Fluppy Dogs

Last updated
Fluppy Dogs
Fluppy Dogs.png
Written byHaskell Barkin
Bruce Talkington
Directed by Fred Wolf
Starring Marshall Efron
Lorenzo Music
Susan Blu
Hal Smith
Michael Rye
Music by Shirley Walker
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerFred Wolf
Running time44 minutes
Production company Walt Disney Television Animation
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseNovember 27, 1986 (1986-11-27)

Fluppy Dogs is a one-hour animated television special that aired on November 27 (Thanksgiving), 1986 on ABC. [1] It was intended to be a pilot for the third Walt Disney Television animated series, but the show was cancelled due to the special's low ratings. It featured five pastel-colored, or "fluppy", talking dogs that came through a fluppy interdimensional doorway and into the lives of Jamie and his teenage neighbor Claire. The dogs were the intended prey of the evil miser Wagstaff. Animation was supplied by TMS Entertainment, who had previously been contracted by Disney on another concurrently running animated series, Adventures of the Gummi Bears .

Contents

Plot

The basic premise for the series, akin to the much later live-action sci-fi series Sliders , was the story of a band of adventurous, cuddly, dog-like creatures called Fluppies who use a crystal key to open inter-dimensional doorways. They are on a mountain of one world in perilous weather, and use the crystal key to escape, ending up in a jungle world the Fluppies are chased by a big purple dinosaur-like creature, they find another portal and escape into a supermarket on Earth.

Mistaken for regular dogs, they are captured and placed in a pound. However, prior to their capture, one of the Fluppies was seen shouting to the others which was noticed by J.J. Wagstaff, a ruthless businessman. As their only means of escape, Stanley, the leader of the Fluppies, manages to get a woman to pick him as a pet for her son, Jamie; he plans to eventually return to the pound to free the others. Jamie is disappointed at this new dog, which is smaller than he hoped, but he takes him for a walk. Taking the opportunity, Stanley escapes his leash and makes a break for it, but Jamie pursues him so as to not anger his mother for losing his new pet so soon. The chase leads to a construction site and Jamie finds himself in danger, forcing Stanley to reveal his intelligence and humanoid nature to save him. Meanwhile, Wagstaff, whose mansion is filled with hunting trophies and live exotic animals, sees in an old book the talking dogs he had seen earlier; they are identified as Fluppies. Wagstaff vows to add the Fluppies to his menagerie.

Now with a secret, Stanley explains the situation and Jamie offers to help. However, the boy only has enough money to purchase one of Stanley's compatriots, Tippi, and his mother will not let him keep her, though Jamie's neighbor Claire eagerly agrees to take her in. That night, as Jamie and Stanley sleep, the boy reflexively scratches the Fluppy's head, which causes their bed to fly. Once they awaken and learn how to control the flying effect, Stanley resolves to break his compatriots out that night and pick up Tippi to do so, inadvertently revealing their nature to Claire in the process. At the pound, Stanley and Tippi manage to free their friends and barely avoid Wagstaff, who had the pound opened to seize them.

The next day, the Fluppies depart to find another dimensional portal, but they need Jamie's help. He leaves school to aid them. This portal turns out to lead to a water world, and the company are flooded out and have to return to Jamie's home to dry out. Hiding in the basement, the Fluppies discover another portal inside the house, but opening it releases a large rambunctious creature that runs about, throwing Jamie's home into a shambles before they can bring it under control, with Claire naming the creature "Falumpus". Although the gang manages to put the house in order before Jamie's mother comes home from work, she gets news that Jamie cut school. Angry at her son for playing hooky, she asks many questions, which Jamie concocts a long story whilst the Fluppies clandestinely keep the Falumpus pacified in the basement by feeding it flowers.

Hoping to avoid ruining Jamie's life anymore, some of the Fluppies continue their search on their own while Stanley and Tippi keep the Falumpus hidden in the basement. The venturing Fluppies come to a library and finally locate the portal to their home world, but while they are returning to tell the other Fluppies the news, Wagstaff captures Ozzie, forcing Stanley and Tippi to ask for Claire's help. Jamie sees them depart in Claire's car as he and the youngest Fluppies ride on the Falumpus in pursuit. However, Wagstaff has been expecting this and manages to capture Stanley and Tippi in his home and threatens to call the police on the children for breaking and entering.

With a desperate plan, the Fluppies convince Wagstaff to let the children "say goodbye" and signals them to scratch on all their heads. The combined strength of this magic tears the entire section of Wagstaff's house into the air. As the occupants struggle to keep their footing with the violent jostling, the Fluppies reach the portal at the front of the library and they crash land the building in front of it. As they struggle to open this portal, which enters into the Fluppies' home dimension, Wagstaff and his butler find themselves knocked inside by the Falumpus while Stanley's company bolts to safety. Before Wagstaff and his butler can exit, the door closes permanently, leaving Jamie and Claire alone in their own reality.

Months later in winter, Jamie and Claire have grown to be close friends after their adventure, but they miss the Fluppies. Stanley suddenly appears, saying that adventure is an important part of life. His fellow Fluppies appear saying they missed Claire and Jamie, and Stanley reveals that he has found a way to stabilize the portal between his homeworld and Earth. Hundreds of Fluppies line up to pass through the portal, eager to tour Earth.

Cast

Some of the characters in the Fluppy Dogs and the voice actors that played them were:

Production

Differences from the book

The Fluppy Dogs merchandise (including dolls, coloring books and puzzles) released in the 1980s featured images based on a children's book, and which were apparently based on preliminary designs for the Fluppies. These were slightly different from the designs that appeared in the actual pilot film.

In the book, the Fluppy Dogs are as follows: Fanci Flup (pink/white with a pink hairbow), Cuddle Flup (purple/white with two purple hairbows), Brave Flup (blue/white with a plaid bandana), Cool Flup (green/white with sunglasses), Shy Flup (peach/white with a flowered hat), and Silly Flup (yellow/white with two yellow hairbows). [2]

Reception

The Fluppy Dogs special made its debut on the U.S. television network ABC during the Thanksgiving turkey feast, on November 27, 1986, [3] pre-empting We Are One World . [4] It scored a Nielsen rating of 5.3/10; placing 70th among network programming, [5] it was the week's lowest-ranked ABC film. [6]

Legacy

The Fluppy Dogs made a cameo appearance in the DuckTales (2017) season three episode "Let's Get Dangerous!". [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)</span> Walt Disney Corporate HQ

The Walt Disney Studios, located in Burbank, California, United States, serves as the corporate headquarters for The Walt Disney Company media conglomerate. The 51-acre studio lot also contains several sound stages, a backlot, and other filmmaking production facilities for Walt Disney Studios's motion picture production. The complex also houses the offices for the company's many divisions, with the exception of Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios, which remains on its namesake lot in nearby Century City as tenants of Fox Corporation.

<i>101 Dalmatians</i> (1996 film) 1996 film by Stephen Herek

101 Dalmatians is a 1996 American adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Great Oaks Entertainment, with distribution by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. It is a live action remake of Walt Disney's 1961 animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians, itself an adaptation of Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Directed by Stephen Herek, written by John Hughes and produced by Hughes and Ricardo Mestres, it stars Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, and John Shrapnel. Unlike the 1961 original film, none of the animals speak.

<i>Lady and the Tramp</i> 1955 animated Disney film

Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated musical romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Ward Greene's 1945 Cosmopolitan magazine story "Happy Dan, the Cynical Dog", it was directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wilfred Jackson. Featuring the voices of Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Bill Thompson, Bill Baucom, Stan Freberg, Verna Felton, Alan Reed, George Givot, Dallas McKennon, and Lee Millar, the film follows Lady, the pampered Cocker Spaniel, as she grows from puppy to adult, deals with changes in her family, and meets and falls in love with the homeless mutt Tramp.

<i>Lady and the Tramp II: Scamps Adventure</i> 2001 American direct-to-video animated film

Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure is a 2001 American animated direct-to-video musical romance film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, and the sequel to Disney's 1955 animated feature film Lady and the Tramp. The film was released on February 27, 2001, 46 years after its predecessor. It involves Lady and Tramp's only son, Scamp, who runs away from his home and joins a gang of stray dogs called the Junkyard Dogs. There, he falls in love with one of the gang's members, Angel.

<i>The Birds</i> (film) 1963 film by Alfred Hitchcock

The Birds is a 1963 American natural horror-thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, released by Universal Pictures and starring Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, and introducing Tippi Hedren in her film debut. Loosely based on the 1952 short story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, it focuses on a series of sudden and unexplained violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California, over the course of a few days. The screenplay is by Evan Hunter, who was told by Hitchcock to develop new characters and a more elaborate plot while keeping du Maurier's title and concept of unexplained bird attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney anthology television series</span> Anthology television series

The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, The Wonderful World of Disney, was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onward. The program moved among the Big Three television networks in its first four decades, but has aired on ABC since 1997 and Disney+ from 2020 to 2023.

<i>The Black Cauldron</i> (film) 1985 film by Ted Berman and Richard Rich

The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated dark fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions in association with Silver Screen Partners II and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the first two books in The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, a series of five novels that are in turn based on Welsh mythology.

<i>101 Dalmatians II: Patchs London Adventure</i> 2003 American animated direct-to-video musical adventure comedy drama film

101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure is a 2003 American animated direct-to-video adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation with distribution by Walt Disney Home Entertainment. It serves as the sequel to Disney's 1961 animated feature film One Hundred and One Dalmatians. It was directed by Jim Kammerud and Brian Smith, with them also writing the screenplay from a story by Kammerud, Dan Root, Garrett K. Schiff, Smith and Temple Mathews and produced by Carolyn Bates and Leslie Hough. It was released on VHS and DVD on January 21, 2003, and features the voices of Bobby Lockwood, Barry Bostwick, Martin Short, Jason Alexander, Susanne Blakeslee, Kath Soucie, Jeff Bennett, and Jim Cummings. Critical reception was positive. Disney re-released the film on September 16, 2008.

<i>Snoopy Come Home</i> 1972 film by Bill Melendez

Snoopy Come Home is a 1972 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Bill Melendez and written by Charles M. Schulz based on the Peanuts comic strip. The film marks the on-screen debut of Woodstock, who had first appeared in the strip in 1967. The main story was based on a storyline from August 1968. It was the only Peanuts film during composer Vince Guaraldi’s lifetime that did not have a score composed by him. Its music was composed by the Sherman Brothers, who composed the music for various Disney films like Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Television Animation</span> American animation studio

Disney Television Animation (DTVA) is an American animation production company that serves as the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a division of Disney General Entertainment Content, which is a division of Disney Entertainment, which is one of the three main divisions of The Walt Disney Company. The studio was originally established in 1984, by Gary Krisel during the reorganization and subsequent re-incorporation of Disney following the arrival of then CEO Michael Eisner that year.

<i>Stanley</i> (2001 TV series) 2001 childrens animated TV series

Stanley is an American children's animated television series that aired on Playhouse Disney based on the series of children's books written by "Griff", also known as Andrew Griffin. It was produced by Cartoon Pizza and was developed for television by Jim Jinkins and David Campbell.

Fred Wolf is an American animator. His works include the 1967 short subject The Box, for which he won an Academy Award; television specials such as The Point! and Free to Be...You and Me, and television series such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, James Bond Jr., and Sarah Ferguson’s Budgie the Little Helicopter. Wolf was also responsible for the famous Tootsie Pops “How Many Licks” commercial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade</span> Annual Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia, USA

The 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual Thanksgiving Day parade held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is currently sponsored and broadcast by ABC owned-and-operated television station WPVI-TV, through a co-sponsorship agreement with restaurant chain Dunkin'. It is currently the oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, having been held through the Great Depression and World War II, and was created by Gimbels department store in 1920. The Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade was held until the department store closed operations in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destination: Imagination</span> 2008 television special

"Destination: Imagination" is a television special of the animated television series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. The plot of the special follows Frankie, who becomes trapped in a huge, mysterious world where she is treated like royalty but forced not to leave. Bloo, Mac, Coco, Eduardo, and Wilt journey through the world to rescue her, facing perils and challenges along the way.

The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure is a 1986 animated television special, inspired by the Biblical tale of David and Goliath, and originally broadcast on the ABC network in the United States. In the special, three schoolchildren from the real world are transported into the world of the Bible, with the help of three magical stuffed animals. One of them, a raccoon named David, becomes his Biblical namesake and faces off against a giant bull named Goliath.

<i>Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular</i> 2013 American television special

Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular is a Thanksgiving television special with American singer Lady Gaga and the Muppets. The 90-minute program aired on ABC on November 28, 2013, with guest stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elton John and RuPaul and an appearance by Kristen Bell. It was the second Gaga Thanksgiving special on ABC, after A Very Gaga Thanksgiving in 2011. The singer had previously collaborated with the Muppets on media appearances and in her shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thanksgiving of Horror</span> 8th episode of the 31st season of The Simpsons

"Thanksgiving of Horror" is the eighth episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 670th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 24, 2019. The episode was written by Dan Vebber, and was directed by Rob Oliver.

<i>Strange World</i> (film) 2022 film directed by Don Hall

Strange World is a 2022 American animated science-fiction adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Don Hall, co-directed and written by Qui Nguyen, and produced by Roy Conli. Starring the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, Gabrielle Union, and Lucy Liu, it follows a legendary family of explorers, the Clades, who must set aside their differences as they embark on a journey to a mysterious subterranean land inhabited by surreal lifeforms, in order to save the miracle plant Pando, which is their society's source of energy.

Events in 1918 in animation.

References

  1. ↑ Grant, John (1992). Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters: From Mickey Mouse to Aladdin. Hyperion Books. p. 139. ISBN   1-56282-904-1 . Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  2. ↑ "Fluppy Dogs image from Home for a Fanci Flup". Google Photos .
  3. ↑ Buck, Jerry (1986-11-21). "His voice is famous, but face still secret". Spokane Chronicle . Associated Press (AP). p. 12. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  4. ↑ Feder, Robert (1986-12-03). "NBC leads ratings race for 10th week in a row" . Chicago Sun-Times . Sun-Times Media Group. p. 58. Retrieved 2010-08-30. The lowest-rated program of the week was 'Disney's Fluppy Dogs', an animated special on Thanksgiving that pre-empted ABC's 'Our World'.
  5. ↑ Bark, Ed (1986-12-04). "The ratings" . Dallas Morning News . Retrieved 2010-08-30. 70. Special, Disney's Fluppy Dogs/ABC 5.3/10.
  6. ↑ "NBC narrowly wins week 10". Broadcasting (111). Reed Business Information: 102. 1986-12-08.
  7. ↑ Kelley, Shamus (2020-10-20). "DuckTales' Most Deep Cut Disney Reference Yet". Den of Geek .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.