Kukeleku

Minstrel Kukeleku
Character
Kukeleku in Episode 4
Species	Chicken
Birthplace	Unknown
First appearance	Episode 4
Character Model Sheet number	261/4, sheet 150
Character Model Sheet name	Kukeleku
Name in different languages
Dutch name	Kukeleku
Japanese name	No name given
German name	No name given
English name	No name given

Kukeleku (lit. "cock-a-doodle-doo") is a fictional character from the animated show. He is a minstrel from Alfred Jodocus Kwak's imagination as he daydreams during the class from Meester Bas Buldog. He gets his name and more character backstory in the Dutch book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak, where he has more interaction with Alfred in his dream, which seems to have somehow influenced the minstrel in the actual history of the story, as in his collected works he seems to refer to Alfred in his final song. Kukeleku appears once more when Alfred daydreams about living in the 800 years ago and being banished from Polderstad we see Kukeleku look from a rooftop window judging what is happening.

Appearance

Kukeleku is a rooster of unknown type, with some stubble, a yellow beak and a prominent cockscomb that drapes forward, but relatively small wattles. He wears a brown tunic with a purple and orange striped cloak, that's frayed and tattered at the edges. On his cloak he wears a gold-colored emblem with a K in a circle, likely referring to his first initial. He's seen playing a lute.

Personality

Other than playing the lute on the Polderstad market square and looking from a window at Alfred being banished from the city for being different in Alfred's imagination, Kukeleku doesn't interact too much in the animated series. He is a little more fleshed out in the book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak where he has a short interaction with Alfred. In this conversation Kukeleku is absolutely fascinated by Alfred's mentioning of a school and Alfred's ballpoint pen, which he calls a quill already containing ink. Also when Alfred mentions the school's schoolplein Kukeleku wonders where this square is so he can capitalize on it. Alfred's imaginary interaction with Kukeleku apparantly spawns a real life event as Kukeleku apparently writes his very last song about his conversation with the young duck, lamenting he never found out what Alfred was talking about.

Storyline

During the history lesson of Meester Bas Buldog about Polderstad during the middle ages when Alfred Jodocus Kwak is in primary school, Alfred daydreams about life on a medieval market square where he imagines a lute-playing minstrel named Kukeleku.

The minstrel traveled around the countries in search for squares to play on, while documenting his songs. His works would later be collected and released to the public and become quite influential. The book Middeleeuwse literatuur (lit. "Medieval Literature") calls Kukeleku the most important minstrel and troubadour from the early 13th century. It says that, without knowing it, the minstrel used romantic influences at least 100 years before the romantic movement gained traction. Meester Bas Buldog and Doctorandus Anton Snorman were both interested by this musician and had a short conversation about him, until Snorman asked Buldog to leave.

Voice actors

Kukeleku doesn't have any voiced lines, but he does sing in episode 4. In the Dutch and Japanese version this is the Dutch version of the song Kukeleku (song) and in the German version it's the German version of the same song, all sung by Herman van Veen. In the English version the song isn't dubbed. A different singer sings the song in Finnish in the Finnish version.

Japanese	¦	Herman van Veen	¦	No name given
Dutch	¦	Herman van Veen	¦	Kukeleku
German	¦	Herman van Veen	¦	No name given
English	¦	Unvoiced	¦	No name given
Finnish	¦	???	¦	No name given
Hungarian	¦	???	¦	No name given

Appearances

TV Series

• Alfred J. Kwak Episode 4
  Alfred J. Kwak Episode 4
• Alfred J. Kwak Episode 5
  Alfred J. Kwak Episode 5

Books

• De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: De witte koningin (1990) (Dutch)
  De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: De witte koningin (1990) (Dutch)
• 
  De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak (1991) (Dutch)
• 
  De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: het grote voorleesboek (2010) (Dutch)

Production background

Kukeleku's character design was finalized in July of 1988. In his character design he does not hold a lute. According to the sheet he was set to appear in episode 4 as well as episode 14, which would later, after some episode order reshuffling, become episode 13. Kukeleku, however, does not appear in the finalized version of episode 13. He does appear for one cut in episode 5.

The song Kukeleku is sung by this character in the episode in most dubs and is attributed to him through the name of the song.

Kukeleku watches as Alfred Jodocus Kwak is taken away by guard Dolf de Kraai in Alfred's dream.