Duck Dodgers | |
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Genre | |
Based on | Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century by Charles M. Jones, Michael Maltese, & Warner Bros. |
Developed by | Spike Brandt Tony Cervone |
Directed by | Spike Brandt Tony Cervone Collette Sunderman (voice director) |
Voices of | |
Theme music composer | Wayne Coyne Steven Drozd |
Opening theme | "Duck Dodgers", performed by Tom Jones |
Ending theme | "Duck Dodgers" (Instrumental) |
Composers | Robert Kral Douglas Romayne |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 39 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Sander Schwartz |
Producers |
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Editor | Rob Desales |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies | Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Warner Bros. Animation |
Original release | |
Network | Cartoon Network |
Release | August 23, 2003 – April 22, 2005 |
Network | Boomerang |
Release | September 16 – November 11, 2005 |
Related | |
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Duck Dodgers is an American animated television series developed by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone based on the 1953 theatrical animated short film of the same name, which stars the character Daffy Duck. It is a comic science fiction series, featuring the Looney Tunes characters in metafictional roles, with Daffy Duck reprising his titular role from the original short. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 2003 to 2005. [1] It originally aired on Cartoon Network and later ended on Boomerang. [2]
Though primarily based around the original Duck Dodgers short (which is set in roughly 2318 AD), the series also takes visual and thematic cues from other Looney Tunes shorts, with other Looney Tunes characters appearing in the series, albeit adapted to fit within the show's universe. [3] For example, Yosemite Sam becomes "K'chutha Sa'am", a parody of Klingons in Star Trek , Elmer Fudd becomes "The Fudd", a parasitic mind-altering alien disease, (a combination of the Flood and the Borg), Wile E. Coyote was a Predator-like alien hunter. Also appearing in the show are Witch Hazel, Count Bloodcount, Goofy Gophers, Nasty Canasta, Taz, Rocky and Mugsy, the Crusher, "Shropshire Slasher", Michigan J. Frog, Ralph Phillips, Egghead Junior, and the unnamed evil scientist who owns Gossamer.
The show's theme song (arranged by the Flaming Lips) is sung by Tom Jones, in a style reminiscent of the theme from the James Bond film Thunderball . [4] Daffy once played a caricature of Jones, who was his singing voice in the second-season episode "Talent Show A Go-Go", singing his signature song, "It's Not Unusual". Dave Mustaine of the thrash metal band Megadeth was featured in the third-season episode "In Space, No One Can Hear You Rock", with the band performing the song "Back in the Day" from their 2004 album The System Has Failed .
Duck Dodgers was nominated in 2004 Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production Produced For Children, Music in an Animated Television Production, Production Design in an Animated Television Production, and Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. It won the Annie award in 2004, for Music in an Animated Television Production, music by Robert J. Kral. It was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation and Special Class Animated Program in 2004, [5] and again in 2005. [6] It later won for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program—Joe Alaskey. [7] The series ended production in 2005 after its third season.
Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone were both fans of the Daffy Duck short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century and spent six years trying to get the concept made as either a TV series or feature film until the two were given a production commitment. [8] After a prime time Daffy Duck series Brandt and Cervone were developing with Paul Rugg described as The Larry Sanders Show meets Jack Benny failed to emerge from development hell, Brandt and Cervone moved on to Duck Dodgers and incorporated some of their unused concepts. [8]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
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First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
1 | 13 | August 23, 2003 | November 18, 2003 | Cartoon Network | |
2 | 13 | August 14, 2004 | February 25, 2005 | ||
3 | 13 | 5 | March 11, 2005 | April 22, 2005 | |
8 | September 16, 2005 | November 11, 2005 | Boomerang |
Warner Home Video released Duck Dodgers – The Complete First Season: Dark Side of the Duck to DVD on February 19, 2013, Duck Dodgers – The Complete Second Season: Deep Space Duck on July 23, 2013, and Duck Dodgers - The Complete Third Season on January 28, 2020. Unlike the previous 2 seasons released on DVD the 3rd was released on a DVD-R. The complete series was released on Blu-ray on March 28, 2023. [9] The Blu-ray set also includes the original 1953 short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century as a bonus feature. [10]
Season | Title | Episodes | Release date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Complete First Season: Dark Side of the Duck | 13 | February 19, 2013 | |
2 | The Complete Second Season: Deep Space Duck | July 23, 2013 | ||
3 | The Complete Third Season | January 28, 2020 |
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Duck Dodgers is the star of a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros., featuring Daffy Duck in the role of a science fiction hero.
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