Rover Dangerfield
Encyclopedia
Rover Dangerfield is an animated feature film produced by Hyperion Pictures
and released by Warner Bros.
, starring the voice talents of comedian Rodney Dangerfield
, who also wrote and co-produced the film. It is about a street dog named Rover, who is owned by a Las Vegas
showgirl. Rover gets dumped off Hoover Dam
by the showgirl's boyfriend. However, rather than drowning, Rover ends up on a farm
.
, gambling and chasing girls with his best friend Eddie. One night, he sees his owner Connie's boyfriend, Rocky, in a transaction with a pair of gangsters, and accidentally disrupts it. Thinking that Rocky is an undercover cop setting them up, the gangsters flee, telling Rocky that he has blown his last chance. The next day, Connie goes on the road for two weeks, leaving Rocky to look after Rover. In revenge for ruining his deal, Rocky puts Rover in a bag, drives him to Hoover Dam
, and throws him in the water. The bag is pulled out by two passing fishermen, and Rover runs into a farmer, Cal, and his son, Danny, who convinces his father to take him in. Cal agreed on one condition, if Rover does even one sight of trouble, he'll be sent to an animal shelter, and if nobody claims him, the animal shelter will put Rover to sleep.
Rover has difficulty adjusting to life on the farm, but with the help of Daisy, the beautiful dog next door, he succeeds in earning his keep. However, in an attempt to save the Christmas turkey from some wolves, Rover ends up holding the dead bird, looking as if he killed it. The next morning, Cal takes Rover into the woods to shoot him, but is attacked by the wolves. Rover manages to fight the wolves off, and brings the other farm dogs to get Cal home.
Rover's heroics make the papers, allowing Eddie and Connie to find out where he is. Connie brings Rover back to Vegas, where Rover confronts Rocky. After Rocky accidentally confesses to Connie what he did, Rover and his dog friends chase him into the limo of the gangsters, who reveal that helping him escape is a setup and plan to throw him off Hoover Dam
. Soon after, Rover, missing Daisy, becomes depressed. Connie, realising this, takes Rover back to the farm to stay. Rover is reunited with Daisy, who reveals to him that he is a father, unveiling five puppies. The story ends with Rover teaching his kids how to play cards, and playfully chasing Daisy around the farmyard.
's films, but Warner Bros.
wanted the film's content to be toned down to a G-rating.
and LaserDisc
on December 21, 1993. Warner Archives
later released the film on DVD
on December 7, 2010.
", and Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone TheMovieChicks.com both agreed that "this movie gets no respect and doesn't deserve any". One of the better reviews came from Douglas Pratt of "DVDLaser", saying that "the story is quite entertaining and provides so much of the film's appeal that the artwork just wags along with it".
Hyperion Pictures
Hyperion Pictures is an American film production company founded by Thomas L. Wilhite, who had previously been the head of motion picture and television produced for and owned by Walt Disney Productions, and writer/director Willard Carroll...
and released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, starring the voice talents of comedian Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
, who also wrote and co-produced the film. It is about a street dog named Rover, who is owned by a Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
showgirl. Rover gets dumped off Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
by the showgirl's boyfriend. However, rather than drowning, Rover ends up on a farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
.
Plot
Rover lives a life of fun in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, gambling and chasing girls with his best friend Eddie. One night, he sees his owner Connie's boyfriend, Rocky, in a transaction with a pair of gangsters, and accidentally disrupts it. Thinking that Rocky is an undercover cop setting them up, the gangsters flee, telling Rocky that he has blown his last chance. The next day, Connie goes on the road for two weeks, leaving Rocky to look after Rover. In revenge for ruining his deal, Rocky puts Rover in a bag, drives him to Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
, and throws him in the water. The bag is pulled out by two passing fishermen, and Rover runs into a farmer, Cal, and his son, Danny, who convinces his father to take him in. Cal agreed on one condition, if Rover does even one sight of trouble, he'll be sent to an animal shelter, and if nobody claims him, the animal shelter will put Rover to sleep.
Rover has difficulty adjusting to life on the farm, but with the help of Daisy, the beautiful dog next door, he succeeds in earning his keep. However, in an attempt to save the Christmas turkey from some wolves, Rover ends up holding the dead bird, looking as if he killed it. The next morning, Cal takes Rover into the woods to shoot him, but is attacked by the wolves. Rover manages to fight the wolves off, and brings the other farm dogs to get Cal home.
Rover's heroics make the papers, allowing Eddie and Connie to find out where he is. Connie brings Rover back to Vegas, where Rover confronts Rocky. After Rocky accidentally confesses to Connie what he did, Rover and his dog friends chase him into the limo of the gangsters, who reveal that helping him escape is a setup and plan to throw him off Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
. Soon after, Rover, missing Daisy, becomes depressed. Connie, realising this, takes Rover back to the farm to stay. Rover is reunited with Daisy, who reveals to him that he is a father, unveiling five puppies. The story ends with Rover teaching his kids how to play cards, and playfully chasing Daisy around the farmyard.
Characters
- Rodney DangerfieldRodney DangerfieldRodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
- Rover - Ronnie SchellRonnie SchellRonald Ralph "Ronnie" Schell is an American actor, stand-up comedian and cartoon voice actor . Early in his career he appeared as himself as a contestant on You Bet Your Life opposite Groucho Marx, demonstrating a comic barrage of jive talk.-Life and career:Schell was born in Richmond, California...
- Eddie - Shawn SouthwickShawn King (singer)Shawn King is an American singer. She is the wife of television and radio personality Larry King. King has recorded one album, In My Own Backyard, for Lofton Creek Records.- Personal :...
- Connie - Sal Landi - Rocky
- Christopher CollinsChristopher CollinsChristopher Charles Collins , also known as Chris Latta, was an American actor, voice artist and comedian, perhaps best known as the voice of Cobra Commander on the G.I. Joe animated series and as the voice of Starscream in the first Transformers animated series...
- Gangster #1 / Wolves - Bob BergenBob BergenRobert "Bob" Bergen is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Porky Pig , and formerly hosted Jep!, a kids' version of the popular game show Jeopardy!Bergen was born in St. Louis, Missouri...
- Gangster #2 - Ned Luke - Raffles
- Bert KramerBert KramerBert Kramer was an American actor, who was born in San Diego. He appeared in many different television shows including Kojak, The Bionic Woman, The Rockford Files, Dallas, Dynasty and Matlock. He is probably best known for playing Alex Wheeler on the soap opera Texas, a role he played from 1980 to...
- Max - Robert PineRobert PineRobert Pine is an American actor who has starred on television and in film. He is probably best known for his role as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on the hit NBC television series CHiPs from 1977 to 1983.-Personal life:...
- Duke - Dennis BlairDennis Blair (comedian)Dennis Blair is an American stand-up comedian. He is best known for writing and appearing in the 1983 movie Easy Money alongside his mentor, Rodney Dangerfield....
- Lem - Don StewartDon Stewart (actor)Donald Bruce Stewart was an American actor best known for his long-running role as attorney Mike Bauer on Guiding Light. Stewart appeared on Guiding Light from 1968 to 1984, with a brief return appearance in 1997....
- Clem - Susan Boyd - Daisy
Releases Dates
- August 2, 1991 (USA)
- September 20, 1991 (CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) - December 2, 1991 (UK and Ireland)
- December 2, 1991 (France)
- December 2, 1991 (Japan)
- December 8, 1991 (Denmark)
- December 8, 1991 (Finland)
- December 15, 1991 (India and China)
- December 15, 1991 (New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) - January 2, 1992 (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) - Others More
Production
Rover Dangerfield was originally conceived in the late 1980s, and was planned at the time for a December 1988 release. It was originally planned as an R-rated animated film, in the vein of Ralph BakshiRalph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
's films, but Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
wanted the film's content to be toned down to a G-rating.
Release
The film was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and LaserDisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
on December 21, 1993. Warner Archives
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
later released the film on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on December 7, 2010.
Reception
Alex Sandell of "Juicy Cerebellum" called it "one of the worst animated films ever, even if you are a fan of DangerfieldRodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
", and Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone TheMovieChicks.com both agreed that "this movie gets no respect and doesn't deserve any". One of the better reviews came from Douglas Pratt of "DVDLaser", saying that "the story is quite entertaining and provides so much of the film's appeal that the artwork just wags along with it".