| Rover Dangerfield | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | James L. George Bob Seeley |
| Produced by | Willard Carroll Tom L. Wilhite Executive Producer: Rodney Dangerfield |
| Screenplay by | Rodney Dangerfield Harold Ramis |
| Story by | Rodney Dangerfield |
| Based on | Original Idea: Rodney Dangerfield |
| Starring | Rodney Dangerfield Ronnie Schell Shawn Southwick Sal Landi Ned Luke Bert Kramer Robert Pine |
| Music by | David Newman |
| Editing by | Tony Mizgalski |
| Studio | Hyperion Pictures |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | August 2, 1991 |
| Running time | 74 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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.
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Rover lives a life of fun in Las Vegas, 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 agrees 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.
Rover Dangerfield was originally conceived in the late 1980s, and was planned at the time for a December 1988 release.[1] It was originally planned as an R-rated animated film, in the vein of Ralph Bakshi's films, but Warner Bros. wanted the film's content to be toned down to a G-rating.[2]
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc on February 12, 1992. Warner Archives later released the film on DVD on December 7, 2010.[3]
Alex Sandell of "Juicy Cerebellum" called it "one of the worst animated films ever, even if you are a fan of Dangerfield", 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".