"Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure" is a live action film featuring long-lived comic book/cartoon character Baby Huey. A 7-foot-tall baby duck, dim of wit but big of heart (and strong of arm), the film serves as an "origin" story of sorts, set in a small town called Bitsville.
Nick is a local boy who, while walking home from school comes across a giant egg which fell off a delivery truck. Naturally, Nick takes the big guy home to his parents, who are surprised, but apparently not scared to death that a giant talking duck has just followed their son home (Mom is Maureen McCormack aka Marcia from "The Brady Bunch"; the relentlessly fix-it-minded dad is played by David Leisure).
Huey quickly becomes Nick's best friend and a surrogate brother, and Nick's parents observe how Huey inspires the normally shy Nick's self-esteem. Hijinks ensue, usually involving Huey's heft making a mess of his surroundings.
Meanwhile, a couple of unethical grown-ups have their eyes on Huey for selfish reasons. Birdwatcher (and amateur taxidermist) Professor von Klumpp (Harvey Korman) wants Huey as a lab project; hapless showbiz promoter PT Wynnsocki and his sidekick (Joseph Bologna and Martin Lander) see Huey as a novelty stage act to bring in the big bucks.
The effervescent Huey wins over the kids of the school and (temporarily) even the teachers. The school's principal is played by John Vernon ("Animal House") the irony of which is made clear when one considers that the film is directed by Stephen Furst (who played Flounder in "Animal House" and also voices Baby Huey here).
A pending Easter celebration at the school serves as the film's plot, but while it's pretty threadbare, there are some nice, if abrupt, segues into songs by the principal cast, including a few led by Huey himself.
That the filmmakers chose to play the subject matter straight is to its benefit, as there's not really much of a choice when the main character is a giant duck in a diaper and bonnet. The character design is actually spot-on for the character who was created back in 1949. As such, Huey technically predates Sesame Street's Big Bird, though there is little chance of BB's place in pop culture being usurped anytime soon.
All in all, this is an enjoyable film for kids: The veteran actors featured here are fun to watch, though the roles are maybe a little thankless. Still, this is a nice, inoffensive diversion that the family can watch together.
Nick is a local boy who, while walking home from school comes across a giant egg which fell off a delivery truck. Naturally, Nick takes the big guy home to his parents, who are surprised, but apparently not scared to death that a giant talking duck has just followed their son home (Mom is Maureen McCormack aka Marcia from "The Brady Bunch"; the relentlessly fix-it-minded dad is played by David Leisure).
Huey quickly becomes Nick's best friend and a surrogate brother, and Nick's parents observe how Huey inspires the normally shy Nick's self-esteem. Hijinks ensue, usually involving Huey's heft making a mess of his surroundings.
Meanwhile, a couple of unethical grown-ups have their eyes on Huey for selfish reasons. Birdwatcher (and amateur taxidermist) Professor von Klumpp (Harvey Korman) wants Huey as a lab project; hapless showbiz promoter PT Wynnsocki and his sidekick (Joseph Bologna and Martin Lander) see Huey as a novelty stage act to bring in the big bucks.
The effervescent Huey wins over the kids of the school and (temporarily) even the teachers. The school's principal is played by John Vernon ("Animal House") the irony of which is made clear when one considers that the film is directed by Stephen Furst (who played Flounder in "Animal House" and also voices Baby Huey here).
A pending Easter celebration at the school serves as the film's plot, but while it's pretty threadbare, there are some nice, if abrupt, segues into songs by the principal cast, including a few led by Huey himself.
That the filmmakers chose to play the subject matter straight is to its benefit, as there's not really much of a choice when the main character is a giant duck in a diaper and bonnet. The character design is actually spot-on for the character who was created back in 1949. As such, Huey technically predates Sesame Street's Big Bird, though there is little chance of BB's place in pop culture being usurped anytime soon.
All in all, this is an enjoyable film for kids: The veteran actors featured here are fun to watch, though the roles are maybe a little thankless. Still, this is a nice, inoffensive diversion that the family can watch together.