Count Duckula (full title: Count Duckula the 17th, as stated in the episode "The Count and the Pauper"), is the main protagonist of Count Duckula. He is a short green duck with black parted hair, traditional vampire evening wear, complete with a cape. He has no fangs, although his more old-fashioned relatives do.
Details[]
As his name suggests, Count Duckula himself is very loosely based on the titular character of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and is essentially a subversion of the vampire trope.
Duckula is a vegetarian vampire duck, coming into the world as an accident. Unlike his family and ancestors, he has no bloodlust, as when he was reincarnated, blood was omitted and replaced with ketchup. He is actually quite cowardly, with a distaste for blood and gore, to Igor's disappointment.
Although he retains some vampiric powers and qualities (such as teleportation and an image invisible to mirrors), common vampire weaknesses such as sunlight, silver, and garlic have no effect on him, as he is not a "traditional" vampire. In the episode "Dr. Goosewing and Mr. Duck", 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.
Personality[]
As the theme song states, Duckula is rather zany. Energetic, good-natured, and ambitious, he is prone to short-lived obsessions that sometimes form the plots for episodes, such as attempting to become a blues musician in New Orleans, prospecting for gold, or becoming a cowboy or performer. He likes to make puns and jokes, and on occasion has the same sarcastic edge that Igor does.
He has a very modern outlook, and despairs over the traditional vampire image he is expected to embody. In the episode "Family Reunion", he is willing to go as far as contacting Dr Von Goosewing to help him destroy his own family. 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 lecturing and attempts to change him into a proper vampire, as well as Nanny's simple-minded and clumsy nature. Still, he keeps them around, suggesting that he really does need them. Quite a few times he admits to missing Nanny while she's gone, and he always takes his employees back at the end of the day.
Despite his positive qualities, Duckula is very immature, egotistical, and selfish, taking his lifestyle and employees for granted. He can be quite childish and rash, acting almost spoiled, despite his lack of riches. That also drives his avarice, a frequently occuring trait that has him and his staff scrambling for money. He does try to act refined and mature, which shows in his speech and fake attempts at modesty.
Reincarnations + Previous[]
- See: Duckula Incarnations:
Duckula has lived quite a few lives before this. The episodes "Dear Diary" and "The Rest is History" show previous lives as his great grandfather, an ambassador, a knight -- and, simply, a count. In fact, the first Duckula was no vampire at all, but a polite young count who was bit by a vampire bat.
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.
Appearances in other media[]
Although Count Duckula appears primarily as the main protagonist of the Count Duckula cartoon series, as well as the comics and merchandise based on it, he has made appearances in other media as well.
- Count Duckula made his first appearance in the Danger Mouse episode "The Four Tasks of Danger Mouse". This incarnation was the basis for his character in Count Duckula.
- Count Duckula, Igor, and Nanny make an appearance in the Victor & Hugo: Bunglers in Crime episode "Treasure Haunt". In it, the trio make a guest appearance for the majority of the episode. Their designs are largely unchanged from how they appear in Count Duckula. David Jason and Brian Trueman reprise their roles as Count Duckula and Nanny respectively, but Jack May does not reprise his role as Igor due to May not being cast.
- Count Duckula reappears again as an antagonist in the 2015 Danger Mouse reboot. His design in this series is drastically different from the original Danger Mouse and Count Duckula series, but takes elements from both. He is voiced by Rasmus Hardiker. Duckula as he appeared in the Count Duckula cartoon makes a cameo as a photo in the background of episode 21 "From Duck to Dawn".
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.
- In all three of his shows, Duckula speaks with an American accent, despite being voiced by British actors (Sir David Jason is the original Danger Mouse and Count Duckula and Rasmus Hardiker in the Danger Mouse reboot).
- Duckula sometimes uses alliterative expressions - "Action, adventure, activity, and all this is pretty boring!" "Smart, snappy, snazzy, and say, what's down there?" "This is the end, this is disastrous -- doom, debacle and drat it all why me, why?" "Dark, dismal, dreary, and darn it, I just want to get away from it all!"
- When excited or surprised, he usually stumbles and trips over his words, repeats things, and pauses, before getting what he's trying to say out.
- According to Igor, he presses flowers with the bone crusher in the torture chamber.
- The episode "The Rest is History" states that the first Count Duckula was alive in the 12th century. If the opening theme is to be believed, and Duckula can only be reincarnated once a century, this would mean it is incorrect for him to be the 17th count, as the series takes place in the years it was aired.
- In some episodes, Duckula is shown to have a picture of Dr. Von Goosewing on the wall to the left of his bed, held up by two darts.
- In "One Stormy Night", Duckula states berries give him heartburn.
- His vampire clan's motto is Per Ardua ad Sanguina (Work hard for blood).
- In "Igor's Busy Day", Duckula has little understanding of math. He has trouble saying the word "mathematics" and confused the number Pi for the food pie.
- Duckula is rather short compared to most characters, including the other main characters. Even his archnemesis, Dr. Von Goosewing, says that he is a "little fellow" in "The Return of the Curse of the Secret of the Mummy Meets Franken Duckula's Monster".
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