Howard the Duck (film)

On Duckworld, an Earth-like planet inhabited by anthropomorphic ducks, Howard the Duck is propelled out of his apartment building and into outer space; he 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==

Thomas Dolby, who composed the songs for the film, has a cameo as a bartender. Future Nirvana and Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear appears as an extra. ==Production==

to focus on producing films, including Howard the Duck. 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. 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. 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 Industrial Light & Magic. Because Lucas often worked with dwarf actors, he was able to hire several extras to work on these sequences. Gerber read over the script and offered his comments and suggestions. In addition, Huyck and Katz met with Gerber to discuss a horror sequence with which they were having difficulty. Gerber declared that the comic-book series was an existential joke, stating, "'This is no joke!' There it is. The cosmic giggle. The funniest gag in the universe. Life's most serious moments and most incredibly dumb moments are often distinguishable only by a momentary point of view. Anyone who doesn't believe this probably cannot enjoy reading Howard the Duck." However, after shooting was finished, Gerber stated that he felt the film was faithful to both the spirit of the comic book and the characters of Howard and Beverly. Huyck and Katz wanted to incorporate both lighter, humorous elements and darker, suspenseful elements. Katz states that some readers were confused by the sexual elements of the screenplay, as they were unsure as to whether the film was intended for adults or children. Huyck and Katz wrote the ending, leaving the story open for a sequel, which was never produced. The script significantly altered the personality of the title character, played the story straight instead of as a satire, removed the surrealist elements, and added supernatural elements that could highlight special effects work done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic. The filmmakers consulted with Disney's lawyers to make sure Howard did not resemble the Disney character Donald Duck too closely. Howard's appearance was redesigned several times during the process, including his clothes and the shape of his bill. and in a three-issue limited series. Casting After auditioning several actresses, singers, and models for the role of Beverly Switzler, including Tori Amos, Lea Thompson was cast due to her appearance in Back to the Future. Thompson purchased clothing from thrift stores because she wanted to appear at the audition as "a cross between Madonna and Cyndi Lauper." During the shoot, Thompson complained that the filmmakers chose to shoot Howard's close-up before hers. Thompson also states that she regrets not wearing a wig, as her hairstyle took two hours a day to prepare. To play the physical role of Howard, Huyck and Katz held casting calls with dwarf actors, eventually casting child actor Jordan Prentice and hiring Ed Gale, who had been rejected because he was too tall for the role, to perform stunts and play the role during evening shoots. Huyck and Katz auditioned several actors including John Cusack, Robin Williams and Martin Short for Howard's voice. Williams worked for a week before quitting, stating, "I can't do this. It is insane. I can't get the rhythm of this. I am being confined. I am being handcuffed to match the flapping duck's bill." As a result, Chip Zien was cast because the filmmakers felt his nasal voice suited the part. Because Howard's voice was not cast until the film had begun editing, synchronization was extremely difficult. Jeffrey Jones altered his voice for Dr. Walter Jenning after the character's possession by the Dark Overlord, which he demonstrated when interviewed by Dallas-Fort Worth reporter Bobbie Wygant. The ultralight sequence was difficult, requiring intense coordination and actors Robbins and Gale to actually fly the plane. Special effects Howard was initially intended to be a fully computerized character, but these attempts proved unsuccessful. The idea of fully puppeteering Howard was explored, but the filmmakers determined they would need an actor in a suit to portray him for much of the film. The effect of the feathers on Howard's head becoming erect during the love sequence took months to prepare. A total of six actors gave physical performances as Howard. Gerber was impressed by Howard's appearance, and commented, "It was very bizarre to meet it and [...] realize not just that I created itthat would have been bizarre enough [...] you know, it was sort of like meeting a child I didn't know I had". by sound designer Ben Burtt. Stop motion effects during the climax were designed by Phil Tippett, who began with a clay model before upgrading to more sophisticated pieces. ==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, Allee Willis, 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. 2019 Intrada Release ==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!" 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". 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. 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 $21,667,000 Internationally. When the film was screened for Universal, Katz said that the studio's executives left without commenting on the film. 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. ==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. ==Legacy==

The reaction to the film had a negative effect on the cast, who found themselves unable to work on other projects because of the film. Jeffrey Jones also said he is happy with his role in the film. In June 2012, the YouTube series Marvel Superheroes: What the--?! featured an episode starring Howard the Duck complaining to Marvel that his movie was not given a special Blu-ray re-release to celebrate its 25th anniversary. He eventually gets Joe Quesada to try to appeal to and bribe George Lucas into supporting the re-release. In 2014, the Los Angeles Times listed the film as one of the costliest box-office flops of all time. Filmmaker James Gunn, a fan of the character, stated he was disappointed of the film. Writer Chip Zdarsky, who took on Howard's comics in the 2010s, revealed he was a fan of the movie growing up and had the 2016 run of the title featuring metafictional references to the film. The plot had Lea Thompson hiring Howard and discovering the villain Mojo had hypnotized her into playing Beverly opposite an alien in a Howard costume. In a June 2018 interview, Lea Thompson said that she was going to pitch Marvel Studios a new Howard the Duck movie following the character's cameo appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy and its 2017 sequel voiced by Seth Green, expressing hope at directing it herself. In 2021, following the release of a trailer for the Disney+ animated series What If...?, which prominently featured Howard, Thompson once again indicated her interest in directing the film. She later revealed that she had pitched the film, following Howard stranded on Earth after the events of Avengers: Endgame, with Joe Quinones supplying artwork. While she received a positive response, Marvel Studios ultimately passed on it. However, she revealed that they indeed have plans for the character. ==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. ==See also==