"I'd smack him but it wouldn't be senseless enough."

Since Sesame Street hit the airwaves in 1969, the brilliant Jim Henson has brought joy to children everywhere with quality entertainment.  Since then, he has created countless more kid-friendly TV shows including The Muppet Show, Muppet Babies and my personal favorite, Fraggle Rock.  Dog City aired in 1989, a year before Henson’s premature death, and won him an Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program, along with a few other nominations.

Highlights

Set in the 1930s, Dog City is a parody of old timey gangster films silly enough to be enjoyed by children and witty enough that adults won’t be bored.  I was hooked from the first minute of the super catchy theme song.  Our favorite canine Muppet Rowlf (voiced by creator Jim Henson) takes the job as our narrator and the pianist for The Dog House Pub, providing some great comic relief as well as some obvious shtick intended for the younger audience.

The story revolves around Ace Yu, a dog who inherits The Dog House from his Uncle Harry.  He comes into town looking for answers into his uncle’s death and finds some suspicious circumstances revolving around it.  In his search, he meets Colleen, a street-savvy collie (get it?) with a sense of adventure and an appreciation of violence.  When Ace discovers that Bugsy Them, the mob boss bulldog, is responsible for his uncle’s demise, he becomes determined to serve up some justice – without brutality, though, which disappoints Colleen immensely.

Bugsy (also voiced by Henson) is a dog with “the greatest tail in the entire canine universe” and is one of the biggest proponents of senseless violence, a character trait made obvious by his repeated concerns over what qualifies as “senseless”.  In fact, one of the best parts of the movie is his struggle over whether smacking his dumb dog crony Mad Dog is senseless enough to follow through with. He’s cut from the same cloth as other clichéd movie mob bosses, with a heavy New York accent and not necessarily a ton of smarts.  He reminds me of the Weasels from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, actually.  He is, however, quite ruthless and makes several attempts to shut down both Ace and Colleen.

Special Features

Special Features leave a lot to be desired.  There are only two on this DVD:
–    Original movie concept art
–    Behind-the-scenes image gallery

Overall

I think this movie is pretty great as is.  The forty minute run time is just right for a movie about anthropomorphic dogs.  Dog City is sharp, fun and the lines are charmingly delivered with just the right amount of cheese – I caught myself giggling throughout.  It would have been nice to see some more behind-the-scenes actions, maybe watching how the humans move the puppets around so fluidly or the construction of Dog City itself, but it certainly wasn’t necessary.  If you love dogs, the works of Henson or old mob movies, you won’t be disappointed!

ComicsOnline gives Dog City 4 out of 5 gangster movie clichés.

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