Howard the DuckSave

On the planet Duckworld — a parallel-dimension Earth where the dominant species is intelligent ducks — Howard T. Duck (voiced by Chip Zien and performed in costume by a series of stunt performers led by Ed Gale) lives a sardonic, beer-and-cigar-fueled apartment-bachelor existence. Howard's evening of cynical television-watching is interrupted when a sudden interdimensional vortex appears in his apartment ceiling and sucks him through space and time to the city of Cleveland, Ohio, on Earth. Howard arrives in a back alley, where he immediately encounters a group of human muggers — the film's first sequence establishes that humans on Earth find Howard's bipedal-duck form simultaneously hilarious and threatening.

Howard is rescued from the muggers by Beverly Switzler (Lea Thompson), a struggling rock musician fronting the all-woman band Cherry Bomb. Beverly takes Howard back to her apartment and treats him with bemused but genuine kindness — the only character in the film who consistently respects Howard as a person despite his duck form. Their relationship becomes the film's primary emotional anchor; Beverly's willingness to accept Howard's strangeness is treated as both comic and authentic. Their interspecies-friendship dynamic is the film's most-cited creative achievement.

Beverly introduces Howard to her band — a fictional all-woman group performing original songs that the production filmed as actual music videos. Howard becomes the band's bizarre new manager; his disinterested-but-sardonic personality is presented as effective at booking gigs and securing record deals. The band's musical performances — featuring practical live-stage performances by Lea Thompson and her bandmates — were reportedly the film's most-developed creative element. Multiple original songs were written specifically for the production by composer John Barry.

The film's plot accelerates with the introduction of Dr. Walter Jenning (Jeffrey Jones), a research scientist whose lab equipment is responsible for accidentally bringing Howard from Duckworld to Earth. Jenning is initially friendly and helps Beverly and Howard adjust to Howard's situation, but the equipment's continued operation has unintentionally opened a portal through which the Dark Overlords of the Cosmos — interdimensional demonic entities — are attempting to invade Earth. Jenning, the only person who knows how to operate the portal equipment, is initially Beverly and Howard's primary ally.

Jenning is possessed by one of the Dark Overlords midway through the film. His body becomes a vessel for the demonic entity; his appearance shifts to grotesque, glowing-eyed, decaying-flesh imagery. Beverly is captured by the possessed Jenning, who plans to use her as a vessel for the entity's full incarnation on Earth. Howard, in his quack-personality moments of accidental heroism, sets out to rescue Beverly using a combination of bird-handling techniques, his cynical street-smarts, and improvised weapons.

Howard's rescue mission takes him through Cleveland's industrial districts, eventually leading to a confrontation at Jenning's research laboratory. Howard uses Jenning's own portal equipment to attempt to send the Dark Overlord back to its home dimension. The third-act battle is the film's most-cinematically composed action sequence — featuring Howard, the possessed Jenning, and additional Dark Overlords clashing across the laboratory in a combination of practical creature work and stop-motion compositing. Phil Tippett's stop-motion sequences are the film's most-cited visual achievements.

Beverly is rescued. The Dark Overlord possessing Jenning is eventually expelled from his body through the portal; Jenning is restored to his human form but is largely incapacitated by the possession trauma. Howard, faced with the choice between returning home to Duckworld and remaining with Beverly on Earth, chooses Earth. The film's epilogue shows Howard performing as Cherry Bomb's new manager, his interspecies-friendship with Beverly intact, and his transition to Earth-life apparently permanent. A planned sequel was greenlit but canceled after the film's commercial failure.