Darkly Dawns the Duck
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| Darkly Dawns the Duck | |
|---|---|
 Darkwing Duck: Darkly Dawns the Duck |
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| Directed by | Dale Case John Kimball |
| Produced by | Tad Stones Alan Zaslove |
| Written by | Tad Stones |
| Starring | Jim Cummings Christine Cavanaugh Terry McGovern Tim Curry |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Television Walt Disney Home Video |
| Release date(s) | April 6, 1991 |
| Running time | 48 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| IMDb profile | |
Darkly Dawns the Duck is an animated Disney television special that originally aired as an hour-length film on the Disney Channel on April 6, 1991, and was the pilot for the television series Darkwing Duck. After the success of the pilot, the film was edited for time for the launching of the series. It was aired as Darkwing Duck's first regular episodes ("Darkly Dawns the Duck" Part 1 and 2) on September 8, 1991. It was also released in its uncut form on home video, combining the two parts of the special into a 48-minute movie.
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[edit] Plot
Darkwing Duck, an up-and-coming crime fighter dying for a big break, is stuck busting regular criminals in the bustling metropolis of St. Canard. Annoyed that he isn't getting enough attention from the press, Darkwing longs to fight a super-villain. He gets more than he bargained for however when he stumbles onto a fiendish plot by criminal mastermind Taurus Bulba to steal a top-secret weapon from the military: an anti-gravity beam cannon called the Waddlemeyer Ram Rod.
Darkwing fails to stop Taurus Bulba's three henchmen, Hammerhead Hannigan and the clumsy Hoof and Mouth, from stealing the Ram Rod, despite "help" from accident-prone pilot Launchpad McQuack. Furious at having lost Bulba's henchmen, Darkwing turns down the hopeful Launchpad's request to be the hero's sidekick.
Meanwhile, Bulba discovers that although he has the Ram Rod, he lacks the arming code. An earlier botched attempt to steal the weapon resulted in the accidental death of its inventor, Professor Waddlemeyer, before Bulba could learn the code. He sends Hammerhead, Hoof, and Mouth to kidnap the Professor's granddaughter, Gosalyn Waddlemeyer, from the St. Canard Orphanage, on the gamble that she knows the arming code. Darkwing, having discovered what Bulba's henchmen stole, races to the rescue and snatches Gosalyn out of the henchmen's grasp.
After a car chase, Darkwing returns to the safety of his hideout with Gosalyn, promising to protect her until Taurus Bulba is brought to justice. As Darkwing and Gosalyn bond, he discovers, inadvertently, that the arming code for the Ram Rod is hidden in the lyrics of a lullaby taught to Gosalyn by her grandfather. But a newly escaped Taurus Bulba lures Darkwing out into the opening to both find his secret lair and turn him over to the police. Launchpad McQuack, Darkwing's biggest (and only) fan springs him loose, becoming his new sidekick at the helm of his fanmade superhero jet - the Thunderquack.
They race to Bulba's flying base of operations for a final climactic showdown which ends in a shattering explosion around both Darkwing and Taurus. Later, a bruised and battered Drake Mallard (aka Darkwing Duck) arrives at Gosalyn's orphanage to adopt her.
[edit] Cast
| Actor/Actress | Role |
| Jim Cummings | Darkwing Duck |
| Christine Cavanaugh | Gosalyn Waddlemeyer |
| Terry McGovern | Launchpad McQuack |
| Tim Curry | Taurus Bulba |
| Hal Rayle | Hammerhead Hannigan |
| Marcia Wallace | Clovis / Mrs. Cavanaugh |
| Eddie Deezen | Mouth |
| Laurie Faso | Warden Waddlesworth |
[edit] Cut Scenes
A number of scenes were cut from the pilot film when it was edited to become two regular episodes of the TV series. These scenes were subsequently restored when it was released uncut on video. Unfortunately, they were not restored for the DVD set released in 2006, which contains the edited version. These scenes include:
- An opening chase sequence showing Darkwing capturing a gang of fleeing criminals. The shot of Darkwing ramping his motorcycle sidecar, the Ratcatcher, up and into the bed of a pickup truck, catapulting the criminals inside into some trashcans, is featured prominently in the show's opening sequence despite being absent from the current televised versions.
- While following Taurus Bulba's pet condor Tantalus on the Ratcatcher, Darkwing almost has a head-on collision with a large truck and is yelled at by the driver.
- A longer version of the scene where Hoof and Mouth are twirling their rifles around before Darkwing jumps them.
- A scene showing Taurus Bulba wheeling a cart of dirty clothes to the prison laundromat, establishing that Hammerhead, Hoof, and Mouth are hiding inside it.
- Following the car chase, Mouth has a panic attack and begins screaming, "We're all gonna die! We're all gonna die!" until Hammerhead hits him.
- A longer scene of Taurus Bulba ranting about Darkwing's ego, with him imitating Darkwing's mannerisms and poses: "His posing, his flamboyance, the mask and cape! Ha, ha! That hat! It all indicates an ego the size of a small planet!"
- Darkwing asking Gosalyn if he should frame his memo pad.
- While in his jail cell, the scene where Darkwing tries to get the biker pig to punch him is much longer.
- A brief scene where Taurus Bulba comments that the design of the Thunderquack, Launchpad's fan-made jet, is ugly.
[edit] Trivia
- The Ram Rod's arm/disarm code is revealed in the lyrics of Little Girl Blue, the lullaby that Gossalyn's grandfather sang to her. The sequence is: yellow, blue, red, blue, purple, purple, blue, purple, green, yellow.[1]
[edit] See also
| Darkwing Duck view • talk • edit |
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|---|---|
| Characters | |
| Main Characters | Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard | Gosalyn Mallard | Launchpad McQuack | Honker Muddlefoot |
| Villains | NegaDuck | Megavolt | Bushroot | Quackerjack | The Liquidator | F.O.W.L. | Splatter Phoenix | Taurus Bulba | Hammerhead, Hoof and Mouth | Dr. Fossil | Phineas Sharp |
| Minor Characters | Herb, Binkie and Tank Muddlefoot | J. Gander Hooter | Vladimir Goudenov Grizzlikof | Gizmoduck | Morgana Macawber | Stegmutt | Dr. Sarah Bellum | DarkWarrior Duck |
| Other | |
| Misc | St. Canard | Calisota | Darkly Dawns the Duck | Characters |
| Media | Episodes | DVDs | Darkwing Duck video game |
| See also | Tad Stones | DuckTales | Double-O-Duck | The Disney Afternoon |
