Disney's Teacher's Pet

What a awful film. My four year old (how on earth is this a U rating?) was terrified and it had to be turned off. Disney what did you do?

Teacher's Pet is a movie that arose from the animated TV series of the same name. Having never seen the series, I was a little wary about watching something which may have seemed disconnected. Nevertheless, to my pleasant surprise, I found there was no need to have seen the series to enjoy this movie. As a side note for those who HAVE seen the movie, however, I'm pretty certain it was created as a way to tie up all the loose ends the series left behind.

The first thing one will notice when they start watching is the unusual (sometimes bordering on disturbing) character designs based on the art style of Gary Baseman. For the most part, these lend great personality and humour to the already vibrant characters and witty dialogue of the story. Nathan Lane makes a great choice for the part of Spot/Scott and all the other voice actors are equally well-matched and show off their talents brilliantly.

There are plenty of songs (just to warn some of you) but I found them all more endearing and likable than annoying, for a change. The soundtrack is an enthusiastic blend of jazz, latino and orchestrated work that reminded me a lot of the music to the Emperor's New Groove.

Also the movie teaches some valuable lessons without shoving them in your face (too much) - mostly the lesson of friendship, taking consideration for others wishes and not messing with nature. There are some quite emotional scenes to counterbalance the comedy. All in all, just the right blend to take the morals seriously and still enjoy the fun in the rest of the story.

Thoroughly recommended for kids and adults alike! And possibly even dogs.

I must say until recently I had never heard of this film. I'm pretty sure I don't recall hearing about it in cinemas, and I sure as hell have never seen the TV series which is said to exist. What recently attached me to it, however, was the art style. I recognized it from somewhere, but couldn't quite put my finger on it, all I knew is I'd seen artwork here and there in this style and had liked it a bundle. It turns out the artist is Gary Baseman, who, thanks to renting this DVD, is now one of my favourite illustrators. This probably has more to do with the documentary of the guy on the DVD than the actual film, but that's not to say the film was bad. The musical numbers may of been cringe-inducing, but I sure did love the animation. It looks very much like a mix between cartoon's of the 1930's, with the rubber hose limbs and gormless expressions, and a hint of the twisted humour you'd normally expect from Spumco and Marv Newland. The film is completely based on baseman's art, right down to the canvas texture of the backgrounds.

Quite simply, it doesn't look like a Disney movie, though they sure did like to remind us it was a Disney film with a collection of brilliant references. For example, one of the best scenes in the whole film is right at the beginning with a full-on Pinocchio parody, with the characters all drawn in Baseman's art style and Pinocchio dancing like something out of a Betty Boop cartoon, bashing his head on a table edge in the process. The Pinocchio references re-occur a few more times within th film, along with some cameos by Cinderella and the seven dwarfs, as well as a scene where the main character, Spot, actually speaks of the 'Twilight Bark' (as seen in use in 101 Dalmatians) and even says to his owner when he says his never heard of it 'Seesh, we've really gotta renting you more classic animated movies!' Even the Walt Disney castle at the start of the film is drawn in baseman's style! Great stuff.

Dreadfull, awfull, rubbish. I can think of nothing good to say about this film.

Ok this is not one of disney's best films, but considering it was direct to video, it is surprisingly good! Forget about all the other rubbish direct to video sequels and try this. Ok the art is somewhat 'undisney' and some may not like it, but it is a fun story with great vocal talents and looks greats. Also if you love disney this film makes reference to many disney films. i guess that you could call This film is a modern retelling of Pinocchio, and when you've seen the film you'll know hy i said that!