Queer Duck
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If ever there was a movie that begged you to shelf any preconceived notions and just watch it, “Queer Duck” is that movie. If a friend of mine didn’t forward me a screener copy to watch, I never would have picked it up left to my own devices, and I would have missed out on the funniest animated movie I’ve seen in years.


This is what the “Family Guy” movie should have been.


I was new to the Queer Duck phenomenon, so this was all very fresh for me. Since the characters are based on the most basic of stereotypes though, even a breeder like me had no problem following along.


Clocking in at a mere 75 minutes, QD was the perfect length for an animated feature. There was a loose plot (Queer Duck becoming straight to wed ex-Broadway starlet Lola Buzzard), a brief moral (something about never changing your true self), some hilarious musical numbers, and TONS of jabs at popular culture. Some really laugh-out-loud stuff at that.


The animation was similar to old “George of the Jungle” and “Dudley Do-Right” cartoons…the colors were muted and not a lot of action going on, but the beauty was in the dialog and the setups.


Sitting down in front of this as a straight man, I was ready for anything, and my shackles were raised just in case it turned into a recruitment film (the Veggie Tales have me gun-shy about cartoons), but all the characters were very funny and very likeable, and I swear, if it was possible, Paul Lynde really was the voice of Bi-Polar Bear, it was dead on.


The comedy was very banal, and overly simplistic, but in a good way…so even an outsider like me got the jokes. More Denis Leary than Dennis Miller. And no, since you’re going to ask, while the content is very adult in nature, it doesn’t resort to showing any exclusively ‘gay’ activities. Watching this on mute could have been a PG affair.


What reminded me of “Family Guy” was the approach of the cultural jokes. Nothing was too sacred to poke fun of (even a talking crucifix voiced by David Ducovney had a big part in the climax). Gay and straight societies were both parodied, and most of the quips were quite funny.


“Queer Duck” should be a standard for writers trying to stretch a short bit into a feature, be it animated, or the normally abysmal failures churned out by SNL. It was just long enough, and didn’t have to milk any one facet of the production to make a movie version. I really hope the writers of “The Simpsons” movie can dissect “Queer Duck” to see how it’s done correctly.


I can easily recommend this to animated comedy fans. If you enjoy “The Simpsons” or “Family Guy”, or even if you thought “The Kids in the Hall” was a riot – you owe it to yourself to check this out. If you’re really secure in your manhood, get it at a store, or if you’re a coward like me, you can also order it through Amazon. I feel awkward enough buying “Queen’s Greatest Hits” at Best Buy, grabbing this flick would probably cause an anxiety attack.


“Queer Duck: The Movie” is a solid 4 cans, but I’m going to knock it up to 4 ½ cans for having one of the greatest thespians of our time, Tim Curry, as part of the voice talent.

Added:  Tuesday, July 04, 2006

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