Dynamo Duck
Encyclopedia
Dynamo Duck was the main character in the children's series "The Adventures of Dynamo Duck", which aired on television in the early nineties.
The origin of the series lies with the French film maker Jean Tourane
. During the sixties he filmed for a children's television series Saturnin, le petit canard about the small duck
Saturnin which had all kinds of adventures. The series was produced using real animals, dressed up with sunglasses, hats etcetera, inside a miniature world. The series, first produced in 1964 (according to the Internet Movie Database
) was shown on French television.
Years later, the footage was bought by the American producer Nathan Sassover. Originally, clips of it were used as bumpers leading into and out of commercials on the Fox Kids
network. Additionally, Sassover edited the different pieces of film in a new way and wrote new storylines to produce a James Bond
-style show in a series of two-minute shorts. Again a small duck was the main character, fighting crimes of the evil Dr. Mortek (a monkey) and other assorted villains. The animals wander around on miniature sets with scale models of trucks and other vehicles. The duck, this time going by the name of "Dynamo Duck", was driving around in a miniature Jaguar.
What makes this series unique prior to the advent of computer animation was the way the mouth movements of the animals, specifically the ducks, with the precise dialog dubbed in gives the appearance of the animals speaking. The principal duckling was voiced-over by Dan Castellaneta
, using a terse, clipped style parodying The Untouchables
Robert Stack
. The first season aired in 1991 on Fox Kids
. The shorts aired once a week during the Fox Kids' Saturday morning line-up in between the half-hour programs. Where it appeared on the schedule wasn't announced and aired at inconsistent times. Even the promo
for the series narrated by Dynamo says "Saturday mornings on FOX", but no specific time. For fans to follow and collect the series, it was often necessary to record the entire morning line-up so as not to miss it. At the end of every show, Dynamo Duck said "We take care of our animals, and so should you!". The second season of Dynamo Duck is widely regarded as vastly inferior to the first that relied more heavily on reuse of footage, and recycled storylines. Dynamo's voice-over was modified in a manner similar to Don Adams
' Get Smart
role of Maxwell Smart. There are over 100 shorts in the series.
Later, in the mid-90's, the series had a brief afterlife airing overnights on the now defunct Network One
(N1). The episodes were five minutes in length, including end credits. Many of which were expansions of their two-minute counterparts from Fox Kids. Some combined two two-minute shorts to make a five-minute double episode with bridges either at the beginning, middle or end of each story, or a combination thereof. Due to the limited number of indie and low-powered stations that carried Network One, the series aired nearly unnoticed except by night owls.
The origin of the series lies with the French film maker Jean Tourane
Jean Tourane
Jean Tourane was a French filmmaker known for his footage of small animals. His birth name was Jean Briel. Among others he filmed a television series about a small duck named "Saturnin" during the 1960s...
. During the sixties he filmed for a children's television series Saturnin, le petit canard about the small duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
Saturnin which had all kinds of adventures. The series was produced using real animals, dressed up with sunglasses, hats etcetera, inside a miniature world. The series, first produced in 1964 (according to the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
) was shown on French television.
Years later, the footage was bought by the American producer Nathan Sassover. Originally, clips of it were used as bumpers leading into and out of commercials on the Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
network. Additionally, Sassover edited the different pieces of film in a new way and wrote new storylines to produce a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
-style show in a series of two-minute shorts. Again a small duck was the main character, fighting crimes of the evil Dr. Mortek (a monkey) and other assorted villains. The animals wander around on miniature sets with scale models of trucks and other vehicles. The duck, this time going by the name of "Dynamo Duck", was driving around in a miniature Jaguar.
What makes this series unique prior to the advent of computer animation was the way the mouth movements of the animals, specifically the ducks, with the precise dialog dubbed in gives the appearance of the animals speaking. The principal duckling was voiced-over by Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, using a terse, clipped style parodying The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
. The first season aired in 1991 on Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
. The shorts aired once a week during the Fox Kids' Saturday morning line-up in between the half-hour programs. Where it appeared on the schedule wasn't announced and aired at inconsistent times. Even the promo
Promo
Promo may refer to:*Promotion , one of the four aspects of marketing*Promotional music videos, such as those played on MTV*Promotional recording, a recording distributed free in order to promote a commercial recording...
for the series narrated by Dynamo says "Saturday mornings on FOX", but no specific time. For fans to follow and collect the series, it was often necessary to record the entire morning line-up so as not to miss it. At the end of every show, Dynamo Duck said "We take care of our animals, and so should you!". The second season of Dynamo Duck is widely regarded as vastly inferior to the first that relied more heavily on reuse of footage, and recycled storylines. Dynamo's voice-over was modified in a manner similar to Don Adams
Don Adams
Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
' Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
role of Maxwell Smart. There are over 100 shorts in the series.
Later, in the mid-90's, the series had a brief afterlife airing overnights on the now defunct Network One
Network One
Network One was a small "independent" network, consisting of mostly low-powered television stations, scattered across the Continental United States, similar to Urban America Television, America One, or the better-known Ion...
(N1). The episodes were five minutes in length, including end credits. Many of which were expansions of their two-minute counterparts from Fox Kids. Some combined two two-minute shorts to make a five-minute double episode with bridges either at the beginning, middle or end of each story, or a combination thereof. Due to the limited number of indie and low-powered stations that carried Network One, the series aired nearly unnoticed except by night owls.
The Characters and Their Roles
Dynamo Duck is the top secret agent of D.U.X., which stands for Dynamic Undercover Excellence. Dynamo's arch nemesis, Dr. Mortek, is the leader of S.K.U.Z., which is Sleazy Killers, Usurpers, and Zealots. It was also referred to as the Society of Killers, Usurpers and Zealots. Many other crime and espionage organizations were known by their acronyms. Such as H.O.A.X. (the Horrible Organization Against Excellence), S.N.O.B. (the Secret Nefarious Order of Blowhards), Y.A.H.O.O. (Yokels Against Happiness, Optimism and Order), G.O.O.F.U.S. (Goons On the Orders to Foul Up Society), T.O.X.I.C. (Totally Obnoxious, Extremely Insidious Criminals), W.H.O.M. (Wiley Horrendous Obnoxious Maniacs), L.U.S.H. (Low, Underhanded Sot-faced Hitmen), and S.N.O.R.E. (Slumbering Nemesis Of Righteousness Everywhere). The Loonies are a religious cult living like medieval knights. Loonies is not an acronym. Many of the agents working for these organizations were, but not limited to, weasels.| Good Guys | Title | Species |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamo Duck | Agent | duckling |
| The Chief | Chief of DUX | guinea pig |
| Number Two | DUX's Second-In-Command | guinea pig |
| Thomas | Inventor | guinea pig |
| Edison | Inventor | guinea pig |
| Lenny | Mechanic | frog |
| Flash | Agent | turtle |
| Orwell | Oracle | goldfish |
| Barbara | Dynamo's main mallard | duckling |
| Updraft McKilt | Inventor | guinea pig |
| Finsterbush | Agent | guinea pig |
| Professor Sand | Inventor | cat |
| Maxie | Assistant to Prof. Sand | dog |
| Sean O'Conner | Dynamo's father | duckling |
| J. Edgar Hooter | Head of Covert Operations | guinea pig |
| Marley | Agent | guinea pig |
| Morris | Agent | cat |
| Orange | Agent | guinea pig |
| Bugsy | Agent | rabbit |
| Funny Money | Secretary | Barbie-like doll |
| Sluggo | Agent | snail |
| Mervin | Magician | guinea pig |
| D.T. | Alien | mouse |
| Cosmarina | Alien | duckling |
| Sigmunda Fraulein | DUX Psychologist | vulture |
| Bad Guys | Affiliation | Species |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Mortek | SKUZ leader | monkey |
| Dr. Snow | SKUZ | albino weasel |
| Doc Fungus | SKUZ | duckling |
| Karloff | SKUZ/HOAX | weasel |
| Rupert Flybreath | SKUZ | lizard |
| Scamalot | SKUZ | weasel |
| Cuss Cowchip | SKUZ | weasel |
| Rufus Razorback | SKUZ | weasel |
| Dilroy Dunk | SKUZ | weasel |
| Frostbite | SKUZ | weasel |
| Manny Mankwrench | SKUZ | weasel |
| Sir Rib Howitzer | SKUZ | weasel |
| Glowfeld | SKUZ | weasel |
| Roughhouse | SKUZ | weasel |
| Bianca Bombshell | SKUZ | albino weasel |
| Ivan Tobealonesky | SKUZ/HOAX | albino weasel |
| Lucinda Wild | SKUZ | albino weasel |
| Karutek | SKUZ | chimpanzee |
| Helena Handbag | HOAX | vulture |
| Nostrilomus | HOAX | weasel |
| Cecil Thru DeMill | HOAX | guinea pig |
| Hooter Hornsby | HOAX | weasel |
| Brubaker | SKUZ/HOAX | weasel |
| Brauma Llama | HOAX | albino weasel |
| Carlotta Call | HOAX | weasel |
| Smokey DuBois | HOAX | weasel |
| Mel Odorous | REEK | weasel |
| Cockeye | REEK | weasel |
| Conrad Crud | YAHOO | weasel |
| Oliver & Neville | SNOB | roosters |
| L. Ron Hubbub | TOXIC | weasel |
| Dr. Know | WHOM leader | owl |
| Hypnocat | many | Siamese cat |
| The Rocko Brothers | family gangsters | rabbits |
| Sir Loin | LOONEY leader | weasel |
| Sir Real | LOONEY | guinea pig |
| Sir Round | LOONEY | guinea pig |
| Pussy Malone | Pussy Willows leader | cat |
| Odd Paws | Pussy Willows | cat |
| Dog-Meat Mancini | Pussy Willows | cat |
| Agent Hiss | Pussy Willows | cat |
| Katz Paw | Pussy Willows | cat |