Jim_Henson's_Dog_City

<i>Dog City</i>

Dog City

American-Canadian animated series

For other uses, see Dog City (disambiguation).

Dog City is an animated television series that was produced by Nelvana Limited and Jim Henson Productions in association with Channel 4 and Global Television Network. The series ran for three seasons, airing on Fox Kids from September 26, 1992, to November 26, 1994; in Canada, the series aired on YTV until 2000. The series contained both animation made by Nelvana, and puppetry by Jim Henson Productions - similar to Little Muppet Monsters - and invoked a mixture of detective fiction with police comedy.[2]

Quick Facts Dog City, Also known as ...

The series starred Kevin Clash as Eliot Shag, a German Shepherd animator, and the voice talents of Ron White as Ace Hart, a cartoon German Shepherd private detective who Eliot animates. Each episode of Dog City focus on the exploits of Ace as he tackles various crimes around the titular Dog City, based on the stories Eliot devises from events that happen in real-life that inspire him, with the pair often interacting with each other during work to animate an episode of Ace's cartoon series.

Dog City was spawned following an hour-long live-action television film, titled Dog City: The Movie, which was created for an episode of The Jim Henson Hour in 1989, with the muppet cast created for the film incorporated into the series.

Television film

Dog City was originally an hour-long, broadcast on May 5, 1989, as an episode of The Jim Henson Hour, featuring the characters as puppets.[3] In Dog City: The Movie, Ace Yu inherits a bar-restaurant called the Dog House following the death of his Uncle Harry and is harassed for protection money by crime syndicate boss Bugsy Them (who was responsible for the death of Uncle Harry). As it turns out, Harry was actually Ace's father. Refusing to pay or fight him, Bugsy kidnaps Ace's love interest Colleen. There are car chases and shoot-em-ups and rubber duckies involved in the action. In the end, Ace defeats Bugsy and gets the girl.[4]

Characters

  • Ace Yu (performed by Kevin Clash) - A German Shepherd adopted by Chinese Pekingese parents.
  • Colleen Barker (performed by Fran Brill) - A Rough Collie who serves as Ace's love interest.
  • Bugsy Them (performed by Jim Henson) - A vain bulldog crime boss who is proud of his tail.
    • Miss Belle (performed by Camille Bonora) - A poodle that is the key associate and the wife of Bugsy Them.
    • Mad Dog (performed by Steve Whitmire) - Bugsy Them's dimwitted St. Bernard henchman.
    • Scruffy (performed by Gord Robertson) - Bugsy Them's henchman who is always scratching at his fleas.
    • Laughing Boy (performed by Rickey Boyd) - Bugsy Them's henchman who is always laughing and cracking jokes.
  • Bubba (performed by Jerry Nelson) - The bartender at the Dog House.
  • Mac (performed by Steve Whitmire) - The waiter at the Dog House.
  • Quackers (performed by Rob Mills) - Ace Yu's sailor duck doll.
  • Rowlf the Dog (performed by Jim Henson) - The piano-playing dog from The Muppet Show who is the narrator of Dog City: The Movie.

Dog City: The Movie (sans the framing sequences) was released to regions 1 and 2.

The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel has clips from the film, in addition to the trailer and a behind the scenes clip from a mockumentary included in a playlist called "Dogs!".[5]

Premise

Dog City focuses on the lives of various anthromorphic dogs and cats that reside in two different worlds - a live-action world portrayed by puppets and an animated world. The stories themselves focus on animator Eliot Shag and his cartoon creation canine private investigator Ace Hart, both of whom are German Shepherd. Each episode focuses on Elliot creating new animated stories featuring Ace for a television program named after the character with Ace playing out the stories that Elliot devises from inspiration he has from real-life events in his apartment building within his cartoon series' setting of Dog City. Both Eliot and Ace maintain a friendly relationship as the latter knows he is a cartoon character and often breaks the fourth wall to speak with Elliot in regards to various issues he encounters during the animating of episodes, often when something he is doing or the story itself doesn't feel right to him.

During the live-action sequences, Eliot faces different problems relating to his work life and his personal life, including contending with his building's grouchy bulldog superintendent Bruno. As a recurring gag, many of the characters made for Elliot's cartoon series are based on the residents of the building that he knows of and interacts with - Bruno himself being the inspiration for the character of Bugsy Vile, a notorious crime boss whom Ace regularly has to deal with in many of the plots Eliot devises, alongside Artie, Eliot's young friend and animator assistant, being the idea behind Ace's own sidekick Eddie, a young newspaper boy.

During the first series, Eliot has feelings for his neighbour Coleen, the inspiration for Ace's own love interest Rosie, chief of police for Dog City. The later series replaced Eliot's love interest with Artie's mother Terri. In some episodes, Eliot also spends time animating additional side stories alongside the main stories that Ace stars in.

Characters

Animated characters

  • Ace Hart (voiced by Ron White) - A German Shepherd who is a private eye detective.
  • Rosie O'Gravy (voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) - A beautiful Rough Collie who is the chief of detectives and Ace's love interest.
  • Eddie (voiced by Stuart Stone) - An English Springer Spaniel news-pup who often tags along on Ace Hart's cases.
  • Bugsy Vile (voiced by John Stocker) - A bulldog who is a crime boss. As the "Dogfather of Crime", he is the archenemy of Ace Hart.
    • Frisky (voiced by James Rankin) - A chihuahua who is Bugsy Vile's excitable henchman.
    • Mad Dog (voiced by Stephen Ouimette) - Bugsy Vile's psychotic mongrel henchman.
    • Bruiser (voiced by Howard Jerome) - Bruiser is a bulldog who is Bugsy Vile's tough nephew and henchman.
    • Kitty (voiced by Paulina Gillis) - A female cat who serves as Bugsy's gun moll. She owns The Kitty Cat Club which is often used as a hideout and front for Bugsy Vile's group.
  • Baron Von Rottweiler (voiced by Dan Hennessey) - A villainous German Rottweiler who is the secondary enemy of Ace Hart.
    • Leon Burger - A dachshund who serves as valet and henchman to Baron Von Rottweiler. He doesn't talk for some reason.
  • Mayor Kickbark (voiced by Stephen Ouimette) - The Mayor of Dog City. He is always undermining Rosie O'Gravy.
    • Spunky the Flunky (voiced by John Stocker) - Mayor Kickbark's aide.
  • Dot (voiced by Tara Strong) - Rosie O'Gravy's cute and lovely niece. She often appears with Rosie in "The Adventures of Rosie and Dot" segments. Her only dialogue was "Why".
  • Steven (voiced by George Buza) - Steven was a canine watchman who was often seen in the animated segment with Yves.
  • Yves (voiced by Rino Romano) - A cat burglar who debuted in the third season. He would try to steal something only to get thwarted comically by Steven.
  • Sam Spayed - An old police dog who served as a teacher and father figure to the young Ace Hart. His name is a pun on the Dashiell Hammett character Sam Spade.
  • Surelick Bones - An English bloodhound detective who was a rival to Ace until he was exposed as an art thief. Before Eliot worked on the cartoon about this Surelick Bones, Artie was a fan of the different stories about him. His name is a spoof of Sherlock Holmes.
  • Woof Pack - A team of superhero dogs. The group was featured in comic vignettes, approaching mundane tasks like grocery shopping from a superheroic perspective.
    • Watch Dog (voiced by Don Francks) - Watchdog is a superhero who is a parody of Batman where his name is take on Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen. Watch Dog carries hourglasses which act as gas canisters, and constantly uses time and clock related gadgets and metaphors. In "Who Watches the Watch Dog," Watch Dog's creator Fob Canine (a caricature of Bob Kane) posed as Watch Dog where he has his fellow comic book artist pose as the Labrador Gang in order to get Watch Dog to be popular again. Watch Dog is also the leader of the superhero group called the Woof Pack when the "Woof Pack" segments debuted in Season 3.
    • Plastic Lassie - A collie with the power of elasticity and member of the Woof Pack.
    • Pectoral Pooch - A dog with super-strength and member of the Woof Pack.
    • Hear Boy - A sound-sensitive superhero and member of the Woof Pack.
    • Wonder Whelp - The smallest, and youngest member of the Woof Pack.

Live-action characters

  • Eliot Shag (performed by Kevin Clash) - A German Shepherd who is the animator of Ace Hart's adventures. He often communicates with Ace Hart and would be interrupted by his girlfriend or Bruno.[6] In "Who Watches the Watch Dog," it is revealed that Elliot is a fan of a superhero called the Hooded Hound. Seeing as Eliot is a Live-Hand Muppet, Kevin Clash is assisted in operating Eliot by Don Reardon who operates Eliot's right hand. Clash also voices Eliot's animated form in the episodes "In Your Dreams" and "The Dog Days of Summer Vacation".
  • Artie Springer (performed by Joey Mazzarino) - An English Springer Spaniel, Artie Springer is Eliot's young friend and son of Terri Springer. His favorite squeaky toy, a yellow rabbit called Mr Mookie, eventually starred in its own cartoon. Artie's puppet was previously seen as a background character in the original special. He served as the inspiration for Eddie.
  • Colleen Barker (performed by Fran Brill) - A Rough Collie who is Eliot's neighbor and girlfriend. She is said to have moved away from the apartment when the character was dropped by Season Two. She was the first inspiration for Rosie O'Gravy.
  • Terri Springer (performed by Fran Brill) - Terri Springer is an English Springer Spaniel who debuts in Season Two. She is Eliot's neighbor, Artie's mother, and a beautiful businesswoman. She served as the new inspiration for Rosie O'Gravy.
  • Bruno (performed by Brian Muehl) - Bruno is a bulldog who is the surly building superintendent of the apartment that Eliot lives in and has a tendency to hassle Elliot. He served as the inspiration for Bugsy Vile.
    • Bowser (performed by David Rudman) - Bowser is a St. Bernard who is the hulking slow-witted handyman and Bruno's assistant who has a tendency to aide or hinder him. He served as the inspiration for Bruiser.
  • Ms. Fluffé (performed by Kathryn Mullen in season one, Lisa Buckley in later seasons) - A cat who is the landlady of the apartment that Eliot lives in. Ms. Fluffé often comes in conflict with Bruno over building policies and his tendency towards incompetence where Bruno generally kowtows to her. She served as the inspiration for Kitty.

Episodes

Series overview

More information Season, Episodes ...

Season 1 (1992–93)

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Season 2 (1993)

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Season 3 (1994)

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Cast

Muppet performers

Voices

Additional voices

Home releases

Two VHS tapes with two episodes each were released by Sony Wonder. Much Ado About Mad Dog contains the episodes Much Ado About Mad Dog and Old Dogs, New Tricks. The Big Squeak contains the episodes The Big Squeak and Boss Bruiser. Another tape, Disobedience School was released in the UK through Channel 4 and contains the episodes Disobedience School, The Dog Pound, and Radio Daze.

Dog City: The Movie was released to UK exclusive region 2 DVD, and a Region 1 DVD was released on June 8, 2010, though the series has not had any DVD release. Most episodes of all three seasons are available from Amazon Video on Demand.

References

  1. [1]
    Stevens, Mary (February 5, 1993). "It's Not Easy Being A Henson". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  2. [2]
    Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 158. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. [3]
    Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 276–277. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  4. [4]
    "Jim Henson's Dog City: The Movie". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  5. [5]
    Dogs!
  6. [6]
    Erickson, Hal (1993). Television Cartoon Shows An Illustrated Encyclopedia 1949-1993. McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0029-3.
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