally ran from 1988 to 1993. The series revolved around the eponymous vampire duck, Count Duckula (voiced by David Jason), and his adventures around the world.

Danger Mouse
The character of Count Duckula first appeared as a recurring villain in Danger Mouse. This incarnation of Duckula was a bumbling, empty-headed villain who was more concerned with becoming a popular entertainer than with defeating Danger Mouse.

Redesign
The character of Count Duckula became so popular that a spin-off series focussing on the character was developed, running for a total of 65 episodes.

Count Duckula's physical appearance was changed to give him a more unique appearance (his original form resembling Donald Duck), and he was changed from an actual vampire to a "vegetarian vampire". This was explained during the show's titles when - in a rite to resurrect vampires from the dead - tomato ketchup was accidentally used instead of blood, thus making Duckula a vegetarian.

Series
Much of the series episodes were parodies of conventional horror stories, especially those of vampire fiction. As well as his name, Count Duckula was also shown to reside in a hilltop castle in Transylvania, a reference to the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. His manservant was named Igor, in homage to the stock character first introduced in Son of Frankenstein, whilst other references appeared in background shots, such as a film poster for Thursday the 12th.

Several episodes showed Duckula flying around the world in Castle Duckula, which featured a coffin within its basement that allowed the entire castle and those inside it to travel wherever the Count wished, but always returned at sunrise, Transylvanian Standard Time.

Characters
All characters in the series were anthropomorphised birds, although there was never a single fixed species in the series, which featured a variety of species according to the characters that appeared.


 * Count Duckula: The eponymous vampire duck who travels the world seeking fame and fortune rather than taking up the responsibilities of a vampire count. Voiced by David Jason.


 * Igor: A perpetually-gaunt vulture who acted as Duckula's butler, perpetually trying to sway his master to the side of evil. Voiced by Jack May.


 * Nanny: Duckula's strong-yet-dimwitted nanny, who - though resembling a pigeon, was actually a hen - who often filled the role of the brainless behemoth on the show. Voiced by Brian Trueman.


 * Von Goosewing: A Teutonic Goose who refused to admit that Duckula was a benign character unlike his ancestors. His role as a vampire hunter and his Germanic background were a parody of Dracula's nemesis Van Helsing. He is quite inept, clumsy, half-witted, stuborn and despite his intentions, he is more harmless and annoying than dangerous. Voiced by Jimmy Hibbert.