Search - Teacher's Pet on DVD

A Nathan Lane Musical at a Fraction of The Producers!

Frev | New York, New York United States | 07/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is the funniest musical Nathan Lane has done since 'The Producers'. A feature length version of the Disney series showcasing the artwork of Gary Baseman, the movie carries over the plot line of a dog dressing like and pretending to be a little boy, whose wish is to be a real boy, ala Pinocchio. The movie even starts as a send-up of the Disney classic, but done in the twisted, quirky Baseman style. The movie's plot has the dog Spot, whose secret identity is that of Scott Leadready II (both voiced by Nathan Lane), trying to follow his master Leonard to Florida to seek out the services of wacko Dr. Ivan Krank (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) who can turn animals into human beings. When Spot/Scott's fellow pets, the cat Mr. Jolly (David Ogden Stiers) and green canary Pretty Boy (Jerry Stiller) discover how dangerous the Doctor's experiments are, they also head to Florida to warn Spot. Will Dr. Krank's experiment succeed? Will Mr. Jolly and Pretty Boy get there in time? Will Leonard lose a dog and gain a father with lower back pain? Will Spot's dream to become human come true? And how many show stopping tunes can Nathan Lane sing in under 80 minutes?

There are several clever musical numbers in this film, perhaps the most subversive animated Disney musical of all time, the songs reflecting the twisted spirit of Gary Baseman's drawings. And there are so many clever gags and in-jokes throughout the film, that you'll keep hitting the pause button to catch all of them. The send-ups of such Disney classics as 'Pinocchio' and 'Snow White' is almost worth the admission alone.

For those who couldn't afford a ticket to see Nathan Lane in 'The Producers' on Broadway, you can buy this DVD at less than a fraction of the cost for a 'Producers' ticket, and have just as much fun. The animation is colorful enough to keep the attention of the kiddies while the jokes and songs will keep adults in stitches. I watched this movie with my niece and nephew and we all had a great time. For fans of the art of Gary Baseman, this DVD is a must-have. Bonus features include a profile of Gary Baseman with interviews with Nathan Lane, David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Stiller and Wallace Shawn. There are two hilarious deleted scenes, a music video, and a special 'songs only' selection with lyrics. Treat yourself to this quirky, kooky laugh-filled Disney movie"

A Tribute to the Great Animated Classics!

Alex | United States | 01/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is awsome if you are a fan of Disney's classic animated films, becasue the creator of "Teacher's Pet" pays homage to a lot of them, including "Pinocchio," "Snow White," "Sleeping Beauty," "101 Dalmations," "The Lion King," "Peter Pan," and "Dumbo." The voice talent is also great and includes Nathan Lane, Jerry Stiller, and Kelsey Grammer. Adults and children were laughing and having a good time during the film.Spot is a dog who wishes he was a boy, and somehow is able to fool everyone at school that he is one. But during summer vacation, he sees a mad scientist on tv who claims he can turn animals into humans. The first half of the movie is the road trip on the way to meet the looney doctor, and the second half is about Spot trying to fix a terrible mistake.This film will teach children the valuable lesson of "the grass is always greener." I highley recomend that you take your loved ones to see "Teacher's Pet," because it is one of the best family films I've seen in a while."

A Fun Way to Spend an Afternoon

S. Hill | Commerce, GA USA | 01/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"We took our four year old daughter to see this, and unlike many other recent children's movie offerings, this movie captivated her attention for the duration of the movie. She enjoyed the story--despite not being a huge Teacher's Pet fan--wasn't frightened by the mad scientist bits, and even seemed to enjoy the songs. Husband and I also enjoyed the little bits of Disney humor thrown into the mix. All of the voice characterizations were great, and Kelsey Grammar and Nathan Lane gave especially lovely performances. All in all, a very enjoyable little movie."

Short and Sweet!

Ed Mich | New York | 01/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Teacher's Pet," is based on a television seris by the same name, that I have seen a couple of times. When I saw the commericals about the movie, I decided that I was going to see it in the theatres. I liked it. Another movie tfrom a television seris that went to the big screen was "Hey Arnold The Movie," which I liked so much that I gave it five stars. I am not giving "Teacher's Pet" give stars because of it's extremly short length. I went to a twelve o' clock show, and including previews and me staying for the credits, I was out at one fifteen. It was probally about sixty-eight minutes long including the credits. The story is about sixty-three minutes long. That is a little short for a movie theatre film. "Hey Arnold The Movie," was seventy-five minutes long, but that was oringally made for television. They weren't going to change it for the big screen. But now, the plot.In the television seris, the "Teacher's Pet," is a blue dog named Spot. He is the dog of a young boy named Leonard, who is the son of mary Lou, who works at Leonards school under the ruling of Principal Stricklar, who has a strong dislike of dogs. Spot lives with Leonard and Mary Lou and their two other pets, Mr. Jolly a bird, and Pretty Boy a cat. Spot's problem is that he could talk, and he wants to be a real boy. When Mary Lou gets nominated for a Teacher of the Year Award, she and Leonard travel miles to Florida for the finals. Spot is left at home, but when he sees a talk show he decides to find them. The Barry Anger Show has a segment with made scientist Dr. Ivan Krank who claims that he could turn any everyday animal, into a human being. Spot finds Leonard and Mary Lou and changes into his alter ego, "human" Scott. Spot attends school everyday as Scott and makes up a wild story to be able to join Mary Lou and Leonard on their trip to the Sunshine State. He mades it to Ivan's lab, and is turned into a man instead of a boy. Dog years would make him older than he thinks he is. Scott/Spot escapes from Krank who wants to use him to have living proof that he is not crazy and his experiments really do work. But Leonard begins finding out that it is hard to have a dog really be a man, and the plot thickens."Teacher's Pet," is a musical. There are short songs throughout the movie, and if you listen to the lyrics, they are just so funny. I found myself laughing alot during this movie, and not at smart jokes that makers seem to sneak into animated movies to appeal to older people. I laughed at the stupid humor and the obvious jokes. I liked it. I thought this movie had some perfect timing, and alot of perfect humor. "Teacher's Pet," was, like the seris, made with tradional hand drawn animation, which is another reason why it was so short in lenght. It was not like "Finding Nemo," which was so beautiful, and had images of beauty that you just want to take it all at once. This movie has animation the way it used to be done like decades ago, and sometimes I perfer that, because it shows that people can make movies without the extreme help of machine, like "Finding Nemo." That was made only with the help of a machine and numbers. I really liked "Teacher's Pet," and it was clean, and funny, and had a great story, and it could be entertaining to people of any age. Like in my review title, it was short and sweet.ENJOY!Rated PG for some mildly crude humor."