Howard the Duck

Howard the Duck is just minding his own business, perusing pornography, when he's sucked through a portal in space and transported to Earth. He lands in Cleveland, Ohio, where he's immediately attacked by punks. The setup is very similar to what happened to Supergirl when she arrived on Earth, just without Matt Frewer and the threat of sexual violence. Howard eventually meets up with Beverly and becomes the manager of her band, Cherry Bomb. Then things take a turn and it becomes a race to stop an evil alien from bringing the Dark Overlords of the Universe to Earth. Howard the Duck is all over the place. It's a comedy. It's an adventure movie. It's sci-fi. It's a half-assed mishmash of all those things and more. It was neither successful nor well received at the time. Some still consider it one of the worst movies of all time. I wouldn't say it's that bad. It's definitely muddled and misguided but it also has an absorbing appeal that keeps me coming back to it every so often.

Rating: 65%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Fun Fact: David Paymer played a scientist in the movie. He also played a scientist in Night of the Creeps, which came out around the same time as Howard the Duck.

It's a Wonderful Leaf

Even supervillains have to shop. Unfortunately, the shitty shoppers of St. Canard prove to be too much for Bushroot to bare and he decides to ruin Christmas for everyone. Using his plant-based powers, Bushroot amasses an army of Christmas trees to carry out his pernicious plans. Step one: cause chaos at the mall. Step two: steal everyone's presents. Only one thing stands in Bushroot's way, the daring do-gooder Darkwing Duck. Ever since I got Disney+, I've really been enjoying revisiting some of the classic Disney Afternoon shows. I think Darwking Duck holds up particularly well. Something tells me that Bonkers and Goof Troop might not have aged as gracefully though.

Rating: Sled%

(Image from IAD)

A Christmas Quacker

It's Christmastime in Transylvania. As the residents of Castle Duckula wait for the arrival of Santa Claus, their adversaries draw ever closer. The Crow Brothers, a quartet of dimwitted thieves, are once again attempting to scale the castle walls. While Dr. Von Goosewing, the bumbling vampire hunter, stumbles through the castle eager to use his latest invention against Count Duckula. The Count needn't worry though, his enemies (much like his staff) are not very good at what they do. "A Christmas Quacker" starts and ends very Christmas oriented, but there's a chunk in the middle where Duckula gets lost in a pulpy comic book. It's a bit disjointed, much like the series in general.

Rating: Books%

Last Christmas!

Disney rebooted DuckTales last year and from what I gather they've been doing a good job of modernizing the show for today's young audience while simultaneously paying tribute to all things related to Disney's stable of ducks. That's certainly the impression I got after watching the recent episode "Last Christmas!" It was essentially an indirect sequel to Mickey's Christmas Carol. They've changed the designs of the three spirits, but they're clearly making a callback to that classic special. One of the ghosts even says that they first met Scrooge McDuck when they were on their way to meet up with a different Scrooge. I'll skip over the plot of the episode, as it's just another riff on the classic Christmas Carol story, but I'd be remiss not to make mention of the stellar voice cast on the show. Scrooge himself is now voiced by former Time Lord David Tennant. He even makes a joke about time travelers. Bless me bagpipes!

Rating: Wendigo traps%

(Image from DuckTales Wiki)