January 16, 2004 | OK, I’ll admit it: When I received the invitation to an advance screening of Disney’s Teacher’s Pet – a spin-off from a TV cartoon show I’d never watched, or even heard much about – my first impulse was to devise excuses for not attending. There were dishes to wash, carpets to vacuum, cats to neuter, a sock drawer to rearrange…
Fortunately, my sense of professionalism triumphed over my knee-jerk snobbery. Gratefully, I can report that Teacher’s Pet is doggone hilarious. Every bit as clever and accomplished as the more heavily hyped Finding Nemo, it virtually bursts at the seams while containing a super-sized abundance of witty wordplay, silly songs and inspired sight gags. Traditionalists will be particularly pleased by its bountiful delights, since the movie works its magic the old-fashioned way, with hand-drawn, 2-D animation of a kind that’s becoming increasingly rare in this age of 3-D computer-generated graphics.
The warp-speed feature (67 minutes of action, plus a six-minute credit roll) reunites major creative forces behind the TV series: illustrator Gary Baseman, writers Bill and Cheri Steinkellner and director Tim Bjorklund. Just as important, the movie also retains series vet Nathan Lane to voice the title character: Spot, a turquoise-blue talking dog who’s determined to become “a real boy,” or a reasonable facsimile thereof.
For the benefit of those who tuned in late, Teacher’s Pet begins with a recap of the TV show’s premise: Spot dons eyeglasses and a beanie cap to assume the role of Scott, a model student who attends fourth grade alongside Leonard Helperman (Shaun Fleming), his nominal master. No one – not even Leonard’s schoolteacher mom (Debra Jo Rupp) – can see through Spot/Scott’s disguise. Which, truth to tell, is a mixed blessing for Leonard, who’d much rather have a playful dog than a competitive classmate.
As Scott, Spot is nothing if not an overachiever: On the final day of class before summer, he earns more academic honors than any human student. But when Leonard and his mother drive off in a borrowed “Wentawaygo” to attend a national teachers’ conference in Florida, Spot is left behind with two other pets – Pretty Boy (Jerry Stiller), a belligerent canary, and Mr. Jolly (David Ogden Stiers), a fraidy-cat feline – in the care of a near-senile sitter.
Fate moves its huge paw when Spot spots a TV interview with Dr. Ivan Krank (Kelsey Grammer), a ranting-and-raving wacko who claims that, through the modern miracle of DNA manipulation, he can transform any beast into a human. To be sure, Dr. Krank’s first subjects – a mosquito girl (Megan Mullally) and an alligator boy (Paul Reubens) – haven’t been stunning successes. But never mind: Spot is sufficiently encouraged to don his Scott disguise, catch a ride with Leonard and his mother – and make his way to the swampy domain of Dr. Krank.
The good news: Dr. Krank does indeed manage to effect a miraculous transformation. The bad news: No one takes into account the “dog years” phenomenon. Instead of becoming a “real boy,” Spot evolves into – well, would you believe an animated grown-up who looks a lot like Nathan Lane?
Zippily paced and prodigiously inventive, Teacher’s Pet spins into dizzying curlicues of breakneck zaniness. Indeed, there’s something almost exhausting – and yet, at the same time, exhilarating – about the movie’s scattershot wisecracks and kaleidoscopic imagery. Credit Gary Baseman and Toon City Animation, Inc. for an overall visual design that suggests a crazy-salad mix of Tex Avery and Zap Comix, Dr. Seuss and Bob Clampett, with dashes of exuberant surrealism – singing houses, smiling suns, undulating U.S. maps – and wink-wink references to Disney animated classics. Some individual frames are so crammed with comical signage and wacky marginalia, you may find yourself reflexively reaching for a remote-control pause button to fully savor the spectacle.
