Toontastic Fun Fact #16

Did You Know...?

In one of the Whackos' latest adventures, the entire fight with the ten-foot canary was originally going to be based on/in reference to the first boss of Disney-Ubisoft's Donald Duck Goin' Quackers (Quack Attack in Europe) from 2000. The boss in-game was a fat yellow canary named Bernadette, who spent her time chasing Donald while she sicced her eggs and chicks at you. She'd later get tired of child murder and would attempt to smash you with her rump.

That's one CRAZED canary!

...and her chicks are NUTS!

In Bird Bashin', I was going to have an entire sequence where Jean-Luc, Joey, and Danny fought the bird through a fun rhythmic sequence. Danny would've fought the chicks in a sort of rhythm-rock battle in a sorta slow-jam that sounded similar to the first phase of the Bernadette boss theme. All the while, Jean-Luc would've distracted/hassled the canary while avoiding the clutches of its talons or massive rump! Meanwhile, Joey snuck into the nest to steal the Groovemobile (and his friends) back.

Some music really *is* for the birds...

I actually liked the idea. Problem was, I didn't really know how to translate such a visual-like sequence into writing. Thankfully, that wasn't the bird fight I had in mind. The finalized story was more of a reference to the ROC boss fight(s) from Nintendo's Donkey Kong Jungle Beat from 2004.

In this game, this bird is called "Thunder Roc." Sick name~.

The game had four ROC bosses (Fleet, Scruff, Thunder, Hard), and you had to break the egg in order to win. The bird itself could only be stunned, it was IMPERATIVE you get that egg. Replaying the game recently, I thought it would be the perfect antagonist for the little short story I created. I did, however, make a small change.

In my story, however, I doubled the size and power of the bird compared to the one seen from the original game, and gave it the ability to fly fast and loud. The bird was essentially bigger than a heli-carrier, while its wings could break the sound barrier... TWICE. I wanted this bird to be a menace that lived deep in the mountains/forest. Why I chose a "desert forest" is up to your interpretation, but it worked since mountains are known for their lack of oxygen. Some sly readers may understand it better after they get through that darkly comical joke about D.K.'s lost tie. I guess even some gorilla's can't overpower this crooked canary, haha!

If you haven't checked out Bird Bashin', check it out today: https://tapas.io/episode/2852855

BE TOONTASTIC …and watch out for giant birds!

~Mr. Toontastic