Dog City is an American/Canadian television series that was produced by Nelvana Limited and Jim Henson Productions and aired on FOX from September 26, 1992 to November 26, 1994 and in Canada on Teletoon until 2000. The show contained both animation by Nelvana, and puppetry by Jim Henson Productions.
Dog City was originally a thirty-nine-minute long TV movie, broadcast in 1989 as an episode of The Jim Henson Hour, featuring the characters as puppets. In Dog City: The Movie, Ace Yu inherits a bar-restaurant called the Dog House following the death of his Uncle Harry and is harassed for protection money by crime syndicate boss Bugsy Them (who was responsible for the death of Uncle Harry, who, as it turns out, was actually Ace's father). Refusing to pay or fight him, Bugsy kidnaps Ace's love interest Colleen. There are car chases and shoot-em-ups and rubber duckies involved in the action. In the end, Ace defeats Bugsy and gets the girl.
Characters
Ace Yu (performed by Kevin Clash) - A German Shepherd adopted by Chinese Pekingese parents. Although Ace's puppet is a Hand-Rod Puppet, it is later modified into a Live-Hand Puppet when it was used to play Elliot in the TV series.
Bugsy Them (performed by Jim Henson) - A vain bulldog crime boss who is proud of his tail. His puppet is later used to play Bruno in the TV series.
Miss Belle (performed by Camille Bonora) - A poodle that is the key associate of Bugsy Them.
Mad Dog (performed by Steve Whitmire) - Bugsy Them's dimwitted St. Bernard henchman. His puppet is later used to play Bowser in the TV series.
Scruffy (performed by Gord Robertson) - Bugsy Them's henchman who is always scratching at his fleas.
Laughing Boy (performed by Rickey Boyd) - Bugsy Them's henchman who is always laughing and cracking jokes.
Bubba (performed by Jerry Nelson) - The bartender at the Dog House. He is a recycled and modified version of the Wolfhound from The Muppet Show.
Mac (performed by Steve Whitmire) - The waiter at the Dog House. Although Steve Whitmire performed Mac in most scenes, Mac was performed by Rickey Boyd in scenes where Mac was sweeping.
Rowlf the Dog (performed by Jim Henson) - He is the narrator of the TV movie.
Dog City: The Movie also features cameos by Sprocket the Dog from Fraggle Rock, Lyle the Dog and Baskerville the Hound from The Muppet Show, a dog character that resembles Tramp from Lady and the Tramp, and a background pug that later appears in Jim Henson's Animal Show, Puppet Up!, and other Henson Alternative projects.
The Muppets of Ace Yu and his associates would make cameos in The Muppets at Walt Disney World and would later go on to become Eliot Shag and the other "real world" counterparts to the animated characters.
Dog City: The Movie (sans the framing sequences) was released to regions 1 and 2.
The company's YouTube channel has 6 clips from the pilot in a playlist called "Dogs of Anarchy!".
Plot
The animated portions of the show focused on a canine private investigator named Ace Hart. The Muppet portions of the show focused on the interactions between Ace Hart and his animator Eliot Shag (who, like Ace, is a German Shepherd). Eliot would illustrate the stories while Ace would go traverse through it, occasionally breaking the fourth wall to speak with Eliot about the various troubles with the story. In one episode, Eliot even enters Dog City himself to join Ace in solving a mystery.
A recurring gag was that many of the characters in the cartoon were seemingly based on the residents of Eliot's apartment building. The bulldog crime-boss Bugsy Vile was inspired by the building's grouchy bulldog superintendent Bruno. Ace's love interest Colleen was based on Eliot's deep feelings for his neighbor Rosie, and so on. The Muppet characters were unaware of this. In the first episode, Bruno asks Eliot how a loser like him could have created a great character like Bugsy. Eliot replies "Sometimes it's just staring you in the face".
Later series included segments from other shows Eliot worked on, including skits featuring the main Dog City characters and a superhero series starring the Batman parody Watchdog.
Animated
Ace Hart (voiced by Ron White) - A German Shepherd who is the protagonist of the series. He is a private-eye detective.
Bugsy Vile (voiced by John Stocker) - A bulldog who is the primary antagonist of the series. Bugsy Vile is a crime boss who is the "Dogfather of Crime."
Frisky (voiced by James Rankin) - A chihuahua who is Bugsy Vile's excitable henchman.
Bruiser (voiced by Howard Jerome) - Bruiser is Bugsy Vile's tough nephew and henchman.
Kitty (voiced by Paulina Gillis) - A female cat who serves as Bugsy's moll.
Baron Von Rottweiler (voiced by Dan Hennessey) - A Rottweiler who is the secondary antagonist of the series.
Leon Burger - A dachshund who serves as valet and henchman to Baron Von Rottweiler. He doesn't talk for some reason.
Mayor Kickbark (voiced by Stephen Ouimette) - The Mayor of Dog City. He is always undermining Rosie O'Gravy.
Spunky the Flunky (voiced by John Stocker) - Mayor Kickbark's aide.
Dot (voiced by Tara Strong) - Rosie O'Gravy's cute and lovely niece. She often appears with Rosie in "The Adventures of Rosie and Dot" segments. Her only dialogue was "Why".
Steven (voiced by George Buza) - Steven was a canine watchman who was often seen in the animated segment with Yves.
Yves (voiced by Rino Romano) - A catburglar who debuted in the third season. He would try to steal something only to get thwarted comically by Steven.
Sam Spayed - An old police dog who served as a teacher and father figure to the young Ace Hart. His name is a pun on the Dashiell Hammett character Sam Spade.
Sherlock Bones (voiced by Scott McNeil) - An English bloodhound detective who was a rival to Ace until he was exposed as an art thief. His name is a spoof of Sherlock Holmes.
Woof Pack - A team of superhero dogs. The group was featured in comic vignettes, approaching mundane tasks like grocery shopping from a superheroic perspective.
Watch Dog - Watchdog is a superhero who is a parody of Batman where his name is take on Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen. Watch Dog carries hourglasses which act as gas canisters, and constantly uses time and clock related gadgets and metaphors. In "Who Watches the Watch Dog," Watch Dog's creator Fob Canine (a caricature of Bob Kane) posed as Watch Dog where he has his fellow comic book artist pose as the Labrador Gang in order to get Watch Dog to be popular again. Watch Dog is also the leader of the superhero group called the Woof Pack when the "Woof Pack" segments debuted in Season 3.
Plastic Lassie - A collie with the power of elasticity and member of the Woof Pack.
Pectoral Pooch - A dog with super-strength and member of the Woof Pack.
Hear Boy - A sound-sensitive superhero and member of the Woof Pack.
Wonder Whelp - The smallest, and youngest member of the Woof Pack.
Muppets
Eliot Shag (performed by Kevin Clash) - A German Shepherd who is the animator of Ace Hart's adventures. He often communicates with Ace Hart and would be interrupted by his girlfriend or Bruno. In "Who Watches the Watch Dog," it is revealed that Elliot is a fan of a superhero called the Hooded Hound. Seeing as Eliot is a Live-Hand Muppet, Kevin Clash is assisted in operating Eliot by Don Reardon who operates Eliot's right hand.
Colleen Barker (performed by Fran Brill) - A collie who was Eliot's on-and-off girlfriend. She moved away from the apartment when the character was dropped by Season Two. She was the first inspiration for Rosie O'Gravy.
Terri Springer (performed by Fran Brill) - Terri Springer is an English Springer Spaniel who debuts in Season Two. She is Eliot's neighbor, Artie's mother, and a beautiful businesswoman. She served as the new inspiration for Rosie O'Gravy.
Artie Springer (performed by Joey Mazzarino) - An English Springer Spaniel, Artie Springer is Eliot's young friend and son of Terri Springer. His favorite squeaky toy, a yellow rabbit called Mr Mookie, eventually starred in its own cartoon. Artie's puppet was previously seen as a background character in the original special. He served as the inspiration for Eddie.
Bruno (performed by Brian Muehl) - Bruno is a bulldog who is the surly building superintendent of the apartment that Eliot lives in. He served as the inspiration for Bugsy Vile.
Bowser (performed by David Rudman) - Bowser is a St. Bernard who is the hulking slow-witted handyman and Bruno's assistant. He served as the inspiration for Bruiser.
Ms. Fluffé (performed by Lisa Buckley) - A cat who is the landlady of the apartment that Eliot lives in. She served as the inspiration for Kitty.
Voice Talent: Ron White, Elizabeth Hanna, Stuart Stone, John Stocker, James Rankin, Howard Jerome, Paulina Gillis, Stephen Ouimette
Casting and Voice Director: Jessie Thomson
Voice Coach: Kathryn Mullen
Unit Director: Brad Goodchild
Unit Manager: Kokila Jeffrey
Production Manager: Ruta Cube
Production Supervisor: Steve Chadwick
Coordinators: Jocelyn Hamilton (production), Erik Strobel (script), Shelly Theaker (storyboard), Tyler Baylis (design), Shelley Morrow (layout)
Storyboard Artists: Frank Lintzen, John Flagg, Arna Selznick, Andrew Tan, Vincenzo Natali, Bob Smith, Robert Rivard
Storyboard Cleanup Supervisor: Dave Quensnelle
Background Artist: Clive Powsey
Paint Supervisor: Mary Bertoia
Layout Artists: Dermot Walshe, Kevin Klis, Glenn Chadwick, Daniel Poitras, Gord McBride, Steve Remen, John Lei, Paul Bouchard, Brad Graham, Mike Halley
Layout Supervisor: Lyndon Ruddy
Color Designer: Jo-Anne Merrill
Designers: Charles E. Bastien, Jens Pindal, Leif Norheim, Kevin Fraser, Scott Bennett
Key Animators: Niall Johnston, Gerry Fournier, John De Klein, Paul Riley, Mike Tweedle, Scott Glynn, Dave Boudreau, Bill Zeats, Alan Knappett, Brad Goodchild, Lynn Reist, Dennis Gonzales
Storyboard Artists: John Flagg, Frank Lintzen, Vincenzo Natali, Dave Pemberton, Robert Rivard, Arna Selznick, Bob Smith, Doug Thoms
Storyboard Cleanup Supervisor: Dave Thomas
Layout Supervisor: Tony Tarantini
Layout Artists: Dale Desrochers, Chad Hicks, Brian Lee, John Lei, Jeff Lyons, Mary Lyons, Chris Minz, Brian Poehlman, Affee Yepp
Color Design: Jo-Anne Merrill
Background Design: Clive Powsey
Design Supervisor: Doug Thoms
Designers: Dave Boudreau, Trevor Davies, Kevin Fraser, Stephanie Gignac, Steve Manning, Robert Walton, Richard Weston
Key Animators: Dave Boudreau, Robin Budd, Shane Doyle, Gerry Fournier, Brad Goodchild, John Hill, Niall Johnston, Rick Marshall, Lynn Reist, Cynthia Ward, Jamie Whitney, Steve Whitehouse
Paint Supervisor: Mary Bertoia
Supervising Editor: Rob Kirkpatrick
Post Production Managers: Marianne Culbert, Lan Lamon
For Jim Henson Productions: David Gumpel, Pat Nugent, Jim Lewis, Kathleen Davis
Production Designer: Lyndon Mosse
Muppet Workshop: Rollin Krewson
Production Coordinator: Jennie Lupinacci
Muppet Performers: Kevin Clash, Fran Brill, Joey Mazzarino, Brian Meehl, David Rudman, Lisa Buckley with Martin P. Robinson, Don Reardon, Jim Martin, Noel MacNeal, Carmen Osbahr
Puppet Coordinator: Kevin Clash
Theme Music by: Phil Balsam
Score Produced by: Acrobat Music
Additional Production Facilities: Hanho Heung Up Co. Ltd, Bardel Animation
Laboratories: Magnetic North, The Filmhouse Group, Access Post Production Audio, Inc., Studio 306
A Nelvana Production in association with Jim Henson Productions.
The Autonomous Stations of Spain and Canal (Spain).
Season Three
Executive Producers: Michael K. Frith, Brian Henson, Patrick Loubert, Michael Hirsh, Clive A. Smith
Supervising Producer: Stephen Hodgins
Coordinating Producer: Patricia R. Burns
Producer: Marianne Culbert
Director: David Pemberton
Assistant Director: John Flagg
Story Editor: J.D. Smith
Casting and Voice Director: Jessie Thomson
Voice Talent: Ron White, Elizabeth Hanna, Stuart Stone, John Stocker, James Rankin, Howard Jerome, Paulina Gillis, Stephen Ouimette, Rino Romano, George Buza
A Nelvana Production in association with Jim Henson Productions
The Autonomous Stations of Spain and Canal (Spain).
Reception
Dog City received generally positive reviews from critics, holding a 7.6 on IMDb. Fans, meanwhile, liked the idea of a cartoon conversing with his animator and the parallels between the cartoon and the "real" world.
Video releases
Two VHS tapes with two episodes each were released by Sony Wonder. Much Ado About Mad Dog contains the episodes Much Ado About Mad Dog and Old Dogs, New Tricks. The Big Squeak contains the episodes The Big Squeak and Boss Bruiser. Another tape, Disobedience School was released in the UK through Channel 4 and contains the episodes Disobedience School, The Dog Pound, and Radio Daze.
Dog City: The Movie was released to UK exclusive region 2 DVD, and a Region 1 DVD was released on June 8, 2010, though the series has not had any DVD release. Most episodes of all three seasons are available from Amazon Video on Demand.
