“”All those parents—and children–out there, take notice as there is yet another movie coming soon to be based upon a kids TV show. Instead of a Nickelodeon program, it is the movie version of “”Teacher’s Pet””, adapted from the Disney animated series that was on ABC. As in the show, the leads are canine Spot (voiced animatedly, no pun intended, by Nathan Lane), his young owner–and best friend–Leonard Helperman (Shaun Flemming), Leonard’s mother (“”That 70’s Show””‘s Debra Jo Rupp), who also happens to be his teacher at school as well (?), and fellow pets Mr. Jolly (David Ogden Stiers), a cat, and Pretty Boy (Jerry Stiller), a bird.
Those familiar with the series know the premise, but for those who are not….well, to sum up, Spot has identity issues. That is…he thinks of himself as human rather than dog, and dresses himself up in boy’s clothing, hat, glasses, and all, and becomes – presto – Scott Leadready II, a student who gets high marks from teacher Mrs. Helperman (hence the double meaning of the title “”Teacher’s Pet””) and even earning a perfect attendance award from her. The teacher, of course, never happens to notice the resemblance of Scott to her dog Spot, but why worry about such details in kiddie flick.Spot, apparently, desires to be a boy so much, that he has fantasies of the Blue Fairy from “”Pinocchio”” (a movie parodied often here) granting his wish–only to be woken out of these dreams by the gruff-voiced Pretty Boy. The situation is not helped much when Leonard and his mom leave the pooch behind for a couple of weeks to head to Florida, where Mrs. Helperman is a finalist for a big teacher award—referred to as NEAT for short. This arrangement involves taking cat-lover Principal Strickler’s (Wallace Shawn) RV, and one of his rules is that NO dogs are allowed in the camper.Although he is not alone, as he has the other animals and a senile pet-sitter (Estelle Harris–yes Mrs. Costanza is here also) around, Spot misses Leonard terribly, and he has that nagging wish to be human. His prayers seem to be answered when he watches the “”Barry Anger”” show on TV (this film’s equivalent of “”Jerry Springer””) where the guest is Dr. Ivan Krank (Kelsey Grammer), a ‘scientist’ from Florida who claims he can transform animals into people–and who also happens to be the uncle of Ian (Rob Paulsen), a classmate of both Spot/Scott and Leonard. After mulling over the coincidences involved–mainly that the mad scientist operates in Florida, the same state where Leonard and his mom are headed–Spot bolts the house to join his traveling master. Upon rejoining his family, as it were, Spot is welcomed by Leonard, although the former has to disguise himself as Scott in order to fool Mrs. Helperman and ride the RV. The kid isn’t too keen on having Spot become a human, however—his preference is for having his best pal fetch sticks and do more ‘pet’ stuff–he needs his dog, as he puts it. Leonard relents anyway, and he and Spot go off to find Dr. Krank.While these events transpire, Mr. Jolly and Pretty Boy make a discovery back at the Helperman’s residence. A follow-up program on “”Barry Anger”” (aka “”Where Are They Now That’s Different Than Where They Were a Week Ago””) reveals that Dr. Krank is highly dangerous and has turned critters into hideous mutations rather than people. Realizing that their canine counterpart may be in jeopardy, the two animal friends head to Florida themselves.The movie shifts back and forth between a more ‘traditional’ Disney film, one with sappy songs–especially the “”Friend needs a Friend”” number–and more cynical moments a la “”Lilo and Stitch”” or Dreamworks’ “”Shrek””. There is plenty of satire, from the constant “”Pinocchio”” references (especially the beginning sequence) and the “”Barry Anger”” segments. Nathan Lane provides much humor by himself, keeping the mood from being too cheesy, even going so far as to remark on the high song count.Still, the kids–and others–who appreciate the less cutesey bits and pop culture references, might have problems with the many musical numbers. Leonard, the kid in the movie, is in a class taught by his mom—he would have been the butt of many a joke back in the day—and he seriously needs to get more friends, of the ‘human’ variety. Those who are used to the TV show might not have a problems with these things, but may not like the many songs, which start to rate high in the cringe factor (though Lane has a great voice, and the rest of the leads do well too).The biggest issue with the film–other than those silly songs–is the ending, which fails to acknowledge a major plot point. This is a children’s movie to be sure, but there should still be some consistency–especially since “”Teacher’s Pet”” seems to pride itself on it. The animation is so-so, though this is maybe in comparison to the CGI films of late–the work in this flick combines the current TV cartoon style (think Nickelodeon) with that of retro-1930s era serials (a la old school Disney).Ultimately, “”Teacher’s Pet”” is really for fans of the show, i.e. kids, but will others enjoy it? Those who enjoy some of the humor, which can border on the cynical–and even twisted– or bits for grown-ups to enjoy (like a brief “”Sound of Music”” reference), might not appreciate the songs, and vice versa. Lane does well and kicks this flick a notch above average, but the syrupy songs and that ending detract from what might have been fun for both children and adults.Grade: C+