Howard the Duck (1986)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Willard Huyck

Writers:

Steve Gerber (Marvel comics character: Howard the Duck)
Willard Huyck (written by) ...

Release Date:

1 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

You will believe that a duck can talk.

Plot:

A sarcastic humanoid duck is pulled from his homeworld to Earth where he must stop an alien invader.

Plot Keywords:

Duck | Laser | Singer | Alien | Planet

Awards:

4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Lea Thompson	...	Beverly Switzler
Jeffrey Jones	...	Dr. Walter Jenning
Tim Robbins	...	Phil Blumburtt
Ed Gale	...	Howard T. Duck
Chip Zien	...	Howard T. Duck (voice)
Tim Rose	...	Howard T. Duck
Steve Sleap	...	Howard T. Duck
Peter Baird	...	Howard T. Duck
Mary Wells	...	Howard T. Duck
Lisa Sturz	...	Howard T. Duck
Jordan Prentice	...	Howard T. Duck
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Lieutenant Welker
Liz Sagal	...	Ronette, Cherry Bomb
Dominique Davalos	...	Cal, Cherry Bomb
Holly Robinson Peete	...	K.C., Cherry Bomb (as Holly Robinson)

Also Known As:

Howard: A New Breed of Hero (UK)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG (certificate #28226) | West Germany:12 (cut) | Germany:16 (2007 re-rating) | UK:PG (cut) | UK:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:6 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Black Point, Marin County, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The first feature film based on a Marvel comic.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Palm trees in Cleveland, Ohio.

Quotes:

Dr. Jenning: In the lab that night, we saw a single feather fall. We weren't aware that the rest of you, Howard, had landed in that alley just two miles away. Any questions?
Howard T. Duck: Yeah. Where are my pants?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Little Britain: (#2.6)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Don't Turn Away (Reprise)

Cult Silliness

While watching TV, the humanoid duck Howard (Ed Gale) is dragged from his planet to an alley in Cleveland through a mysterious force. He befriends the rock-'n-roll singer Beverly Switzler (Lea Thompson), who introduces him to the clumsy scientist assistant Phil Blumburtt (Tim Robbins). Howard gets in many troubles until Phil brings his colleague Dr. Walter Jenning (Jeffrey Jones) that explains him that he was accidentally pushed through a laser beam of his experiment in Alpha-Centauri, and he proposes to revert the beam to return Howard to his planet. However, Dr. Jenning is possessed by the demon Dark Overlords that has also come from the outer space. When Beverly is kidnapped by the Dark Overlords that needs energy to bring other demons to Earth, Howard and Phil join forces to rescue Beverly and save our planet.

The underrated "Howard the Duck" is a cult silliness from the 80's. The anti-hero Howard is cool and it is funny to see Tim Robbins in the beginning of his career performing a clumsy scientist and Lea Thompson in a sweet role singing many songs in her early career. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Howard, O Super-Herói" ("Howard, the Super-Hero")