DOUG'S 1st MOVIE (Disney) Voices: Thomas McHugh, Fred Newman, Chris Phillips, Constance Shulman, Frank Welker, Doug Preis, Guy Hadley, Alice Playten. Screenplay: Ken Scarborough, based on characters created by Jim Jinkins. Producer: Jim Jinkins, David Campbell, Melanie Grisanti, Jack Spillum. Director: Maurice Joyce. MPAA Rating: G. Running Time: 77 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
There are two basic kinds of "family films" that come to your local multiplex. In one category are those that genuinely deserve the name "family film," the kind that can actually keep an adult entertained while remaining appropriate for kids. In the other category are the generally inspid, generally TV-based tales made exclusively for non-discriminating sub-teens. With no experience of the television series on which it was based, I went into DOUG'S 1st MOVIE expecting the latter. Instead, I found something halfway between the two: a good-natured, good-humored kids' film that actually treated young viewers as though they had intelligence.
The plot for DOUG'S 1st MOVIE returns to some recurring threads from the "Doug" show which originated on Nickelodeon before moving to ABC Saturday mornings. Doug (voiced by Thomas McHugh), a 12-year-old student at Bluffington Middle School, is still trying to catch the eye of Patti Mayonnaise (Constance Shulman), the long-time object of his affection; Doug's best friend Skeeter (Fred Newman) is still seeking the monster of Lucky Duck Lake. In the film, however, Skeeter actually finds the creature, a friendly amphibious beast he dubs Herman Melville (Frank Welker). Herman is also proof that local big-wig Mr. Bluff (Doug Preis) is polluting the lake, which presents Doug with a moral dilemma. Should he risk derision by helping Herman and taking on Mr. Bluff, or focus on staying in Patti's good graces?
In fact, it's not really much of a dilemma at all. Doug is the nicest of nice guys, an easy guy for his peers to relate to. He has superhero fantasies, he mopes when Patti spends time with cocky upperclassman Guy Graham (Guy Hadley), and he trusts his faithful dog Porkchop. Like most adolescents, he's a little insecure, but he always tries hard to do the right thing. That's the basic, simple appeal of DOUG'S 1st MOVIE: it's a message movie for kids in which the message is "be decent," and where the message isn't obscured by special effects or infantilism. Sure, it moves at a fairly pokey cartoon pace, but that's a welcome respite from animated films that behave as though kids will only sit still for frantic action.
Parents may even be sitting still for some of the funny asides in DOUG'S 1st MOVIE. Though Ken Scarborough's script is hardly heavy on adult references, it does feel slightly smarter than most cartoon scripts. I don't think a single line in the film would be over the head of a 12-year-old, yet somehow I still felt in on the joke despite the fact that most of the humor centered on schoolkid types (the whiz-kid nerds, the stuck-up rich girl, the minor-league bully and his cronies). The best point of comparison for DOUG'S 1st MOVIE is probably the "Peanuts" television specials and features of the late 60s and 1970s -- they were both sincere and engaging, and easy for families to share. DOUG may not stand "Peanuts'" test of time, but it's a solid choice for parents who like the idea of a film that doesn't condescend to their kids.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 faithful Dougs: 7.
Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe".
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews