Disney's Teacher's Pet
Y
Jan 14, 2004
Opens
January 16
"Disney's Teacher's Pet," which grew out of Disney's Daytime Emmy-winning animated television series of the same name, represents mischievous fun for youngsters: Family pets converse, a row of houses bursts into song and so many gags fill the screen that only multiple viewings will reveal them all. The animal and human kingdoms get mixed up in ways that should delight young viewers, while older ones can chuckle at the vocal antics of such actors as Nathan Lane as the dog Spot, Kelsey Grammer as wacko Dr. Krank and Jerry Stiller as a big-mouthed canary with zippy one-liners.
The film will do well with the matinee crowd, but probably much better when it reaches homes in DVD and video release, where youngsters will no doubt subject those fleeting gags to multiple viewings.
Produced by the Disney Television Animation division, the feature owes its flamboyant caricatures and painterly backgrounds to illustrator Gary Baseman, who helped create the series and acts as art director here. The lead character is a dog that looks like a blue penguin with huge teeth, while a cat resembles a yellow fish with tiny legs.
Spot is a dog that doesn't know his place. He more or less lives a boy's life, getting dressed each morning for school with his master Leonard (Shaun Fleming) and being treated like a human by Leonard's classmates and teacher. Only Leonard wishes that Spot would chase balls and sticks like normal dogs.
When Leonard and his mom, fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Helperman (Debra Jo Rupp), take off for Florida, where she is a finalist in a national teachers contest, Spot is eager to join them. Not only does he miss his family, but while watching an insult TV talk show he learns that in Florida resides a Dr. Krank (Grammer), who claims to be able to turn animals into humans.
Spot stows away on the "Wentawaygo," but when they all arrive in Florida he discovers that Dr. Krank's experiments have resulted in a mutant alligator boy (Paul Reubens) and mosquito girl (Megan Mullally). However, with a more "advanced" species, Dr. Krank is able to turn Spot into Scott. Only no one had reckoned on how many dog years Spot has already lived: Scott turns out to be a grumpy adult with hairy knuckles.
To turn Scott back into Spot requires the involvement of the family cat Jolly (David Ogden Stiers), bossy canary Pretty Boy (Stiller) and Dr. Krank's computer-hacking nephew Ian (Rob Paulsen). Several zippy songs intrude, from "A Boy Needs a Dog," a lament over tampering with nature, to the tango-esque "I, Ivan Krank," performed by Grammer.
There is little "down time" here as outside of the musical numbers, director Timothy Bjorklund and his animation team move story and objects at a frantic pace. The colors are big, saturated and vibrant, while backgrounds are simple though comical, making the movie seem less like a traditional animated feature than a comic strip come to life. But for all the work that went into the whimsical creatures and painterly palette, the voice actors more or less steal the show.
DISNEY'S TEACHER'S PET
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Timothy Bjorklund
Writers: Bill Steinkillner, Cheri Steinkillner
Producer: Stephen Swofford
Creators/executive producers: Gary Baseman, Bill Steinkillner, Cheri Steinkillner
Art director: Gary Baseman
Dialogue director: Jamie Thomason
Music: Stephen James Taylor
Songs by: Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn, Cheri Steinkellner, Brian Woodbury, Peter Lurye
Supervising editor: Nancy Frazen
Voices:
Spot/Scott: Nathan Lane
Dr. Krank: Kelsey Grammer
Leonard: Shaun Fleming
Mrs. Helperman: Debra Jo Rupp
Jolly: David Ogden Stiers
Pretty Boy: Jerry Stiller
Principal Strickler: Wallace Shawn
Barry Anger: Jay Thomas
Running time -- 73 minutes
MPAA rating: PG r
Nia: Joanna Bacalso
XiXi: Bai Ling
Brandy: Marsha Thomason
Annabelle: Amy Sedaris
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 etic
Screenwriter: Victor Levin
Producers: Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher
Executive producers: William S. Beasley, Gail Lyon
Director of photography: Peter Collister
Production designer: Missy Stewart
Music: Edward Shearmur
Costume designer: Catherine Adair
Editor: Scott Hill
Cast:
Rosalee Futch: Kate Bosworth
Pete: Topher Grace
Tad Hamilton: Josh Duhamel
Richard Levy the Driven: Nathan Lane
Richard Levy the Shameless: Sean Hayes
Henry: Gary Cole
Cathy Feely: Ginnifer Goodwin
Angelica: Kathryn Hahn
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
January 16
"Disney's Teacher's Pet," which grew out of Disney's Daytime Emmy-winning animated television series of the same name, represents mischievous fun for youngsters: Family pets converse, a row of houses bursts into song and so many gags fill the screen that only multiple viewings will reveal them all. The animal and human kingdoms get mixed up in ways that should delight young viewers, while older ones can chuckle at the vocal antics of such actors as Nathan Lane as the dog Spot, Kelsey Grammer as wacko Dr. Krank and Jerry Stiller as a big-mouthed canary with zippy one-liners.
The film will do well with the matinee crowd, but probably much better when it reaches homes in DVD and video release, where youngsters will no doubt subject those fleeting gags to multiple viewings.
Produced by the Disney Television Animation division, the feature owes its flamboyant caricatures and painterly backgrounds to illustrator Gary Baseman, who helped create the series and acts as art director here. The lead character is a dog that looks like a blue penguin with huge teeth, while a cat resembles a yellow fish with tiny legs.
Spot is a dog that doesn't know his place. He more or less lives a boy's life, getting dressed each morning for school with his master Leonard (Shaun Fleming) and being treated like a human by Leonard's classmates and teacher. Only Leonard wishes that Spot would chase balls and sticks like normal dogs.
When Leonard and his mom, fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Helperman (Debra Jo Rupp), take off for Florida, where she is a finalist in a national teachers contest, Spot is eager to join them. Not only does he miss his family, but while watching an insult TV talk show he learns that in Florida resides a Dr. Krank (Grammer), who claims to be able to turn animals into humans.
Spot stows away on the "Wentawaygo," but when they all arrive in Florida he discovers that Dr. Krank's experiments have resulted in a mutant alligator boy (Paul Reubens) and mosquito girl (Megan Mullally). However, with a more "advanced" species, Dr. Krank is able to turn Spot into Scott. Only no one had reckoned on how many dog years Spot has already lived: Scott turns out to be a grumpy adult with hairy knuckles.
To turn Scott back into Spot requires the involvement of the family cat Jolly (David Ogden Stiers), bossy canary Pretty Boy (Stiller) and Dr. Krank's computer-hacking nephew Ian (Rob Paulsen). Several zippy songs intrude, from "A Boy Needs a Dog," a lament over tampering with nature, to the tango-esque "I, Ivan Krank," performed by Grammer.
There is little "down time" here as outside of the musical numbers, director Timothy Bjorklund and his animation team move story and objects at a frantic pace. The colors are big, saturated and vibrant, while backgrounds are simple though comical, making the movie seem less like a traditional animated feature than a comic strip come to life. But for all the work that went into the whimsical creatures and painterly palette, the voice actors more or less steal the show.
DISNEY'S TEACHER'S PET
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Timothy Bjorklund
Writers: Bill Steinkillner, Cheri Steinkillner
Producer: Stephen Swofford
Creators/executive producers: Gary Baseman, Bill Steinkillner, Cheri Steinkillner
Art director: Gary Baseman
Dialogue director: Jamie Thomason
Music: Stephen James Taylor
Songs by: Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn, Cheri Steinkellner, Brian Woodbury, Peter Lurye
Supervising editor: Nancy Frazen
Voices:
Spot/Scott: Nathan Lane
Dr. Krank: Kelsey Grammer
Leonard: Shaun Fleming
Mrs. Helperman: Debra Jo Rupp
Jolly: David Ogden Stiers
Pretty Boy: Jerry Stiller
Principal Strickler: Wallace Shawn
Barry Anger: Jay Thomas
Running time -- 73 minutes
MPAA rating: PG r
Nia: Joanna Bacalso
XiXi: Bai Ling
Brandy: Marsha Thomason
Annabelle: Amy Sedaris
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 etic
Screenwriter: Victor Levin
Producers: Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher
Executive producers: William S. Beasley, Gail Lyon
Director of photography: Peter Collister
Production designer: Missy Stewart
Music: Edward Shearmur
Costume designer: Catherine Adair
Editor: Scott Hill
Cast:
Rosalee Futch: Kate Bosworth
Pete: Topher Grace
Tad Hamilton: Josh Duhamel
Richard Levy the Driven: Nathan Lane
Richard Levy the Shameless: Sean Hayes
Henry: Gary Cole
Cathy Feely: Ginnifer Goodwin
Angelica: Kathryn Hahn
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
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