Howard the Duck

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6 / 10

1 Review

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6 Based on 1 Votes

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Overview

A scientific experiment unknowingly brings extraterrestrial life forms to the Earth through a laser beam. First is the cigar-smoking drake, Howard, from the duck's planet. A few kids try to keep him from the greedy scientists and help him back to his planet, but then a much less friendly being arrives through the beam...

Media

Howard the Duck 1986 TV trailer

Cast

Director:

Willard Huyck

Writer:

Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, Steve Gerber

Release Date:

1986-08-01

Run Time:

110m

Tagline:

More adventure than humanly possible.

Genres:

Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Romance Science Fiction

Keywords:

alternative reality based on comic duck superhero

Financials and Popularity

Budget: 37,000,000.00$

Revenue: 38,000,000.00$

Vote Average: 5.4/10

Vote Count: 1118 Votes

Movie Popularity: 2.7418

Spoken Languages: English

Review

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Insomniacs Reviews
- 28 April 2026 at 4:57 pm

6 Based on 1 Votes
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⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 6/10 THE SUMMARY Howard is just a regular cigar-chomping duck on his home planet until a laser spectroscope beam yanks him across the universe and dumps him in a Cleveland alley. After saving a rock singer named Beverly from some thugs, Howard has to navigate a world that sees him as a freak while trying to find a way home. Things go from weird to apocalyptic when the same laser beam accidentally brings over a "Dark Overlord of the Universe" who possesses a local scientist. Howard has to grab a neutron disintegrator and save Earth from a cosmic invasion of giant, stop-motion space monsters. THE PROS Lea Thompson is a winner here; she treats the insane premise with total sincerity and has quality chemistry with a puppet. The creature effects for the Dark Overlord at the end are epic status—proper old-school Phil Tippett stop-motion that looks way more visceral than modern CGI. It’s a 6/10 because it’s a punchy, bizarre relic of the 80s that isn't afraid to be completely mental. The soundtrack by Thomas Dolby is a win, especially the final concert track. It’s decent for a "what were they thinking?" movie night because the production value is actually quite high despite the script. THE CONS It earns a 6/10 because the tone is a massive damp squib; it can’t decide if it’s a kids' movie or an adult comedy, leading to some quality-deficient jokes that feel a bit creepy today. The duck suit itself is a bit sluggish in its movements and the lip-syncing is often a head-scratch... wait, it’s just a bit off. It misses a higher mark because the plot drags in the middle when they’re hiding out in the trailer park, making the runtime feel longer than it actually is. THE VERDICT A 6/10. Decent for the nostalgia and the sheer "how did this get made?" factor. It’s a winner for the practical effects and the 80s vibe. Go and watch it to see Marvel’s first-ever theatrical feature film—it’s quality madness. INSOMNIAC TRIVIA • Suit Struggles: Eight different little people were used to bring Howard to life. The suit was incredibly hot and expensive, costing around $2 million to develop, and the actors had to breathe through a small blow-hole in Howard’s neck.• Digital Ancestry: While this was long before the "sushi recipe" era, Industrial Light & Magic worked on this film. If you look at the computer readouts during the laser spectroscope activation, the scrolling data is actually a list of names of the VFX crew’s favorite local pizza parlors in San Rafael.• Bird is the Word: George Lucas produced this right after 'Star Wars', and he was so convinced it would be a hit that he built a massive "duck-themed" set that he eventually had to dismantle when the movie became one of the biggest flops in history. THE VIBE Like a sticky floor at a 1980s dive bar. It smells like stale cigars, hairspray, and pond water.

Videos

Howard the Duck 1986 TV trailer

Cast

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Howard the Duck

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Insomniacs Reviews
- 28 April 2026 at 5:57 PM

⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 6/10
THE SUMMARY
Howard is just a regular cigar-chomping duck on his home planet until a laser spectroscope beam yanks him across the universe and dumps him in a Cleveland alley. After saving a rock singer named Beverly from some thugs, Howard has to navigate a world that sees him as a freak while trying to find a way home. Things go from weird to apocalyptic when the same laser beam accidentally brings over a “Dark Overlord of the Universe” who possesses a local scientist. Howard has to grab a neutron disintegrator and save Earth from a cosmic invasion of giant, stop-motion space monsters.
THE PROS
Lea Thompson is a winner here; she treats the insane premise with total sincerity and has quality chemistry with a puppet. The creature effects for the Dark Overlord at the end are epic status—proper old-school Phil Tippett stop-motion that looks way more visceral than modern CGI. It’s a 6/10 because it’s a punchy, bizarre relic of the 80s that isn’t afraid to be completely mental. The soundtrack by Thomas Dolby is a win, especially the final concert track. It’s decent for a “what were they thinking?” movie night because the production value is actually quite high despite the script.
THE CONS
It earns a 6/10 because the tone is a massive damp squib; it can’t decide if it’s a kids’ movie or an adult comedy, leading to some quality-deficient jokes that feel a bit creepy today. The duck suit itself is a bit sluggish in its movements and the lip-syncing is often a head-scratch… wait, it’s just a bit off. It misses a higher mark because the plot drags in the middle when they’re hiding out in the trailer park, making the runtime feel longer than it actually is.
THE VERDICT
A 6/10. Decent for the nostalgia and the sheer “how did this get made?” factor. It’s a winner for the practical effects and the 80s vibe. Go and watch it to see Marvel’s first-ever theatrical feature film—it’s quality madness.
INSOMNIAC TRIVIA
• Suit Struggles: Eight different little people were used to bring Howard to life. The suit was incredibly hot and expensive, costing around $2 million to develop, and the actors had to breathe through a small blow-hole in Howard’s neck.
• Digital Ancestry: While this was long before the “sushi recipe” era, Industrial Light & Magic worked on this film. If you look at the computer readouts during the laser spectroscope activation, the scrolling data is actually a list of names of the VFX crew’s favorite local pizza parlors in San Rafael.
• Bird is the Word: George Lucas produced this right after ‘Star Wars’, and he was so convinced it would be a hit that he built a massive “duck-themed” set that he eventually had to dismantle when the movie became one of the biggest flops in history.
THE VIBE
Like a sticky floor at a 1980s dive bar. It smells like stale cigars, hairspray, and pond water.

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