The Plucky Duck Show

Steven Spielberg Presents The Plucky Duck Show, usually referred to as The Plucky Duck Show, is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. It is a short-lived spin-off of Tiny Toon Adventures but concentrating attention mainly on Plucky Duck.[1] The show ran for 13 episodes from September 12 to November 28, 1992.

The Plucky Duck Show
Also known asSteven Spielberg Presents The Plucky Duck Show
GenreSaturday-morning cartoon
Created byTom Ruegger
Directed byRich Arons
Voices ofJoe Alaskey
Don Messick
Charlie Adler
Tress MacNeille
Gail Matthius
Kath Soucie
Cree Summer
Frank Welker
John Kassir (first episode only)
Theme music composerBruce Broughton
ComposersRichard Stone
Julie Bernstein
Steven Bernstein
Don Davis
("A Ditch in Time")
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerSteven Spielberg
ProducersTom Ruegger
Sherri Stoner
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesWarner Bros. Animation
Amblin Entertainment
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkFox Broadcasting Company (Fox Kids)
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Original releaseSeptember 12 (1992-09-12) –
November 28, 1992 (1992-11-28)
Chronology
Related showsTiny Toon Adventures
Animaniacs
Freakazoid!
Pinky and the Brain
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

History

Of the 13 episodes, only the first one (entitled "The Return of Batduck" in homage to the movie Batman Returns) was original to the series. All remaining episodes of the show were compilations of shorts produced for Tiny Toons, though some of the shorts were aired on The Plucky Duck Show first.

The theme song for the show is a rendition of the Tiny Toons theme, set to the same music, but with Plucky himself as the subject of the song. Some of the lyrics were reused in the Tiny Toons episode "It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special".

After the show was canceled, the Batduck episode was edited and added in as an episode of Tiny Toons. The show's formula was attempted again several years later when the supporting characters from Animaniacs (Steven Spielberg's next collaboration with Warner Bros. Animation), Pinky and the Brain were also given their own show. Unlike The Plucky Duck Show, however, Pinky and the Brain consisted entirely of original material rather than reusing pre-existing shorts from the show it was spun-off from.

Episodes
Nº Cartoons Original air date
1"The Return of Batduck"September 12, 1992 (1992-09-12)

Plucky returns to his role as Batduck to star in a new movie.

Note:: This is the only episode with John Kassir as Buster.
2"Ducklahoma / Video Game Blues / Yakety Yak / Party Crasher Plucky"September 19, 1992 (1992-09-19)

  • Ducklahoma: Actually an edited version of the cartoon, which is a spoof of Oklahoma!
  • Video Game Blues: A musical number in which Plucky and Fowlmouth sing about Plucky's addiction to video games; set to music from The Nutcracker.
  • Yakety Yak: A "music video" set to the song Yakety Yak.
  • Party Crasher Plucky: Plucky crashes a celebrity party, and brings Shirley the Loon with him.
3"Minister Golf / Particle Man / Istanbul / My Brilliant Revenge!"September 26, 1992 (1992-09-26)

  • Minister Golf: A "Baby Plucky" cartoon in which Plucky remembers the first time he played miniature golf.
  • Particle Man: A "music video" set to the song Particle Man.
  • Istanbul: Another "music video," set to the They Might Be Giants' version of Istanbul (Not Constantinople).
  • My Brilliant Revenge!: Hamton destroys Plucky's bagpipes in a fit of anger, and Plucky plots a way to get back at Hamton.
4"Kon Ducki"October 3, 1992 (1992-10-03)
A feature about Pluck Heyerdahl's voyage on the Kon Ducki (which is a parody of the Kon-Tiki); followed by a "making of" featurette.
5"Inside Plucky Duck"October 10, 1992 (1992-10-10)

This episode is made up of two shorts:

  • Bat’s All, Folks: Plucky and Hamton star as Batduck and Decoy, a parody of Batman and Robin.
  • Wild Takes Class: Plucky does a cartoon-style take in which he turns into a giant eyeball, but then finds out that he is stuck that way.
6"A Quack in the Quarks"October 17, 1992 (1992-10-17)
In this spoof of the Star Wars films, aliens choose Plucky to defend their world against a Darth Vader-style villain.
7"A Ditch in Time"October 24, 1992 (1992-10-24)
Plucky builds a time machine so that he can go back a few days and finish his homework on time, but ends up traveling to prehistoric days.
8"Going Up / Wait ‘Till Your Father Gets Even / Never Too Late to Loon"October 31, 1992 (1992-10-31)

  • Going Up: A "Baby Plucky" cartoon in which little Plucky is playing with the buttons in an elevator at the shopping mall.
  • Wait ‘Till Your Father Gets Even: Hamton loses his father's bottle cap collection to Plucky, and he is afraid to face his father.
  • Never Too Late to Loon: Afraid of failing a math test, Plucky asks his psychic girlfriend Shirley the Loon to give him Albert Einstein's brain.
9"Just-Us League of Supertoons / A Bacon Strip / Migrant Mallard"November 7, 1992 (1992-11-07)

  • Just-Us League of Supertoons: Batduck and Decoy try to join the Just-Us League (a parody of the Justice League).
  • A Bacon Strip: After skinny-dipping in Max's pool, naked Hamton tries to get home without being seen.
  • Migrant Mallard: Unable to fight his instincts, Plucky flies south for the winter against his will.
10"Hollywood Plucky"November 14, 1992 (1992-11-14)
Plucky, accompanied by Hamton, goes to Hollywood to try to sell his movie script.
11"The Potty Years / Milk, It Makes a Body Spout / The Anvil Chorus"November 21, 1992 (1992-11-21)

  • The Potty Years: The first "Baby Plucky" cartoon, in which Plucky remembers his potty training.
  • Milk, It Makes a Body Spout: Buster and Plucky have a contest to see who can make Hamton laugh hard enough to shoot the milk he is drinking out of his nose.
  • The Anvil Chorus: An orchestra plays the Anvil Chorus while Plucky tries to avoid the falling anvils that are crashing down around him.
12"Slugfest / Duck Dodgers Jr. / Duck Trek"November 28, 1992 (1992-11-28)

  • Slugfest: In this satire of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Plucky and Hamton dress up as Plucky's cartoon heroes, the Immature Radioactive Samurai Slugs.
  • Duck Dodgers Jr.: Plucky is Duck Dodgers' sidekick as Dodgers once again faces off against Marvin.
  • Duck Trek: A parody of Star Trek, featuring Plucky in the role of Captain Kirk.
13"Best o' Plucky Duck Day"November 28, 1992 (1992-11-28)

An episode of Tiny Toon Adventures consists of the following Plucky Duck shorts:

  • One Minute ’Til Three: Plucky is anxiously waiting for the class to end, and hoping to avoid getting stuck with a weekend assignment for getting the wrong answers.
  • Sticky Feathers Duck: Plucky and Hamton steal a candy bar, and it weighs on their consciences.
  • Duck in the Dark: Plucky sleeps over at Buster's house, but stays up late watching horror movies, causing him to have nightmares.

References
  1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 626. ISBN 978-1476665993.
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