Count Duckula was produced by Filmation and appeared as part of their "Mighty Mouse" and "Heckle and Jeckle" cartoon hour. Count Duckula then reappeared in the 2015 TV Series of Danger Mouse. "Count Duckula" was created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films as a spin-off from "Danger Mouse". In 1984 Nickelodeon acquired the US broadcast rights to "Danger Mouse", which became a hit for the channel. After a few years, the Nickelodeon management came to Cosgrove Hall wishing to co-produce a new series. After being shown a number of ideas, the then head of Nickelodeon, Geraldine Laybourne, spotted a picture of Count
Count Duckula another Cosgrove-Hall animated series, "Victor and Hugo". A ruthless crew of piratical penguins originally hired by Count Duckula, this crew of seafarers turn on Count Duckula when his antics crash their ship. All of the penguins are typical pirate stereotypes, one of which is known as Mr. Mate and shouts that he will "bite their heads off!" The narrator (Barry Clayton) opens and closes every episode. Episodes usually began with him describing Castle Duckula and its gloomy atmosphere, and close with him saying a phrase popularised in the 1950s and 1960s by American TV horror host John Zacherle, "Goodnight out