Sitting Ducks (lithograph)

Sitting Ducks is an iconic lithograph created by Michael Bedard in the late 1970s. It depicts a literal interpretation of the idiom "sitting duck". Three ducks are relaxing in the sun on white chairs by the poolside, one looks up and notices two bullet holes in the wall.

Bedard then went on to create an entire series of "Sitting Ducks" related lithographs, which culminated in a children's book and a cartoon series.

Book

Bedard's 1998 book, Sitting Ducks (ISBN 0-399-22847-0) has the plot that crocodiles hatch ducks in a "duck factory", then send them to Ducktown, where the ducks live an idyllic life, encouraged by billboards to fatten up. The crocodiles presumably eat the ducks once they are fat. One duck is befriended by a crocodile, who lets him know that if only the Ducktown residents wouldn't get fat, they could fly away and avoid being eaten.

Cartoon

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Sitting Ducks

It proved to be a big hit with the European children's show market, along with gaining the usual merchandising gig, toys, clothing, etc. Sitting Ducks also proved to be popular in Japan when it debuted there in the first quarter of 2000. It was not until two years later, in 2000 that Universal Studios brought the show to America, debuting on Cartoon Network in the first quarter of 2002.

The show focuses in a town called Ducktown, on a duck named Bill, and his best friend Aldo, a huge alligator from the neighboring town of Swampwood. Seeing as how ducks are favorite snacks of the alligators there, Bill and Aldo's friendship is rather unusual. The pair usually end up in varied situations and adventures.

Voice Talent

• Ian James Corlett - Bill / Cecil
• Louis Chirillo - Ed
• Jay Brazeau - Alligator
• Gary Chalk - Jerry the Parrot
• Sylvia Zaradic - Additional Voices
• Pauline Newstone - Additional Voices
• Cathy Weseluck - Drill Sergeant Duck
• Dave "Squatch" Ward - Aldo
• Phil Hayes - Fred
• Kathleen Barr - Bev
• Paul Dobson - Additional Voices
• Michael Benyaer - Raoul
• Scott McNeil - Additional Voices
• Dale Wilson - Additional Voices
• Lee Tockar - Additional Voices

Characters

• Bill- A shrimp duck who waddles to a different beat. A very kind-hearted, good-natured fellow who is always there when needed. One of his dreams is to fly. With the help of his friend Dr. Cecil, he tries again and again to fly, and eventually is told that the reason he can't is because ducks became too terrestrial. Bill's main appearance difference, apart from his smallness, is his bow tie which he changes every year at the Ducktown Picnic. Bill lives in an apartment with his pet parrot, Jerry.
• Aldo- A lumbering, strong alligator from the town of Swampwood. He's Bill's best friend, though he often receives grief from his fellow gators on being a "duck lover". Has a blind Uncle Artie and a baby cousin Andy.
• Bev- Owner of the Decoy Cafe, where all the ducks go to eat. She's a sweet duck who also happens to have an alias, Madam Bevousky, as whom she offers fortune telling services to the residents of Ducktown.
• Ed, Oly and Waddle- Three brothers who live next door to Bill, these three lovable losers tend to scheme their way into things and are usually the ones behind some prank or plot, from which they always try to distance themselves when things go awry.
• Cecil- Ducktown's only dentist, Cecil speaks with a British accent and is always there to offer advice to Bill or the others. Naturally, Aldo is typically his only customer, being the only person in town who actually has teeth.
• Clair- Cecil's wife, who runs a jawbreaker store in Ducktown.
• Fred- a melancholy, but sometimes hyper penguin, who migrated from Antarctica to Ducktown. He's rather antisocial most of the time and is always seen surrounding himself with blocks of ice or air-conditioning to remain comfortable in the intolerable (to him) heat. Has a friend, Dot Cable, and a cousin, Gelata.
• Raoul- A Hispanic crow who tends to be the troublemaker, usually insulting Bill and the others.

Episode Guide

Episode 1

• Running Duck
• Duck Naked

Episode 2

• Ducks for Hire
• Hic Hic Hooray

Episode 3

• Peeking Duck
• Fred's Meltdown

Episode 4

• Mind Over Mallard
• The Fly Who Loved Me

Episode 5

• Feeding Frenzy
• Bev's Big Day

Episode 6

• Born to be Wild
• Bill Hatches an Egg

Episode 7

• Hey Bill's on the News
• Got Milk

Episode 8

• License to Scoot
• Old Duck and the Sea

Episode 9

• Pest of a Guest
• Getting Away from it All

Episode 10

• Midnight Snack
• The Visitor

Episode 11

• Ducks on Ice
• Where's Aldo

Episode 12

• Great White Hype
• Waddle Spud Bud

Episode 13

• Denture Adventure
• All in a Day's Work

Episode 14

• Holding Pen 13
• Daredevil Ducks

Episode 15

• Aldo the Duck
• Chasing Andy

Episode 16

• Feet of Fortune
• The Great Scooter

Episode 17

• O Brother, What Art Thou?
• Urban Legend

Episode 18

• Fred's Fever
• You're Grounded

Episode 19

• The Gator in the Mask
• Lotta Gelata

Episode 20

• Feather Island
• King of Bongos

Episode 21

• Fred's Secret
• Aldo's Uncle Artie

Episode 22

• Close Encounters of the Green Kind
• Gonna Getcha Gator

Episode 23

• Nothing but the Truth
• Duck and Cover

Episode 24

• Iced Duck
• Duck Footed

Episode 25

• Free as a Bird
• Fowl Weather Feathers

Episode 26

• Duck Lover
• Outback Quack

Video games

LSP and Asobo Studios picked up the rights from Universal Studios to create games for Sitting Ducks back in 2003. The PC and GBA versions were released on March 2, 2004, with the PSone (April) and PS2 (July) versions following. An Xbox version was also planned, but was quietly cancelled. The game was not a success, but is still sold.

The Official Studio Site of Michael Bedard