FMDB - Fatatatutti Movie DataBase [closed]

[Fatatatutti]

The Thespian Light Infantry

Synopsis: A filmed version of the Gilbert-and-Sullivanesque light opera of the same name. The plot revolves around plays on the words "thespian" and "lesbian", confusion between actors and soldiers, and several naked pillow fights.

Trivia: The duck who waddles across the scene at frequent intervals is not in the stage version; he is included as an homage to the well-known stage production which featured an all-duck cast, which was hailed by critics as, "unmelodious but loud."

[Fatatatutti]

The Bride of Frankalphonse

Synopsis: A student film that became an Internet cult classic and spawned a host of imitators. Dr. Frankalphonse buys a frozen duck from the supermarket and brings it back to life. Mayhem ensues when the "monster" turns out to be irresistible to women.

Trivia: Subsequent entries in the "franchise" include The Terror of Frankalphonse, Frankalphonse meets the Three Stooges and Frankalphonse versus Godzilla, which inspired the video game, Frankalphonse versus Godzilla Chess.

Tagline: "Women always love the bad ducks."

[Fatatatutti]

Fish in a Barrel

Synopsis: A private detective-fish investigates a complex mystery, only to become the prime suspect himself. Mayhem ensues as he flees for his life while pursuing the real culprit and fending off several amorous advances.

Trivai: (Spoiler Alert) The producers took advantage of the film noir look of the movie for several visual effects. For example, in the scene where the detective-fish's car goes over the cliff and bursts into flames, the wires suspending his bowl were conveniently hidden by the darkness.

[Fatatatutti]

Biggles

The Biggles movie franchise is an attempt to cash in on Fatatatutians' fascination with ducks but with human actors only. Biggles is the human equivalent of a duck; he's loud, he can be annoying, he's lazy, he has a short attention span. Some say he's a typical Fatatatutian; others say he's what Fatatatutians wish they could be.

Casting the part of Biggles was difficult compared to casting Mr. Quackers or Sergeant Biter. All white ducks look alike - at least to humans - so almost any white duck can be substituted and in fact many actors have played the role of Mr. Quackers. However, it is not so easy for a human to act like a duck. It is said that several hundred actors were tested before Biggles was chosen.

Although the Biggles franchise has not been as successful as the "real duck" franchises, it does have its own cult following.

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Biggles Makes His Mark

Synopsis: In the series opener, somebody has stolen Biggles' identity and it's up to him to find the culprit and clear his name. Unfortunately, it seems that the imposter is even more duck-like than Biggles, so wherever he goes he encounters the irate people who have met his "double".

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Biggles On the Road

Synopsis: In the sequel, Biggles is a long-distance trucker trying to get his cargo through to market on time but he faces a series of obstacles including amorous truck-stop waitresses, mechanical glitches and a mysterious Fiat 500 that seems intent on running him off the road.

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Biggles Marches On

Synopsis: In the third and final entry to date, Biggles accidentally enlists in the Army and mayhem ensues. Will biggles graduate from basic training? Will the Army survive Biggles?

[Fatatatutti]

Hungry Hungry Hippos: The Motion picture

Synopsis: A young duck-next-door goes from hustling Hungry Hungry Hippos for asparagus to the duck-eat-duck world of professional Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Trivia: The producers wanted Fatatatutti's Hungry Hungry Hippos champion, Alphonse, for the starring role but he was not available. Some of the tournament footage was taken from news coverage of his games.

[Fatatatutti]

Romeo Foxtrot

Synopsis: A more-or-less accurate account of the formation of Raiding Force (also known by its radio call-sign Romeo Foxtrot) and its first mission, the rescue of hostages from a hijacked aircraft in a hostile nation halfway around the world. The mission is actually an amalgamation of several real missions because Raiding Force doesn't disclose the identities of its targets for security reasons.

Trivia: General Marie-Louise Castro-Stalina, who played a major role in the formation of Raiding Force, is portrayed accurately as a diminutive blonde instead of the voluptuous redhead depicted in most movies about her adventures. Major John "Scottie" Wilson, the commander of Raiding Force, is also depicted realistically as a rather short and stout middle-aged man with a big moustache instead of a more "leading-man" image. Both the General and the Major were approached to appear in cameos as other characters but both had to decline due to scheduling conflicts. The Army cooperated fully with the production, providing equipment and troops for both sides, though no actual members of Raiding Force were involved.

Catch phrase: (Spoiler Alert) "Romeo Foxtrot, Romeo Foxtrot, Romeo Foxtrot...." distress call as the C-130 transports approach Fatatatutti with wounded on board and short of fuel.

[Fatatatutti]

Night of the Living Duck

Synopsis: A horror classic: ducks who have been eaten rise from the dead to get their revenge.

Trivia: The duck corpses - headless ducks, half-eaten ducks and duck skeletons - were animated by legendary special effects wizard Harry Rayhausen.

Catchphrase: "Where's my wishbone?"

[Fatatatutti]

Walk Like a Duck

Synopsis: A duck scientist struggles to convince his colleagues that ducks are descended from dinosaurs. Based loosely on the real-life scientific discovery that birds are descended from dinosaurs.

Trivia: (Spoiler Alert) The stunt where the racks of glassware fall over like dominoes had to be repeated several times because the duck who played the scientist kept knocking them over "inadvertently". The dream sequence in which the scientist imagines he's a dinosaur was done with CGI because a real dinosaur was not available.

[Fatatatutti]

Scarfoot

Synopsis: A surprisingly violent depiction of a gang war between rival ducks and turtles vying for control of the asparagus trade. In the words of film critic R.G. Siskelebert, "A duck in a pin-striped suit is hilarious but a duck with a machine-gun is downright terrifying." Historians are divided on its accuracy, some claiming that it's just an exaggeration of a minor scuffle between Alphonse and a turtle.

Trivia: At first, some movie-goers didn't realize that the protagonists were not human because the trailers consisted mostly of machine-gun fire and voice-overs. The actual body count is uncertain because some of the violent scenes appear to be repeated from different angles. The explosion of the asparagus truck had to be repeated several times because the turtles kept missing their cues. (In fact, the slow reactions of the turtle actors often delayed production.) However, only one load of asparagus was destroyed.

[Fatatatutti]

Undercover With the Ku Ducks Klan

Synopsis: A mild-mannered duck reporter infiltrates the notorious white-duck-supremacist organization to find out what they're REALLY up to. Along the way he fends off the amorous advances of brown ducks, is elected Dux Magnus (Grand Duck) and learns that it's really "all about the picnic".

Trivia: The picnic scenes were filmed at an actual KDK annual picnic - which is held several times a year because ducks don't have calendars. The pointy hats were added digitally because duck actors typically don't like to wear hats. Note: the pointy hats are artistic license; the KDK is not known to wear them in real life. (Spoiler Alert) The explosion was not staged; it was a real explosion at a real KDK picnic, which is as yet unexplained though it has been attributed to a fireworks malfunction.

[Fatatatutti]

Corner Table

Synopsis: Episodic comedy-drama centering on the corner table at a "typical" Tim Hortons. Customers come and go, from Cabinet Ministers to business tycoons to surf bums, and their lives intertwine.

Trivia: Although it is an ongoing mystery why Tim Hortons in Fatatatutti have only one corner, the movie was actually shot on a specially-constructed set with four corners, so that camera setups could be changed quickly without interrupting the action. Cameo appearance by Carmen "Shimmy" Dijkstra as "the Assistant".

[Fatatatutti]

The Tuesdays

Synopsis: The epic story of the legendary Tuesday Division from the birth of the Parachute Army in the 1940s to the peacekeeping campaigns with the Crozet Peace Force. Particular attention is paid to the incident in the 1950s when the nickname was acquired. The movie was made with the complete co-operation of the Army including almost a thousand troops and dozens of aircraft. All of the parachute jumps are real, made by active members of the Division.

Trivia: Cameo appearances by General Marie-Louise Castro-Stalina as the "little blonde girl" (herself) who encourages a nervous rookie and General Carlos Maximiliano "Mad Max" Castro-Stalina as himself watching a C-130 Hercules fly past on its way to the Suva Islands. Footage of the flooding in the 1950s is real news footage but digitally colorized to match the rest of the film. Since no footage of the Tuesday Division battling the flood waters was available, a section of the flooded river was recreated in a large tank. The water is actually sea water. The C-47 Dakota aircraft (the Division's original transports) were borrowed from several small regional airlines that are still flying them on a regular basis.

Catchphrase: "We'll be there by Tuesday."

[Fatatatutti]

Alphonse of the Antarctic

Synopsis: Despite the title, Alphonse of the Antarctic is not set in the Antarctic. Instead, Alphonse dons a tuxedo to go undercover and infiltrate a group of penguin gangsters.

Trivia: Originally intended as part of the Mr. Quackers franchise, the script was obtained by independent producers after a dispute between the writer and the franchise producers, Albert Asparagus and Percy Pepperman. The actor who played Alphonse learned to tie his own bow tie for the movie but he took too long to do it so a clip-on was used in several scenes. (Spoiler Alert) The scene where Alphonse is frozen into a giant ice cube was done by a stunt duck. Brief cameo appearance by the Fish With No Name as a pickled herring.

[Fatatatutti]

Captain Dexter

Synopsis: A fictionalized account of the adventures of Fatatatutti's most notorious duck pirate.

Trivia: Captain Dexter's crew is made up of humans and ducks but the only one who speaks English is his parrot, Irving. The duck who plays Captain Dexter was mistakenly arrested several times during filming because all white ducks look alike. Most of the scenes were filmed on board the whaler Charles W. Morgan, which is moored in Fat City harbour. Through clever use of camera angles and editing, the ship appears to be on the high seas even though it never left the dock.

[Fatatatutti]

The Fish and the Dead

Synopsis: Some critics have called it a second-rate rip-off while others say it's an instant classic of the spaghetti fish Western genre. A mysterious fish comes to town for a gunfighting competition where the winner is the last man standing - or the last fish swimming.

Trivia: All of the revolvers used in the movie were on loan from the Takeapenny Arsenal's antique firearms collection. Cameo appearances by Alphonse (or a duck who looks like Alphonse) as Colonel Mortimer and Mickey Chang as the Judge. The tweed vest worn by Colonel Mortimer is on display at the Fat City Hard Rock Cafe. (Spoiler Alert) The town was blown up, rebuilt and blown up again because the cameraman missed his cue - not, as rumour has it, because the duck who played Colonel Mortimer thought it was funny.

[Fatatatutti]

Ducks in a Submarine

Synopsis: An obvious attempt to cash in on two of Fatatatutti's favorite obsessions, Ducks in a Submarine is the story of the submarine Quackenfish and its all-duck crew. Mayhem ensues when her captain misinterprets a message from headquarters and, thinking they're at war, goes berserk and begins torpedoing everything in sight.

Trivia: Instead of using the Fish-class submarine set that has appeared in countless movies, a special duck-sized submarine set was built. In several scenes, the duck who played the captain was doubled by a stunt duck because he didn't like getting wet. One film critic's terse review read simply, "Not enough bacon." A total of forty-seven ships were sunk in the movie, though some of them seem to be the same ship seen from different angles. The miniatures were animated by special effects legend Harry Rayhausen.

Quotes: "Quack!" (Although the movie has no subtitles, the audience yells out the translation, "Up periscope!" etc.)

[Fatatatutti]

Alphonse and Fish in Cadillac Ranch

Synopsis: On hiatus from their popular TV show, Alphonse and Fish go on the ultimate road trip, tearing up the pavement in their black 1959 Cadillac convertible. Mayhem ensues as they irk a fat southern sheriff and fend off advances from a bevy of Lufthansa stewardesses.

Trivia: Fish tells stories of growing up in Hell's Fishbowl but they may be lost on viewers because he doesn't speak English. Producers acknowledge that Alphonse's stories are all lies. Fish was so impressed with the smooth ride of the Cadillac, which didn't spill any of the water in his bowl even during the wildest stunts, that he bought it from the producers after filming was completed. Claims that the Cadillac cost 900 USD per mile to operate are believed to be exaggerated. (Spoiler Alert) During the jail break, Fish actually picked the locks, which is a hobby of his.

[Fatatatutti]

Beehive

Synopsis: Based on the TV series of the same name, a crew of bee-boys face perils and endure hardships as they take their herd of bees to market. Along the way they encounter colourful characters including bee rustlers, irate ranchers and Mexican duck bandits.

Trivia: Despite the comments of some foreign reviewers, this is NOT a comedy. However, there is some comic relief from the irascible cook, Fishbone, and his goofy assistant, Fishy Fishgrove III. The duck actors who played the bandits didn't speak Spanish so their lines were dubbed. Other proposed titles included "Bee Movie" and "Brand Bee" but the producers thought that they were too silly so they paid an extra million USD for the rights to the TV show's title. Filmed entirely on location on the Kalikimaka Ranch in southwest Fatatatutti.

Theme song:

Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Keep them bees a-rollin'
Keep collectin' pollen,
Beehive.
Bee-boy's calculatin'
That honey will be waitin'
Bee waitin' at the end of my ride.

Catchphrase: "Head 'em up! Move 'em out!"

[Fatatatutti]

A Hell of a Way to Die

Synopsis: Based on real events, the youngest General in Fatatatutian history takes command of the legendary Tuesday Division. The movie concentrates on her parachute training and the beginning of the peacekeeping initiative in Auftragsreich and Neurepublik.

Trivia: Although General Marie-Louise Castro-Stalina is not mentioned by name, the events depicted in the movie do closely resemble her own involvement with the Division and the main character is played by a diminutive blonde instead of the buxom redhead who usually plays General Castro-Stalina in the movies. In the typically surreal style of Fatatatutian movies, the irrascible Sergeant is played by a duck who, of course, doesn't need a parachute. The background to the opening credits is actual news footage of the Division and the flooding in the 1950s (see quote below). The movie's title is derived from the paratroopers' anthem, Gory, Gory, What a Hell of a Way to Die. Cameo appearance by the real General Mad Max Castro-Stalina watching the Division fly over his house on their way to Auftragsreich.

Quote: [voice over the opening credits] "In the 1950s, unusually heavy rains in the Fatatatutian highlands caused severe flooding which put many villages in danger. On a Sunday morning, General Carlos Maximiliano 'Mad Max' Castro-Stalina received the call for help, with the flood crest expected on Wednesday. He famously replied, 'We'll be there by Tuesday.' He marched five thousand of his troops day and night for more than a hundred kilometers over some of Fatatatutti's roughest terrain. They arrived on Tuesday evening and began sandbagging immediately, saving hundreds of homes. To this day, the 365th Parachute Division has been known as the Tuesday Division. This is one of their stories."

[Fatatatutti]

The Wonderful Wizard Alphonse

Synopsis: A classic movie version of the beloved children's story. Little Althea gets lost in the wilderness and meets the Munchies tending their clandestine "asparagus" field. They tell her that the Wonderful Wizard Alphonse can help her get home. Along the way, she meets a Scared Cow, a wooden Thin Man and a Colourful Lesbian, who all have their own problems that only the Wizard can solve.

Trivia: The "asparagus" plants are suspiciously tall, with seven-pointed leaves. Many believe that the whole Munchies scene was inserted to cater to foreign audiences, since neither asparagus nor cannabis is illegal in Fatatatutti. The duck who played the wizard refused to wear the pointy hat, so a stand-in was used for some scenes. (Digital effects were not available at the time the film was made.) The Thin Man was actually a string puppet. The Scared cow was played by three real cows, including one for the closeups and one for the stunts. The actual sexuality of the Colourful Lesbian is uncertain. A silent black-and-white version made in the 1920s is still available on DVD. There are also several foreign knock-offs which depart from the original book by introducing a villain. It should be noted that the Fatatatutian versions don't need a villain because the heroes manage to bumble themselves into enough trouble without one.

Quote: "Pay no attention to the duck behind the curtain."

Song:

We're off to see the Wizard,
The Wonderful Wizard Alphonse.
We hear he is a wiz of a wiz
If ever a wiz you wants.

[Fatatatutti]

Fish in a Submarine

Synopsis: From the producers of Ducks in a Submarine comes the inevitable sequel - the first submarine with an all-fish crew, the Gefiltefish, embarks on a series of adventures and misadventures including landing a spy on a remote beach, attacking a slave ship and narrowly averting a thermonuclear war. Comic relief is provided by a goofy crewfish who repeatedly misinterprets the Captain's orders - for example, "Bloop!" ("Where's my lunch?") becomes "Bloop!" ("Fire torpedoes.")

Trivia: The producers originally planned to flood the entire set and let the cast swim around freely; however, that proved too costly so they put the cast members in individual bowls. Alphonse got an Executive Producer credit, though it is uncertain what - if anything - he contributed to the production. He did show up on the set with his entourage of Lufthansa stewardesses; none of the footage appears in the movie but it is believed to have been included in an X-rated European feature called Die Stewardessen. With no dubbing or subtitles, some of the subtle humour may be lost on foreign audiences.

Tag line: A fish stuffed with fish.

[Fatatatutti]

Alphonse and Fish in No Bikini Atoll

Synopsis: A low-budget quickie made for the duckslpoitation and fishsploitation markets. Two inept sailors wreck their boat and strand themselves and their passengers on a tiny remote island.

Trivia: Alphonse and Fish each play dual roles: Alphonse is the cantankerous captain and also the pompous millionaire; Fish is the goofy sailor and also the know-it-all scientist. The three female roles - the millionaire's wife, the glamorous movie star and the innocent farm girl - are played by nine Lufthansa stewardesses; the characters are more-or-less interchangeable but only three appear on screen at a time. Since Alphonse did the casting, it is not surprising that members of his entourage are featured. Warning to foreign audiences: gratuitous nudity.

[Fatatatutti]

Alphonse and Fishington

Synopsis: TV movie, originally a double-episode crossover of the popular action-adventure series Alphonse and Fish and the daytime soap The Fishingtons. Alphonse believes that his friend Fish is the lawful heir to the Fishington fortune and he goes undercover at the Fishinton estate as the incompetent butler Duckworth to get the evidence. Meanwhile, gangsters get more than they bargained for when they abduct Fish for ransom.

Trivia: Alphonse, or a duck who looks like Alphonse, plays multiple roles: himself, the incompetent butler Duckworth, the sinister gardener Sniddler and the family lawyer Morris Fishbein. The director wanted to cast a fish as Fishbein but the producers felt that fans of the TV show would be confused. Fish also plays a dual role as himself and Tweed Fishington, the family patriarch who has been on his death bed for forty-seven years.

Quotes:

Lady Cornucopia Fishington: "What's a Duckworth?"
Tweed Fishington: "Not much."

[last line]Tweed Fishington: "Duck-WORTH!"

[Fatatatutti]

Alphonse in the Pink

Synopsis: Fresh from busting the penguin gangsters in Alphonse of the Antarctic, our hero goes undercover again. This time he's posing as a flamingo to investigate strange happenings in the Everglades.

Trivia: The duck who played Alphonse had an allergic reaction to the pink dye used to transform him into a flamingo, so many of the scenes were filmed using just a pink spotlight. Alternate titles that were considered include The Littlest Flamingo and Miami Vice: the Motion Picture. A special outdoor set was built to represent the Everglades because the producers were too frugal (cheap) to film on location. Spoiler Alert: There are no explosions - a rare situation in a Fatatatutian movie - but a large part of the set was set on fire on more than one occasion. The scene where Alphonse is eaten by an alligator was done by a stunt duck.

[Fatatatutti]

No Fishin'

Synopsis: Somewhere in an unnamed foreign nation, Fatatatutian intelligence agents are hot on the trail of a deadly secret weapon called the "Fissionator". Meanwhile, the Fish With No Name is in the same foreign nation for an international conference on nuclear disarmament. Mayhem ensues when he is mistakenly identified as a ruthless international assassin known as the "Fishinator".

Trivia: Filmed on location in Fatatatutti, this classic low-budget thriller is renowned for its cheap-looking sets, which are supposed to resemble a foreign nation. The Fish With No Name is only called Mr. Fish in the movie, which has led some people to believe that he is President Fish of Fatatatutti. However, the movie was made before Fish was elected President. Mickey Chang makes a cameo appearance at the international conference, as he does at every international conference.