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Howard the Duck (also known as Howard: A New Breed of Hero in Europe), is a 1986 live-action film produced by Lucasfilm and Universal Pictures, directed by Willard Huyck from a script by Huyck and his wife Gloria Katz. It starred Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins and Chip Zien as the voice of Howard.

It was inspired by the Marvel Comics characters Howard the Duck and Beverly Switzler created by Steve Gerber, although their appearance and portrayals almost completely ignored their source material. It is the first film based on a Marvel Comics character to receive a wide theatrical release in American theaters.

The film begins late at night in "Duckworld," which is a version of planet Earth, but with talking ducks living there in place of human beings. The audience sees Howard enter his apartment, a working duck exhausted by a long day (indicated by an answering phone message left by his mother). While he tries to relax, his armchair begins to vibrate violently and takes off like a rocket with Howard being unable to get off the chair. The chair enters orbit, before ending up in Cleveland on planet Earth....