Teacher's Pet (2004)

Spot (Lane) is a dog who can talk and read. Posing as a human, he sneaks into school with his master Leonard (Flemming). Educational adventures ensue.

Director:

Timothy Björklund

Writers:

Gary Baseman (television series Teacher's Pet), Bill Steinkellner (television series Teacher's Pet),

Stars:

Nathan Lane, Shaun Fleming, David Ogden Stiers

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nathan Lane	...	Spot Helperman / Scott Leadready II / Scott Manly-Manning (voice)
Kelsey Grammer	...	Dr. Ivan Krank (voice)
Shaun Fleming	...	Leonard Amadeus Helperman (voice)
Debra Jo Rupp	...	Mrs. Mary Lou Moira Angela Darling Helperman (voice)
David Ogden Stiers	...	Mr. Jolly (voice)
Jerry Stiller	...	Pretty Boy (voice)
Paul Reubens	...	Dennis (voice)
Megan Mullally	...	Adele (voice)
Rob Paulsen	...	Ian Wazselewski (voice)
Wallace Shawn	...	Principal Crosby Strickler (voice)
Jay Thomas	...	Barry Anger (voice)
Estelle Harris	...	Mrs. Boogin (voice)
Genie Francis	...	Marsha / Marcia (voice) (as Genie Ann Francis)
Anthony Geary	...	John / Juan (voice)
Rosalyn Landor	...	Blue Fairy (voice)

Storyline

Leonard is a 4th grader; his mother, Mrs. Mary Lou Helperman, is his teacher, and has been nominated for a teaching award. They plan a trip to Florida for the finals, but need to leave their dog, Spot, behind. Unknown to Mrs. Helperman, Spot has been masquerading as a boy, Scott, who is her star pupil. Spot wants nothing more than to be a real boy, and sees a way to this when mad scientist Ivan Krank appears on the Barry Anger show. Krank thinks he can turn animals into humans. Conveniently, his lab is right down the street from where the Helpermans are staying, so Spot, as Scott (and the rest of his family) convinces Mary Lou to take him along. Spot becomes a man, but discovers it's not everything he ever dreamed of after all.

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Plot Keywords:

Dog | School | Teacher | Florida | Mad Scientist | 

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Taglines:

A musical tail about one dog's dream of becoming a boy.

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Comedy | Fantasy | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mildly crude humor

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Disney's Teacher's Pet

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,602,245 (USA) (16 January 2004)

Gross:

$6,491,350 (USA) (2 April 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toon City Animation, Toon City, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song that Christy Romano sings is a cover of the song Doris Day sang in Teacher's Pet, but the 1958 film has no other connection to this film or the Teacher's Pet cartoon show.

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Goofs

The first time the crocodile-boy's eye falls out, it's his left eye. All other times, it's his right.

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Quotes

Mr. Jolly: AAAAAIE. It's a monster. It's hideous.
Pretty Boy: It's just your reflection.
Mr. Jolly: Oh... AAAAAIE.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits or title cards except the Walt Disney Pictures logo.

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Connections

Spoofs 101 Dalmatians (1961)
Spot uses the twilight bark to search for a lost dog.

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Soundtracks

"Take the Money and Run"
Music and Lyrics by Cheri Steinkellner, Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn
Performed by Jack Sheldon

User Reviews

Teacher's Pet, Film of the Year!

I personally feel the the Teacher's Pet to me is film of the year. It is bright, funny, musical, and very different from the normal Disney we usually see. I have been a fan of the TV series ever since 2002 and when I saw that there was a movie coming out I thought I had died and gone to heaven, and it turned out the movie was exactly what I thought it would be (Very Entertaining). Sure the animation was strange, but thats the way Gary Baseman draws, what where you expecting? The music is very unique and many of the songs are quite toe-tapers. The voices are one of the best parts of the whole movie, Nathan Lane really does an awesome job as Spot, Scott Leadready, Scott "Manly" Manning. Also, the jokes are not stupid, they are very comical, sure they are not Adam Sandler type jokes but they are very funny none the less. Personally, I would take Teacher's Pet over any of those other movies that came out around that time Barbershop II, Calendar Girl, Along Came Polly etc. If you ask me the money that a movie brings in doesn't make the movie great it is how much a person enjoyed the movie that makes it great. I have seen this movie about five times so far and play to buy it the day it comes out on DVD just because it is so enjoyable. I hope to hear many other good reports for Teacher's Pet in the future.