Dog City
A cartoon detective and his animator solve crimes together.
Dog City is an animated television series produced by Nelvana Limited and Jim Henson Productions, combining animation with puppetry. It aired on Fox Kids from 1992 to 1994 and on YTV in Canada until 2000, blending detective fiction with police comedy.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Detective fiction; Police comedy
- Creator
- Jim Henson (original made for TV film)
- Developer
- Peter Sauder; J.D. Smith
- Director
- John van Bruggen
- Starring
- Muppet performers:
- Fran Brill
- Lisa Buckley
- Kevin Clash
- Joey Mazzarino
- Brian Muehl
- David Rudman
- Voices
- Ron White
- Elizabeth Hanna
- Stuart Stone
- John Stocker
- Stephen Ouimette
- Paulina Gillis
- Country
- United States; Canada
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Television film
Dog City originated as an hour-long television film titled Dog City: The Movie, broadcast on May 5, 1989, as an episode of The Jim Henson Hour. The film featured puppet characters, including Ace Yu, a German Shepherd adopted by Chinese Pekingese parents, performed by Kevin Clash. Ace inherits a bar-restaurant called the Dog House after his Uncle Harry dies and is harassed for protection money by crime boss Bugsy Them, who was responsible for Harry's death. Bugsy kidnaps Ace's love interest Colleen Barker, a Rough Collie performed by Fran Brill. The story involves car chases, shoot-em-ups, and rubber duckies. Ace ultimately defeats Bugsy and ends up with Colleen. Other characters include Bugsy's associates Miss Belle, Mad Dog, Scruffy, Laughing Boy, and Bubba the bartender. Rowlf the Dog, performed by Jim Henson, narrates the film. Dog City: The Movie was released to region 1 and region 2 DVD, and clips are available on The Jim Henson Company's YouTube channel.
Premise
The series focuses on animator Eliot Shag, a German Shepherd, and his cartoon creation Ace Hart, a canine private investigator. Each episode shows Eliot creating animated stories for a television program named after Ace, drawing inspiration from real-life events in his apartment building. Ace knows he is a cartoon character and often breaks the fourth wall to discuss issues with Eliot during the animation process. The live-action sequences depict Eliot dealing with work and personal problems, including his building's grouchy bulldog superintendent Bruno. Many cartoon characters are based on building residents: Bruno inspires crime boss Bugsy Vile, and Eliot's young friend Artie inspires Ace's sidekick Eddie. In the first series, Eliot has feelings for neighbor Coleen, who inspires Ace's love interest Rosie. Later series replace Eliot's love interest with Artie's mother Terri. Eliot sometimes animates additional side stories alongside the main Ace adventures.
Characters
The main character of Dog City is Ace Hart, a German Shepherd private eye voiced by Ron White. Rosie O'Gravy, a Rough Collie voiced by Elizabeth Hanna, serves as the chief of detectives and is Ace's love interest. Eddie, an English Springer Spaniel news-pup voiced by Stuart Stone, frequently accompanies Ace on his cases. The primary antagonist is Bugsy Vile, a bulldog crime boss voiced by John Stocker, who is known as the "Dogfather of Crime." His henchmen include Frisky, an excitable chihuahua voiced by James Rankin; Mad Dog, a psychotic mongrel voiced by Stephen Ouimette; and Bruiser, a tough bulldog nephew voiced by Howard Jerome. Kitty, voiced by Paulina Gillis, is a female cat gun moll who runs the Kitty Cat Club, a front for Bugsy's operations. Baron Von Rottweiler, voiced by Dan Hennessey, is a villainous German Rottweiler and secondary enemy, aided by Leon Burger, a silent dachshund valet. Mayor Kickbark, voiced by Stephen Ouimette, constantly undermines Rosie, with his aide Spunky the Flunky voiced by John Stocker. Dot, voiced by Tara Charendoff, is Rosie's niece who only says "Why." Steven, voiced by George Buza, is a canine watchman, while Yves, voiced by Rino Romano, is a cat burglar. Sam Spayed is an old police dog and father figure to young Ace. Surelick Bones is an English bloodhound detective who was a rival. The Woof Pack is a team of superhero dogs featured in comic vignettes.
Home releases
Two VHS tapes were released by Sony Wonder: Much Ado About Mad Dog and The Big Squeak, each containing two episodes. A UK VHS titled Disobedience School includes three episodes. Dog City: The Movie was released on region 2 DVD in the UK and region 1 DVD on June 8, 2010. The series has not had a DVD release but is available on Amazon Video on Demand, Tubi, and Nelvana's Retro Rerun YouTube channel.
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