Rover Dangerfield
Rover Dangerfield is a February 8, 1991 American animated musical comedy film produced by Hyperion Animation and released by Warner Bros., starring the voice talents of comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who also wrote and co-produced the film.
Plot[]
Rover lives a life of fun in Las Vegas with his owner Connie, a showgirl. He gambles and chase girls with his best friend Eddie. One night, he sees Connie's boyfriend, Rocky, in a transaction with a pair of gangsters, and accidentally disrupts it. Thinking that Rocky is an undercover cop setting them up, the gangsters flee, telling Rocky that he has blown his last chance. The next day, Connie goes on the road for two weeks, leaving Rocky to look after Rover. In revenge for ruining his deal, Rocky puts Rover in a bag, drives him to Hoover Dam and throws him in the water. The bag is later pulled out of the water by two passing fishermen, who take Rover back to shore and place him in the back of their pickup truck. However, Rover wakes up and jump out of the truck when the fishermen stop for gas, and begins to wander down the road on his way back to Las Vegas. Instead, he ends up in the countryside, and eventually runs into a farmer, Cal, and his son, Danny, who convinces his father to take the dog in. Cal agrees on one condition: at the first sign of trouble, he'll be sent to an animal shelter, and if nobody claims him, the animal shelter can put him to sleep.
Rover has difficulty adjusting to life on the farm, but with the help of Daisy, the beautiful dog next door, and the other dogs on the farm, he succeeds in earning his keep. Rover spends Christmas with the family, and begins to fall in love with Daisy, who returns his affections. However, one night, a pack of wolves attempt to kill the turkey on the farm. Rover tries to save the turkey, but ends up caught by Cal while holding the dead bird, looking as if he killed it. The next morning, Cal takes Rover into the woods in order to put him down, but is attacked by the wolves. Rover manages to fight the wolves off, and brings the other farm dogs to get the injured Cal home.
Rover's heroics make the papers, allowing Eddie and Connie to find out where he is. Danny informs Rover of his trip back to Las Vegas and leaves. Rover begins to miss his life on the farm. One night, Rocky comes into Connie's dressing room, where Rover engage to get payback for what he did to him. After Rocky accidentally confesses to what he did, Connie angrily slaps and breaks up him. Infuriated, he tries to retaliate against Connie. However, Rover and his dog friends chase him into the limo of the gangsters. At first, he's relieved that they seemingly came to his rescue but questions why were they even there in the first place. While Rover happily listens, the thugs proceed to reveal that they set him up and imply that they are going to murder him by throwing him into the Hoover Dam.
Sometime later, Rover, missing Daisy, becomes depressed. Connie, realizing her old companion met someone, takes Rover back to the farm to stay. Rover is reunited with Daisy, who reveals to him that he is now a father, unveiling six puppies. The story ends with Rover teaching his kids how to play cards, and playfully chasing Daisy around the farmyard.
Voice cast[]
- Rodney Dangerfield as Rover, the film's protagonist; a fun-loving, funny dog living in Las Vegas and pulls off a lot of one liners, much like his voice-actor.
- Susan Boyd as Daisy, Rover's love interest
- Ronnie Schell as Eddie, Rover's loyal best friend.
- Shawn Southwick as Connie, Rover and Eddie's owner; a Las Vegas showgirl.
- Sal Landi as Rocky, the main antagonist; Connie's former boyfriend and a gangster who dislikes Rover.
- Ned Luke as Raffles
- Bert Kramer as Max
- Robert Pine as Duke
- Dana Hill as Danny
- Eddie Barth as Champ
- Dennis Blair as Lem
- Don Stewart as Clem
- Gregg Berger as Cal
- Paxton Whitehead as Count
- Christopher Collins as Big Boss / Sparky / Horse
- Christopher Collins and Tom Williams as Coyotes
- Christopher Collins, Bernard Erhard and Danny Mann as Wolves
- Bob Bergen as Gangster
- Tress MacNeille as Queenie / Chorus Girls / Hen / Chickens / Turkey
- Bob Bergen, Burton Sharp, Louise Chamis, Bill Farmer, Barbara Goodson, Patricia Parris and Ross Taylor as Farm Voices