Rover Dangerfield

Rover Dangerfieldis a 1991 Americananimatedmusicalcomedy filmstarring the voice talent of comedianRodney Dangerfield,who also wrote the screenplay and story and co-produced the film.It revolves around the eponymous character, a canine facsimile of Dangerfield owned by aLas Vegas showgirl,who gets dumped off theHoover Damand finds himself living on a farm. Critical reception was unfavorable, although its animation received minor praise.

Rover Dangerfield
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James L. George Bob Seeley
Screenplay by	Rodney Dangerfield
Story by	Rodney Dangerfield Harold Ramis
Produced by	Willard Carroll Tom L. Wilhite
Starring	Rodney Dangerfield
Edited by	Tony Mizgalski
Music by	David Newman
Production companies	Hyperion Animation The Kushner-Locke Company
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	August 2, 1991(1991-08-02)
Running time	74 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

Rover Dangerfield is aBasset Houndliving the life of luxury inLas Vegaswith his owner Connie, a showgirl. One night, he sees Connie's shady boyfriend Rocky negotiating with a pair of gangsters, and accidentally disrupts it by dropping a bone into the meeting. Thinking Rocky is an undercover cop setting them up, the gangsters flee as their Boss tells Rocky that he has blown his last chance. When Connie goes on tour for two weeks, she leaves Rover in the care of Rocky. In retaliation for ruining his deal, Rocky stuffs Rover in a bag, drives him toHoover Damand throws him into the water.

The bag is later pulled out of the water by two passing fishermen, who take Rover back to shore and place him in the back of their pickup truck. Rover regains consciousness, jumps out of the truck during a stop, and begins wandering down the road. He ends up in the countryside, and eventually runs into a farmer, Cal, and his son, Danny. Danny convinces his father to take the dog in. Cal agrees on one condition: if he causes trouble, he'll be sent to an animal shelter. If nobody claims him, the animal shelter canput him down.Rover has difficulty adjusting to life on the farm but with the help of Daisy, a beautifulcollienext door, and the other dogs on the farm, he succeeds in earning their trust. Rover spendsChristmaswith the family, and begins to fall in love with Daisy.

One night, a pack ofwolvesattempt to kill a turkey on the farm. Rover saves the turkey, but the bird ends up dead of shock. Cal mistakenly believes Rover to be responsible for the turkey's death, and takes Rover into the woods to shoot him the next morning. The wolves then attack Cal, but are fended off by Rover, who then rallies the other farm dogs to get the injured Cal home. Rover's heroics make the papers; Connie discovers Rover's whereabouts and travels to the farm to pick him up and take him back to Las Vegas. Although initially satisfied to be reunited with Connie and his old friends, Rover soon begins to miss his life on the farm. Rocky comes into Connie's dressing room, and accidentally confesses to her what he did to Rover, causing Connie to break up with him. Infuriated, Rocky tries to retaliate, but Rover and friends chase him out of the casino, where he is beckoned into the gangsters' limo, presumably taken to be thrown off the Hoover Dam.

Sometime later, Rover, missing Daisy, becomes depressed. Realizing that he misses his new life, Connie takes Rover back to the farm to stay, allowing Cal and Danny to keep him. Rover is reunited with Daisy, who leads him to the barn, revealing that he is now a father of six puppies: five of them resembling Rover and one resembling Daisy. The story ends with Rover teaching his kids how to play cards and playfully chasing Daisy around the farmyard.

Voice cast

• Rodney Dangerfieldas Rover, Rover's Son
• Susan Boyd as Daisy
• Ronnie Schellas Eddie
• Ned Lukeas Raffles
• Shawn Southwick as Connie
• Sal Landi as Rocky
• Bert Krameras Max
• Robert Pineas Duke
• Dana Hillas Danny
• Eddie Barthas Champ
• Dennis Blairas Lem
• Don Stewartas Clem
• Gregg Bergeras Cal
• Heidi Banks as Katie
• Paxton Whiteheadas Count
• Ron Tayloras Mugsy, Bruno
• Chris Collinsas Big Boss, Sparky, Horse
• Chris Collins and Tom Williams as Coyotes
• Chris Collins,Bernard Erhard,and Danny Mann as Wolves
• Robert Bergenas Gangster, Animal
• Tress MacNeilleas Queenie, Chorus Girls, Hen, Chickens, Turkey
• Dee Bradley Bakeras Rover and Daisy's Pups

Additional voices byBob Bergen,Louise Chamis,Bill Farmer,Barbara Goodson,Patricia Parris,Burton Sharp, and Ross Taylor

Production

Conceived in the late 1980s, the film was planned at the time for a December 1988 release.It was originally planned as an R-rated animated film, in the vein ofRalph Bakshi's films, butWarner Bros.wanted the film's content to be toned down to a G-rating.CartoonistJeff Smith,best known as the creator of theself-publishedcomic bookseriesBone,described working on key frames for the film's animation to editorGary GrothinThe Comics Journalin 1994. Although he admitted he had fun working on the film, he would describe the film itself as "terrible".

The film was preceded in theaters by a re-issue of the 1958Merrie MelodiesshortRobin Hood Daffy.

Reception and legacy

On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,17% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.8/10.

Entertainment Weeklygraded the film a 'C', questioning Dangerfield's decision to make the film and said, 'Dangerfield should have known he had written a no-win scenario. His strongest suit — that gleeful lounge-act vulgarity — has always been a little too crass for kids. Yet when Rover offers gooey, sentimental life lessons, it feels unconvincing, like a rock star in a suit. This mongrel-movie badly wants to be a kidvid hit, and with that star and decent animation chops, it stands a chance. But don't bet the farm on it.'TV Guideawarded the film two stars, criticizing the tone and inconsistent animation, and said, 'The result is a confused hybrid creation, suspended in a twilight zone betweenDon Bluth's benign but dull children's fare and Ralph Bakshi's gratingly hip work.'

Screen Rant,on the other hand, listedRover Dangerfieldas a must-see performance for its star, stating that:

"To hear Dangerfield voice an animated version of himself is quite funny, and the film, while no classic, is completely watchable due to Dangerfield's fresh and entertaining voice-performance".

Home video

The film was released onVHSandLaserDiscon February 12, 1992.Warner Archive Collectionreleased the film onDVD,andBlu-rayon January 30, 2024.

See also

• List of American films of 1991
• List of animated feature films

External links

• Rover DangerfieldatIMDb
• Rover DangerfieldatBox Office Mojo