Dr Von Goosewing is the main antagonist of Count Duckula. He's mad scientist, inventor, and a vampire hunter -- a spoof of Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's Dracula. He relentlessly pursues Count Duckula, unable to comprehend that he is harmless.
Details[]
Von Goosewing wears an outfit similar to that of Sherlock Holmes, with a pair of spats and spectacles. He often resides and flies a dirigible with "VG" on it, though on occasion is seen living in other places, such as a cave, a mountainside, or even his own house in 'The Incredible Shrinking Duck'. The symbol on his dirigible resembles Danger Mouse's badge from Danger Mouse (1981), another British animated television series produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television.
He is a terrible scientist, often getting injured by his own inventions. When not inventing some new machine or contraption with which to hunt vampires, he relies on an old-fashioned blunderbuss, which is loaded with a wooden stake (although, curiously, it will sometimes fire laser beams). Here and there he does manage to make an invention that works, but is never successful with its execution.
Von Goosewing appears to have (or have had) an assistant named Heinrich, who never appears in the show. There are two common theories for why this is -- one being that he is a figment of Von Goosewing's imagination, and the other being that Heinrich is a former assistant that quit without Von Goosewing noticing.
He speaks in a German accent, often throwing in a basic word or two in German, such as saying “ein” instead of “a”. Von Goosewing pronounces “vampire” as “wampire”, and he sometimes structures his English sentences with the verb at the end, the way they might be structured if they were spoken in German:
“I have for myself a wampire-blaster created.”
He frequently exclaims things in German. They are never really sentences, but rather a handful of different things:
- "Schinken und käse", or "ham and cheese!" in German.
- "Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen", which was a place in southwest Germany.
- "Gotterdammerung und Nibelungen" and "Rheingold und Tannhauser", all of which are names of pieces by the famous German composer, Richard Wagner.
- "Verdammte", which is -- you guessed it -- "damned" or "damn it" in German.
Personality[]
Von Goosewing is well defined by his bumbling, forgetful, and clumsy nature, as it is usually his downfall. He is unobservant, on occasion bumping into Duckula and conversing with him for several minutes without realizing to whom he is speaking, or forgetting to bring a weapon to even destroy him with. His realizations are often followed with the exclamation, “Duckula, you fiend!”
He is rather easy-going when not furious with Duckula or caught up in some scheme, chuckling and generally talking to himself, often about how great he is. Von Goosewing has an ego that he doesn't try at all to hide, praising himself for his "brilliant ideas" and "sheer unadulterated geniusness". He does not often take the blame for his failures, rather, passing it on to Heinrich or simply blaming Duckula.
Von Goosewing is fearful of Igor, regarding him as "the most cunningest, and most cleverest being known to mankind". Nanny, while he does fear her strength, he recognizes as unintelligent, mocking and otherwise being sassy with her. At other times, their interactions have consisted of Nanny thinking Von Goosewing is Duckula's friend, or that he's flirting with her, both of which he is always confused about.
Episode Appearances[]
1st Series[]
- 01: No Sax Please - We're Egyptian (Cameo).
- 02: Vampire Vacation.
- 03: One Stormy Night.
- 05: Restoration Comedy.
- 06: The Mutinous Penguins.
- 07: Doctor Von Goosewing's Invisible Ray.
- 09: All in a Fog.
- 10: Castle Duckula: Open to the Public.
- 11: The Ghost of MacCastle MacDuckula.
- 14: The Vampire Strikes Back.
- 17: Dear Diary.
- 18: Rent a Butler.
- 22: Doctor Goosewing & Mr Duck.
- 25: Duck and the Broccoli Stalk.
- 26: Family Reunion.
2nd Series[]
- 27: Ghostly Gold.
- 28: Ducknapped.
- 30: The Incredible Shrinking Duck.
- 35: Arctic Circles.
- 39: Beau Duckula.
- 41: Amnesiac Duck.
- 43: The Return of the Curse of the Secret of the Mummy's Tomb Meets Frankenduckula's Monster.
- 45: Bad Luck Duck.
3rd Series[]
- 48: Unreal Estate.
- 50: There are Werewolves at the Bottom of My Garden.
- 52: The Great Ducktective.
- 55: A Christmas Quacker.
- 57: OO Duck.
4th Series[]
- 59: Around the World in a Total Daze.
- 65: The Zombie Awakes (Cameo)
Trivia[]
- Von Goosewing has a tendency to name his creations after himself, and to give them very long names -- "Maybe mein Dr Von Goosewing Patent Carpet Shampooing Cleaner and Spot Remover will neutralize the foul fiend!"
- Von Goosewing thinks Castle Duckula has cute windows, and even that Duckula himself is just a "little guy" (with a big yellow beak!)
- The Marvel comic books add a supporting character: Von Goosewing’s niece, Vanna, on whom Duckula has a crush. This affection is reciprocated and the two have a romance during the comic's run, much to Von Goosewing's chagrin. Goosewing pursues Duckula with greater fervour as he seeks to protect his niece from him.
- Von Goosewing denies having a brother in the episode 'Around the World in a Total Daze', but is unable to answer the question of having a sister due to subject changing so quickly.
- In the Marvel comic books, his first name is revealed to be "Otto" -- a common and very stereotypical German boy's name.
- In the episode 'Rent a Butler', Von Goosewing is implied to have consumed blood via eating the soup Igor prepared. Meaning he has ironically, but unknowingly, consumed more blood in the series than the vampire he is hunting.
- In the episode 'The Ghost of McCastle McDuckula', Igor mentions to have met Von Goosewing's father, Von Goosewing the 1st. Meaning our Von Goosewing is likely the 2nd of his lineage with the surname Von Goosewing. His great uncle, Von Gosling, has a different surname.
- Von Goosewing cannot really be considered a true villain since he is convinced that Duckula is evil, like all his ancestors were and that his pleasant demeanor is all a devious act. To his way of thinking, he is acting heroically.
Photos[]
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