Quacula is an animated cartoon character, an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

, created by

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...

. He starred in his own segment on ''

The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle ''The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle'' is a 1979–1980 television series featuring newly produced Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle cartoons. The series was produced by Filmation, and aired from 1979 to 1980 on CBS with 96 epi ...

'' for one season.

Plot

Quacula (voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

) was depicted as a pale blue duck with a

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...

-like bill and fangs, dressed in a blue jacket and a black

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

with a red lining. He slept by day in a white coffin shaped like an

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

, in the basement of a house owned by an anthropomorphic

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

named Theodore (voiced by

Norm Prescott Norman Prescott (January 31, 1927 – July 2, 2005) was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Associates, an animation studio he created with veteran animator Lou Scheimer. Life and career Born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Bosto ...

imitating

Joe E. Ross Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...

of ''

Car 54, Where Are You? ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1961 to April 1963. Filmed in black and white, the series starred Joe E. Ross as Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Francis Muldoon, two mismatched New York City p ...

''). Every night Quacula would rise from his coffin and try to terrify Theodore and others, but he would never really succeed; his antics tended to be more comical than frightening. Also, Theodore would come up with one plan after another to rid himself of Quacula, but always fail to do so. Composer

Ray Ellis Ray Ellis (July 28, 1923 – October 27, 2008) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor, and saxophonist. He was responsible for the orchestration in Billie Holiday's '' Lady in Satin'' (1958). Biography Raymond Spencer Ellis ...

occasionally repeated music cues from ''

Groovie Goolies ''Groovie Goolies'' is an American animated television show that had its original run Saturday mornings on CBS between 1970 and 1971. It was rebroadcast the following season on Sunday mornings. Set at a decrepit castle, the show focused on its mo ...

''.

Broadcast history

Quacula made his debut on September 8, 1979, on the first episode of ''The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle''. However, cartoonist

Scott Shaw Scott Shaw (born 23 September 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author, martial artist, and filmmaker. Career Scott Shaw is an advanced martial artist. He has written a number of books on the martial arts. Shaw has written a numb ...

filed suit against Filmation due to the fact that he had created a character named Duckula for the comic book ''Quack!'' #1 (July 1976), published by

Star*Reach ''Star Reach'' (also spelled ''Star*Reach'') was an American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher be ...

. The matter was settled out of court, and after 16 episodes Quacula was dropped from the show, which was shortened from an hour to a half-hour .''Quack!'' #1
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

List of cartoons

In addition to their own shorts, Quacula and Theodore also crossed over into Heckle & Jeckle's "Where There's a Will." The magpies show up after inheriting their uncle's mansion, and although Theodore instantly realizes they have the wrong address, he decides to give Heckle & Jeckle a night in the house, hoping they'll drive Quacula away.

References

External links

Cartoon index
at the

Big Cartoon DataBase The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, Feature film, animated feature films, Animated television series, animated television shows, and cartoon Short film, shorts. The BCDB proj ...

Fictional ducks Fictional vampires Terrytoons characters Male characters in animation Television characters introduced in 1979 Vampires in animated television {{animation-char-stub