BEFORE: I never saw the animated series this movie is based on, but that didn't stop me from watching the "Jimmy Neutron" movie...from what I understand, it's about a dog who wants to be a boy and disguises himself as one, so he can attend school. Kind of like "Pinocchio", mixed with bits of "Boys Don't Cry".
Oh, and Malcolm Macdowell from "Bolt" was in "I Spy" with Famke Janssen, who was in "X-Men: The Last Stand" with Kelsey Grammer, who voices a character tonight. Hah, I still got it!
THE PLOT: Spot wants nothing more than to be a real boy, and sees a way to do this when a scientist appears on TV, claiming he can turn animals into humans.
AFTER: There's a bit of the now-expected long-distance quest here, since the scientist in question lives in Florida, and the dog must travel there, disguised as a boy named Scott, in hopes of becoming a real boy. It seems like Spot masquerades as Scott, and the teacher doesn't recognize him, even though he's her son's dog.
Putting aside the fact that the dog can talk, which I should be fairly used to by now - it's even more of a stretch to think that a dog could just dress up like a boy and pass. That would be one ugly kid - or perhaps one very cute dog. Credit the power of animation, since the dog is drawn in such a way that some glasses and clothing complete the illusion. Oh, and also credit the gullibility of the teacher, and the very nature of the premise.
Remember that part of "Back to the Future" when Marty McFly goes out on a date with his own mom? Well, here Spot gets turned into a man, and goes on a date with his owner's mother (again, she's also his teacher, and kind of like his own mom, too) - so after some species re-assignment, we've got hints of incest AND bestiality! Not really, it is a Disney film after all.
But the confusion leads to (what else) a musical number, with 7 or so characters chiming in, for a song that rivals "Blame Canada" in its complexity. There are some interesting ideas here about the nature of dogness, but it doesn't add up to much more than folly. Nice songs though.
Starring the voices of Nathan Lane (last heard in "Stuart Little 2"), Kelsey Grammer (last seen in "Fame"), Debra Jo Rupp (last heard in "Garfield"), Jerry Stiller (last seen in "Zoolander"), David Ogden Stiers (last seen in "The Man with One Red Shoe"), Paul Reubens (last seen in "Blow"), Megan Mullally (last seen in "Stealing Harvard"), Estelle Harris, and Jay Thomas (as a very Jerry Springer-like talk-show host named Barry Anger). Wallace Shawn (last heard in "All Dogs Go to Heaven 2" turns up again - who knew he did so much work in animation?
RATING: 4 out of 10 motor homes (Winnewagos - ooh, so close to trademark infringement!)
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