Howard the Duck (released in the United Kingdom as Howard... A New Breed of Hero) is a 1986 American superhero comedy film directed by Willard Huyck and starring Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, and Tim Robbins. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film was produced by Gloria Katz and written by Huyck and Katz, with George Lucas as executive producer. The screenplay was originally intended to be an animated film, but the film adaptation became live-action because of a contractual obligation. While several TV adaptations of Marvel characters were aired, this was the first theatrical release since the Captain America serial of 1944.
Lucas proposed adapting the comic book following the production of American Graffiti (1973). After multiple production difficulties and mixed response to test screenings, Howard the Duck was released in theaters on August 1, 1986. Upon its release, the film was a critical and commercial failure and was criticized for its humor, performances, inconsistent tone, and appearance of the title character, though the effects and soundtrack were mostly praised. In the years since, it has been considered among the worst films ever made, but has also developed a cult following. It was nominated for seven Razzie Awards (winning four), and made about US$38 million (US$16.3 million domestically) compared to its US$30–37 million budget.
Plot[]
Howard the Duck lives on Duckworld, a planet similar to Earth but inhabited by anthropomorphic ducks. One night, his armchair propels him out of his apartment building and into outer space; Howard lands on Earth, in Cleveland, Ohio. Upon arriving, he encounters a woman being attacked by thugs, whom he defeats using a unique style of martial arts. The woman, Beverly Switzler, takes Howard to her apartment and lets him spend the night.
The following day, Beverly takes Howard to Phil Blumburtt, a scientist who Beverly hopes can help Howard return to his world. After Phil is revealed to be only a lab assistant, Howard resigns himself to life on Earth and rejects Beverly's aid. He gets a job as a janitor at a romance spa but eventually quits and returns to Beverly, who plays in a band called Cherry Bomb. At the club where Cherry Bomb is performing, Howard confronts their manager when he insults the band and plans to coerce Beverly. A fight breaks out, which Howard wins.
Howard rejoins Beverly backstage and accompanies her back to her apartment, where Beverly persuades him to be the band's new manager. The two flirt and get into bed, but they are interrupted by Phil and two of his colleagues, who reveal that a laser spectroscope they were inventing was aimed at Howard's planet and transported him to Earth when it was activated. They theorize that Howard can be sent back to his world through a reversal of this process.
Upon their arrival at the laboratory, the laser spectroscope malfunctions, raising the possibility of something else being transported to Earth. At this point, Dr. Walter Jenning is possessed by a life form from a distant region of space. When they visit a diner, the creature introduces himself as a "Dark Overlord of the Universe" and demonstrates his developing mental powers by destroying the table, utensils, and condiments. A fight ensues when a group of truckers in the diner insults Howard. He is captured and is almost killed by the diner chef, but the Dark Overlord destroys the diner and escapes with Beverly.
Howard locates Phil, and they discover an ultralight aircraft, which they use to search for the Dark Overlord and Beverly. At the laboratory, the Dark Overlord plans to transfer another of his kind into Beverly's body with the dimension machine. Howard and Phil arrive and seemingly destroy the Dark Overlord with an experimental neutron disintegrator, but the creature is merely forced out of Jenning's body and attacks them in its true form. Howard fires the neutron disintegrator at the beast, obliterating him. He then destroys the laser spectroscope, preventing more Dark Overlords from arriving on Earth, but at the cost of his only chance of returning to Duckworld. Howard then becomes Beverly's manager, hires Phil as an employee on her tour, and performs with her on stage.
Cast[]
- Lea Thompson as Beverly Switzler
- Jeffrey Jones as Dr. Walter Jenning
- Tim Robbins as Phil Blumburtt
- Chip Zien as Howard the Duck (voice)
- Ed Gale as Howard the Duck (suit performer)
- Jordan Prentice as Howard the Duck (additional suit performer)
- Tim Rose, Steve Sleap, Peter Baird, Mary Wells and Lisa Sturz as Howard the Duck (puppeteers)
- Paul Guilfoyle as Lieutenant Welker
- Tommy Swerdlow as Ginger Moss
- Richard Edson as Ritchie
- Miles Chapin as Carter
Production[]
George Lucas attended film school with Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who later co-wrote American Graffiti with Lucas. After the film's production concluded, Lucas told Huyck and Katz about the comic book Howard the Duck, primarily written by Steve Gerber, describing the series as being "very funny" and praising its elements of film noir and absurdism.[8] In 1984, Lucas relinquished his presidency of Lucasfilm to focus on producing films. Lucas wanted John Landis to direct the film, but Landis declined. According to the documentary A Look Back at Howard the Duck, Huyck, Katz and Lucas began to seriously consider adapting Howard the Duck as a film, and met with Gerber to discuss the project. Steve Gerber's account differs slightly; he recalls that at the time he was approached to discuss the film, Lucas was not yet involved with the project.
The film was optioned by Universal Studios after a partnership with Marvel Comics. According to Marvin Antonowsky, "Sidney [Sheinberg] lobbied very hard for Howard the Duck", because the studio had passed on previous projects in which Lucas was involved, which had been very successful. Sheinberg denied any involvement in Howard the Duck, claiming that he never read the screenplay. Huyck and Katz strongly felt that the film should be animated. Because Universal needed a film for a summer release and thinking that animating the film would take too long or cost too much, Lucas suggested that the film could be produced in live-action, with special effects created by ILM.
Production designer Peter Jamison and director of photography Richard Kline were hired to give the film a look similar to that of a color comic book.[8] Throughout the shoot, Huyck shot multiple segments establishing Duckworld, designed by Jamison. In the opening shot, the skyline displayed could easily be New York City but the two moons visible in the sky (at similar angles from one another as the two suns of Tatooine in the original Star Wars film). Howard's apartment is filled with detailed props, including books and magazines featuring duck-oriented puns. Because Lucas often worked with dwarf actors, he was able to hire a number of extras to work on these sequences.
Though Gerber's schedule generally prevented him from being present during the shooting, he chose to miss the deadline on the first issue of The Spectre so he could watch the final day.
Development[]
Adaptation[]
Casting[]
Filming[]
Special effects[]
Soundtrack[]
- Main article: Howard The Duck (soundtrack)
The film's score was written by John Barry, although some of it was replaced by material composed by Sylvester Levay (most notably the music for the scene where Howard and Phil fly the ultralight—Barry's original cue is heard on the soundtrack album). Thomas Dolby wrote the film's songs, and chose the members of Cherry Bomb. Actress Lea Thompson performed her own singing for the role, although she states that the filmmakers were unsure as to whether they would keep her vocals in the final film. Thompson was required to learn choreography with the band and record the songs so they could be synchronized during filming. The final sequence, in which Cherry Bomb performs the film's title song, was shot in front of a live audience at The Warfield in San Francisco. The song was co-written by Dolby and George Clinton. Gale was choreographed to dance and play guitar as Howard. Dolby built a special guitar for Gale to use for rehearsal and filming.
In 2019, Intrada Records released a 3-disc expansion including the first compact disc release of the original soundtrack album, as well as John Barry's complete score for the film.
Reception[]
Huyck said that test screenings "went all right" and "people laughed", but Katz claimed she "tore up" negative response cards so that they could say, "Hey, we got a ninety-five percent on the screening!"
Critical response[]
Howard the Duck received mainly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 13%, based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 3.8/10, making it the lowest-rated Lucasfilm production. The site's consensus states: "While it has its moments, Howard the Duck suffers from an uneven tone and mediocre performances." On Metacritic the film has a score of 28 out of 100, based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B−" on a scale of A to F.
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave one star out of four, called it a "stupid film" and said, "the story has no center; the duck is not likable, and the...special effects...are less impressive than a sparkler on a birthday cake." On their television show, both Siskel and his co-host Roger Ebert complained that the movie was not enough of a comedy and that Howard should have been given either the Groucho Marx–like personality from his comic books or a fun Donald Duck–like persona. Ebert also criticized the soundtrack for being downbeat and bittersweet. Orange Coast writer Marc Weinberg and Leonard Maltin criticized the decision to shoot the film in live action. Maltin described the film as "hopeless .... a gargantuan production which produces a gargantuan headache". People magazine seemed to agree: "Lucasfilm promised us The Mallard Who Fell to Earth; the result turned out to be more like Xanaduck...Who'd have imagined that Howard T. Duck, the same web-footed wiseacre who conquered the incredible Space Turnip and the horrible Hellcow, might be done in by something even more ridiculous: Hollywood?"
The appearance of Howard was criticized as being unconvincing due to his poorly functioning mouth and expressionless face. Reviewers also criticized the acting and humor and found the film boring. In The Psychotronic Video Guide, Michael Weldon described the reactions to Howard as being inconsistent, and, "It was obviously made in LA and suffered from long, boring chase scenes", but praised the stop-motion special effects in the film's final sequences. Common Sense Media criticized the film for the pointless plot lines and the excessive use of sexual innuendo. The group set the appropriate age for the movie at 13+.
Box office[]
The film grossed US$16,295,774 in the United States and US$21,667,000 worldwide for a total of US$37,962,774. When the film was screened for Universal, Katz said that the studio's executives left without commenting on the film. Screenings for test audiences were met with mixed response. Rumors circulated that Universal production heads Frank Price and Sidney Sheinberg engaged in a fistfight after arguing over who was to blame for green-lighting the film. Both executives denied the rumors. News reports speculated that one or both would be fired by MCA chairman Lew Wasserman. Price soon left the studio and was succeeded by Tom Pollack. In an article titled "DUCK Cooks Price's Goose", the September 17, 1986 issue of Variety attributed his departure to the failure of the movie, although Price had not approved the film's production.
In July 1986, Huyck and Katz stated that the film's ending left it open for a sequel, which they seemed interested in making. However, after the film bombed, talks of a sequel ceased. Following the box office failure, Huyck and Katz left for Hawaii and refused to read any reviews.
Accolades[]
Home media[]
Howard the Duck was first released on VHS and LaserDisc in January 1987. It was released on a Special Edition DVD by Universal Studios on March 10, 2009. The film was released on Blu-ray on March 8, 2016. It was later released on 4K Blu-ray to commemorate the film's 35th Anniversary in 2021.
Novelization[]
A novelization of Howard the Duck was written by former National Lampoon editor Ellis Weiner.
Video game[]
- Main article: Howard the Duck (video game)
A video game sequel was released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Apple II in 1986 and for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1987, developed by Arnative Software and published by Activision. The game received generally negative reviews.
Gallery[]
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