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Actually, different celebrity spoofs have appeared in different versions of the film at different stages of its development.

At the June 4 Newfest screening, viewers noticed that, for no apparent reason, there were more send-ups of Rosie O'Donnell than of any other celebrity.

When asked why he picked on Rosie so much, director Feinberg explained that an earlier version of the film had included bits with Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey. But when Paramount acquired the film, all send-ups of Cruise and Winfrey had to be removed (Cruise and Winfrey are affiliated with Paramount). Thus, more Rosie spoofs (or leftover Rosie spoofs) took their place.

But fret not, Queer Duck fans. Rumor has it the DVD includes extra scenes not found in the current movie-house version--including the Tom Cruise send-ups.

Much of Queer Duck's inane action takes place at a Disneyland type amusement park (that Adam Duckstein purchases). This plot allusion connects Queer Duck 's gay animal cast to (and effectively spoofs) one of America 's greatest animators--the famously homophobic Walt Disney.

Gay audiences will likely appreciate how these amusement park scenes parody Disney's popular “Gay Day” events. The scenes also bring to mind the Disney Corporation's own conflicting history regarding its coming to terms with and acknowledging the significant number of gays within its ranks.

Even though it is predominantly gay, Queer Duck's basic formula owes much to the venerable tradition of “buddy” based cartoons.

Many adult gays will fondly recall this popular genre from their own childhoods. It usually features two very close and often sweetly affectionate male friends depicted as animals. Think Beany & Cecil, Courageous Cat & Minute Mouse, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and the recent Ren & Stimpy.

Feinberg appeared in person at Queer Duck's June screening at Newfest. As he spoke to the audience, Feinberg named The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle as one of his main influences for Queer Duck. He even labeled his film a “Brokeback Rocky & Bullwinkle”.

In hearing Feinberg answer questions and joke with the audience, one definitely gets a sense of where Queer Duck's madcap pace and constant, rapid-fire humor comes from. The man seems incapable of speaking in any way other than bawdy, one-liner type humor.

When asked how the film was made technically, he shot back that unlike most current animated features, which are made by “1,000 Korean political prisoners”, Queer Duck was “made by just six Jews on a home computer!”

A funny answer, yes. But it actually points to one of the main flaws of the film.

In fact, a small team using Macromedia Flash software animated Queer Duck, and it shows. The whole film is really just one big inhuman computer program (and not a terribly sophisticated one). There is a clipped, soulless, mechanical feel to the action, as if the film is running on automatic pilot.

The film's cheap paste-up look, over-colorization and digital flatness can be enjoyed as campy fun if taken in small, four-minute cartoon doses. But as a full-length feature Queer Duck becomes somewhat tedious. The film's running time is only 74 minutes, but seems much longer.

As if performed by robots, the non-stop talking and singing never pauses or even takes a breath. The endless yapping of the characters, the non-stop gay innuendos, and the constant borscht-belt one-liners all amount to a kind of auditory overkill.

Speaking of overkill, Queer Duck contains more anecdotal references to stereotypically “gay” persons, places and things than perhaps any other film ever made. To say that this film is “as gay as it gets” is putting it mildly. Even the gayest of gay-kitsch queens may O.D. on Queer Duck's extremely superficial gay sensibilities.

And that's just too darn gay for a full-length movie.

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