"Mobile Home"

Not the kind you'd expect, either.

Season 1 episode 20 (episode 20 overall)

Original broadcast date: 31 January 1989

Writer: Jimmy Hibbert

Additional voices: Ruffles/Mrs. Paintbrush: 
                               Jimmy Hibbert

                               Burt/Innkeeper: David Jason

                              Tarquin K. Paintbrush/crow 
                               brothers’ colleague: 

                              Brian Trueman

                            

Joke credit:  Gaffer – Ruffles, Best Boy – Burt

Travel location: Fishfork, Idolina, USA (not via castle)

Castle transport visual used.

This one’s ingenious. Jimmy Hibbert takes a ludicrous premise and treats it like a traditional sitcom, allowing the fact that it IS a cartoon suspend our disbelief. The idea of the landmark sale to gullible tourists is believable set-up, it’s the way it’s carried through afterwards that is so ridiculous.

The whole thing starts off when Duckula advertises for builders in the Transylvania Times to repair Nanny’s latest mishap. The whole exchange with how throwing a stove at a mouse resulted in the collapse of the west wing is brilliantly paced and sets the tone for the whole episode.  Nanny thinks it either more tactful to mention that she broke the 2nd best teapot first and built up to the west wing - or maybe she just has a poor sense of value. You decide. Time to get the repairmen in. However, it seems builders willing to repair the castle prove hard to find, more due to the unpaid bills than the resident vampire.  I guess a job's a job as long as you're getting paid for it.

Cue the Crow Brothers, whom we first met in the very first episode of the series: While in the pub, Burt spots the advert in the newspaper and points out that they’d stand to make a fortune, but Ruffles has other ideas.  

Cue Mr and Mrs. Paintbrush, who are typical over-the-top American tourists with sunglasses, big hat and loud tie, completely and loudly amazed at everything this quaint little old Eastern European country has to offer. Ruffles decides to try the aforementioned  and ever-reliable landmark sale on them after offering to buy them a drink (hope Tarquin doesn't want a screwdriver), by going into a simple honest peasant imitation. Great performance by Jimmy here as he manages to sound like Ruffles doing a peasant and not just Jimmy Hibbert doing a peasant. He doesn’t forget the crawling flattery either, by pretending to mistake Mr. Paintbrush’s wife for his daughter. Brian also, is no slouch here, with his warm Texan drawl coming off as very natural albeit caricatured. The wealth of voices they came up with on this show always impresses me and it’s easy to forget that there were generally only 4 performers in the main cast. You’d never guess that Tarquin conversing with Ruffles is the vocal equivalent of Nanny talking to Goosewing, or the two clock bats for example. And Hibbert also does Mrs Paintbrush in the same scene! It’s like a cleverly paced British old-school radio show in terms of voice performance. I’d love to know if these were all done in one take. Anyone got any archive video of the performers?

Ruffles manages to secure a deal (before Tarquin even asks how much!) and is now set to give Duckula a quote for repairs. He uses the universal builders language of  sucking in air with a 'TSSSSST!!!' which means Duckula can't afford it. But Ruffles is OK doing the ‘work’ for free though because the real plan is to move the castle, brick by brick, to the Paintbrush’s home back in America. I love how quickly Ruffles disappears after Duckula looks away - so like a rogue trader. 

This is where everything starts to get progressively sillier and sillier. It doesn’t occur to the crows once that they could simply try and transport the castle there in the magical manner. They have no idea how this even works though so instead they do it the bit-by-bit way. It’s played out perfectly though as none of the characters react as if this is an insane idea, merely a dishonest one.

After some clever gags between Ruffles and Burt involving holding (and not holding) a ladder, dropping stones on heads and moving bricks in a circle to the post box and all the way back in a circle (‘like a bicycle chain!), Duckula and Igor are beginning to notice that the ceiling is closing down on them. Again, this is clever and silly at the same time because in cartoon logic, taking the stones out from the bottom of the castle means that the whole structure just gets smaller and smaller rather than simply crumbling apart. Inside, Duckula and Igor debate what it is that could be making them grow, but it’s Nanny who correctly points out what’s really  happening ‘It’s the room getting smaller!’

The trio manage to get out and Duckula questions the logic of the Crow brothers ‘making the castle smaller.' Ruffles claims that by removing the stones from the bottom they’re doing ‘the old builders’ trick of lowering the roof.’ Duckula rightly scoffs this as nonsense but after failing (with Nanny’s ‘help’) to show them how to work a ladder he immediately just goes back to telling them to carry on as were! ‘Oh it’s a great idea chief, we’ll do that’ is Ruffles mirthless praise. 

The character acting is really fun throughout these bits. Its almost as if Duckula is a aware that he's in a cartoon sitcom but still has to live by that world's rules. The whole scene goes full circle and ends with a subtle nod to the old 'glad I thought of it' type of gag, only in reverse.

We now go from the ridiculous to the sublime. Duckula, Nanny and Igor all awake to discover that the castle has been stolen right from under their noses – er beaks. Just how the Crows managed to achieve this is left open for debate, but it is a great joke on how light-fingered some people are. Take your eyes off them and they'll have off with anything that isn't nailed down - and probably several things that are nailed down.

Nanny of course takes a while to realise that anything's amiss, ('that stair carpet's just about worn out!') but the other two aren't all that much better, frankly, if they can sleep all the way through their house being picked apart! Maybe they overdid it on the blood red wine the evening before.

The only clue they have is a single stone with the Paintbrush's address on it. Duckula deduces that that’s where the castle must be so that’s where we cut next.

The castle has been rebuilt – very badly – on the Paintbrush ranch. Notice how they've used reds, oranges and yellows on the castle to indicate the warmer climate. Turns out that Burt can only count up to 5, so he numbered all the bricks in a cycle (‘like a bicycle chain’ perhaps?) so there's no real way to figure out what brick goes where! There's even a joist labeled '0' as well, just lying on its own - appropriate for someone with zero sense. Fearing the return of Mr. Paintbrush (after they only just convince him that the castle is meant to look this way) with his wife, the crows try and hide in the castle out of sight. By this stage our trio have caught up with their lead and harangue the Paintbrushes, assuming they are the Crow brothers in disguise. 

While Duckula and Tarquin bicker about just who’s castle it is the castle now decides to return home – with the Crow brothers still stuck inside! This leaves our ‘thwarted threesome to trek their way back to Transylvania. Goodnight you all, whatever you are! You take care now!’ the narrator laughs – don’t blame him, there’s a lot of laughs in this episode. Back in 1989, I remember laughing the next day at school at the 'gherkin-head' Americans with my schoolmates. Now, I can appreciate it for the great writing and artwork. This episode also marked the last one I needed to get when I started re-collecting the series back in the late 90s/early 2000s and I’m glad my revisit to the series went out on such a high. If you only see a handful of Duckulas, make sure this is one of them.

Actually, it's probably a bit less than that, but that's assuming you can drive on water.

The music track is mainly cheeky Cockney-sounding slapstick (for the Crow brothers) and some country twags for the scenes in America. The Paintbrush's entrance is even underscored with 'Star-Spangled Banner' (Graham De Wilde). You have to give this show credit for going all-out with the international archetyping! 'Banana Skin' (track 12 - Ronald Alan Aspery) plays as the Crows dissemble the castle. Also head in the V&H episode 'The Case of the Vose Vase.' 'Wotcha Mate!' (Keith Papworth) plays when Duckula demonstrates how to use the ladder. 'Guitar Pickin' Man' (Glen Sutton/Lloyd Green) plays when Mr Paintbrush asks the Crows HOW'Z IT GOIN'!?  'On the Humorous Side' by Ivor Slaney by plays when our trio find their castle again. 'Trouble' (track 41) is heard when the Crows are found out near the end. The ever reliable 'Finger of Fear' (Fredric Bayco) opens the episode.

The castle is virtually a character in its own right and, being an episode that focuses on it, we get a lot of great background art featuring it. Lit well, as it is unusually sunny day in Transylvania for the most part of this episode, which is a nice change to see.

Some interior shots featuring Nanny brand handiwork.

And some walls before Nanny got to them.

 

Some exteriors, from several angles.

Some shots of the pub. Amazed they got away with showing crosses. Mind you, if they can get away with a pentagram in the opening titles...

The camera tracks to the left and up here so this is the best I can manage.

  Trivia

•  Both David's characters are seen reading in their first scene. Duckula is reading ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ Burt, the newspaper. 
• Another appearance of the Transylvania Times.
• 3rd appearance of the Crow Brothers.
• Another use of the 'Transylvania Times.' The Crow brothers also read one in 'AutoDuck.'
• Another episode featuring the village inn.
• The Crow Brothers may be a reference to fellow Cockney criminals, The Kray Brothers, right down to their accents. They’re less vicious and more burglar-ish than they were though. Ruffles name is a pun on Raffles, the gentleman thief from E. W. Hornung’s literature. Hornung was brother-in-law to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose most famous characters are also lampooned throughout this series. Interestingly, the first of the Raffles stories is called ‘The Ides of March’ which is used as a pun in ‘The Vampire Strikes Back’ about the Oids – who have the same voices Jimmy and David use for Ruffles and Burt! We’ve come full circle here. We also see other members and associates of the Crow Brothers extended gang in this episode. All are portrayed as crows.
• 1st appearance of the Paintbrush couple.
  
• The American couple are identified as ‘Mr and Mrs Tarquin K. Paintbrush.’ When they reappear in ‘Manhattan Duck’, they are called Mr and Mrs Tarquin Q. Paintbrush. Some of the crows omit writing the middle initial on the stones.
• We hear the landlord say a single ‘Right!’, but we don’t see him.
• Mrs Paintbrush says the castle would ‘make Mr and Mrs Nouveau-Riche’s gazeebo look just nothin’ at all!’ I wonder if this is the same Nouveau-Riches from ‘Rent A Butler’ two episodes prior?
• The tourists mark the first pronounced instance of American characters with ludicrous names. Usually goes “Fancy Unusual First Name-Middle Initial-Inherently Funny Object Surname”. It’s a running gag throughout the series and in Victor & Hugo as well.
• Duckula does not recognise the Crows, though he has met them before. 
• Either the Crow brothers shipped and rebuilt the castle extremely quickly or it only returns home when it’s in one piece. Since Duckula says' We'd have been here days ago!' lets assume the latter theory. Part of the castle became detached and returned on it’s own in ‘The Vampire Strikes Back’, but that was only the lumber room not the whole castle in hundreds of bits! 
• Nanny points out that the drivers can’t see them at the side of the road. That’s because Duckula and co are on the wrong side, so passing motorists aren’t going to be able to stop anyway! Definite UK/US driving joke there.
• Ruffles says the crazy (poorly put-back-together) architecture is because the castle is '13th century Transylvanian'. He's only saying this to allay Mr. Paintbrush's suspicions, but given that the first Count is from 1199 ('The Rest Is History') he's really not at all far off. It's worth noting that we do not see the exterior of the castle in first Count's scene in that episode, so it could easily have been renovated after the Duckulas became evil, which would also make sense.
• Episode begins and ends with character(s) screaming in concern. 
• The Crow Brothers do not do any scaling or climbing in this episode, so no use of their trademark thud-thud-thud....thud gag. Although Ruffles and Burt do fall off a very tall ladder.
• At the end, Igor announces that it is 'dawn, Eastern Transylvanian standard time'  
• This episode was released on Thames 'Lollipop' label in 1989 along with "Autoduck" and "Rent A Butler."

Goofs and nitpicks

• Colour error on Nanny's bad arm during a close-up near the start. Barely noticeable since the colours are very close.
• It seems as if the other Crows shift seats in the pub while Ruffles does his patter to the tourists. They don’t, but the shot changes angle and it seems odd because we never usually see the pub from that angle.