It`s a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting: A child comes home all bright-eyed, clutching a stray dog, pleading, ”Can I keep him?”
Thanks to video, children can bring home some of the world`s most beloved dogs, from Rin-Tin-Tin to Benji.
Leading the pack is former Disney animator Don Bluth`s ”All Dogs Go to Heaven,” unleashed recently on videocassette. Bluth`s canine characters are decidedly a breed apart from their Disney counterparts. The hero, a roguish German shepherd named Charlie B. Barkin (voiced by Burt Reynolds), is co-owner of a gambling establishment. He is framed and then bumped off by his greedy ex-partner, a pit bull named Carface.
Charlie arrives at the gates of heaven, his assured final destination, because, he is told, dogs are ”naturally good and loyal and kind.” Charlie, though, wants revenge and he hightails it back to Earth, where he befriends an orphan girl with an uncanny talent of picking winners at the track.
Definitely non-Disney-like behavior. The dogs of Disney are mischievous
(”The Shaggy Dog,” ”The Ugly Dachshund”), loyal (”The Incredible Journey,” ”Greyfriars Bobby”), courageous (”Old Yeller,” ”Savage Sam,” ”Big Red”), romantic (”Lady and the Tramp”), and even a little goofy
(”Here`s Goofy,” a cartoon collection).
Don`t let the title of ”A Boy and His Dog” fool you. This cult favorite, based on Harlan Elison`s kinky post-atomic tale, stars Don Johnson as a young scavenger who is aided in his search for food and girls by Blood, his intelligent, telepathic dog. Blood is no angel, nor is Stephen King`s
”Cujo,” a rabid St. Bernard.
It is said that every dog has its day, a canine corollary to Andy Warhol`s maxim about everyone being famous for 15 minutes. But few stars, four-legged or two, are as enduring as Lassie. America`s most beloved collie made her (or is it his?) film debut in ”Lassie Come Home,” recently released on videocassette. Young Roddy McDowall is the master for whom Lassie will travel 1,000 grueling miles!
For years, Lassie was top dog. Then came ”Benji.” The floppy-eared star of TV`s ”Petticoat Junction” made his big-screen debut in this G-rated 1973 hit. A sequel, ”For the Love of Benji,” confirmed his celebrity status. In his third film, ”Oh Heavenly Dog,” Benji threw a bone to fledgling movie actor Chevy Chase, who co-starred as a private detective reincarnated as a dog.
Benji returned to the screen in ”Benji, the Hunted,” a wilderness adventure in which the resourceful pooch befriends abandoned cougar cubs. Also available on video is Benji`s TV special, ”Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland.”
From TV`s golden age leaps stout-hearted Rin-Tin-Tin in ”The Courage of Rin Tin Tin” and ”Rin Tin Tin: Hero of the West,” two volumes of frontier adventures and nick-of-time rescues with Rinnie, young Rusty, Lt. Masters, and the men of Ft. Apache.
On the law-and-order beat, ”Turner and Hooch” and ”K-9” pair cops Tom Hanks and Jim Belushi, respectively, with canine partners. On the wrong side of the law are ”The Doberman Gang” and ”The Daring Dobermans.” But by
”The Amazing Dobermans,” the third film in the series, the bank robbing bow-wows went straight.
The video pound offers a wide selection of popular pups. Snoopy gives the Peanuts gang good grief in ”It`s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown,” ”Snoopy`s Getting Married, Charlie Brown,” ”He`s Your Dog, Charlie Brown” and the feature-length ”Snoopy, Come Home.”
Droopy, animator Tex Avery`s deadpan and mealy-mouthed character, stars in ”The Adventures of Droopy,” which includes his first cartoon, ”Dumb Hounded,” and ”The Shooting of Dan McGoo,” featuring ”The Lady That`s Known as Lou,” the red-haired, red-hot predecessor of Jessica Rabbit.
Other animated favorites available on video include that ”oh-so-merry”
Huckleberry Hound, Scooby-Doo and the Pound Puppies.
Dog may be man`s best friend, but let us not overlook the dog`s worst enemy; the cat. ”Tom & Jerry`s 50th Birthday Classics” celebrates the screen`s longest-running feud. ”Tex Avery`s Screwball Classics” includes one of his masterpieces, ”Bad Luck Blackie,” in which a young kitty is cruelly persecuted by a dog, until a black cat offers to bring bad luck each time he crosses the path of the ill-fated bully.
Meanwhile, video puts the world`s top dog trainers and pet experts on call. ”Barbara Woodhouse Goes to Beverly Hills” and ”Quick Dog Training”
train families on how to properly command their new pets. Howard Keel hosts
”The TLC Way of Training Your Dog,” a video obedience course. Noted pet expert Michael Fox presents his advice on ”Dog Care,” from choosing the right dog to first aid.
And for those who like dogs, but not the responsibility, there is always the romping, frolicking ”Video Dog.”
