DOUG'S 1ST MOVIE by DeWyNGaLe Rating: C+
A few weeks ago, Doug's 1st Movie came out of nowhere with a poster and a trailer. There was no buzz building up to it or anything, which shows that Disney through together a Doug movie without much notice at all, which could be a sign that it isn't very good. The trailers looked horrible. Doug used to be a great cartoon series in the time that it was aired on Nickelodeon from 1991-1996. But in 1996, Disney took over the show and made some horrible changes such as voices, looks, and setting of the show. Personally, I think the movie was a mistake in since the show had not gotten much attention ever since it left Nickelodeon.
The plot for Doug's 1st Movie goes like this: Doug is a normal kid in middle school who has a huge crush on Patti, one of the most popular girls in school. He is always trying to impress Patti, and he will do anything to reach that goal. Doug's best friend is Skeeter. Skeeter is a blue kid who also attends the same school, but Skeeter is in love with Beebe, another blue person. Doug and Skeeter's latest adventure is trying to figure out the mystery of Lucky Duck Lake. Supposedly, a monster roams in the polluted waters of the lake. They actually find the monster, but the monster isn't a big and scary one who eats people. The monster is a sweet monster, who doesn't want to live in the lake anymore because it is polluted hurts him. From here on out, Doug must take care of the monster to protect it from anyone who may harm it.
Meanwhile, a Valentine's Day dance for the kids at Doug's school is being planned at "Funkytown." Doug tried to get on the dance committee, but it turns out that Guy Graham and Patti are on the team because Guy took Doug off the list so he could be with Patti. Doug is extremely jealous as Patti starts to fall for Guy, and Patti calls Doug a liar about the whole monster incident. Doug isn't a very happy person right now.
The characters in the film are not developed at all, but for fans of the television show, the characters will already be familiar. The film should have given some background on the characters for people new to the characters and setting.
In Disney movies, hidden messages are often found that little kids will not understand or catch, but many people do. I caught many hidden messages in Doug's 1st Movie which I thought were terrible and shouldn't in a Rated G children's movie. Hopefully, someone else will catch these same messages and let Disney know that they have been caught. The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Lion King also contained such messages. The most obvious one was in Aladdin when Aladdin states "Good teenagers take off their clothes," in a quiet and muffled manner.
The content of the film really isn't that bad, and it actually could have gone somewhere, but it isn't presented in an interesting enough form. The entire monster plot line could have been erased from the film, leaving the sub-plot of Doug trying to get Patti back from Guy as the main plot. I didn't really approve of the monster plot, considering Doug is almost always a very realistic show. The plot line containing the monster was very boring, very predictable, and very unoriginal. Even though the main sub-plot wasn't all that original either, it was certainly a lot more fun to watch.
The Bottom Line- The title is Doug's 1st Movie. Let's hope there isn't Doug's 2nd Movie.
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