‘Teacher’s Pet’ Good Morning Viewing on HDNet Movies kidScene
A little dog wants to be a real boy. That premise behind the story of Teacher’s Pet, an animated film that Disney released in 2004, may parallel an animated feature from Disney’s earlier day: the 1940 classic Pinocchio. In fact, KIDS FIRST! youth film critic Morgan Bertsch, age 7, points it out: “Our story begins with the little dog Spot and his crazy idea that he wants to be a real boy. Shameless plug of Pinocchio on the TV while Spot is singing is very creative.” Cheyenne Nguyen, age 8, shares one element that makes this movie special: “I love the catchy songs they have in this movie, especially the one that has all 50 states in alphabetical order and tells you something about each state.”
Teacher’s Pet, which will air in the morning on Aug. 4, 10 and 16, is one of the many movies brought to your home by HDNet Movies kidScene, a daily programming block specifically for kids and families from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET every Friday night at 7 p.m.
Teacher’s Pet
Reviewed by Cheyenne Nguyen
(See her full review on video.)
Disney’s Teacher’s Pet is a cleverly scripted animation that both children and adults will enjoy.
Spot Helperman (voiced by Nathan Lane) is a canine dog that wants to be a human as a boy. To make his dreams come true, the dog puts his ears in a beanie and puts on a pair of glasses and pants. Spot becomes Scott and follows Leonard to school during the day.
On the last day of school, they learn that there’s a mad scientist named Ivan Krank (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) who can turn animals into humans. He lives in Florida, and it just happens that Leonard’s mom, who is his 4th grade teacher, is nominated to go to Florida to compete as a finalist in a teacher contest.
Spot has to go through a lot of twists and turns to travel to Florida with Leonard and his mother to fulfill his destiny as a boy with Dr. Krank.
I love the catchy songs they have in this movie, especially the one that has all 50 states in alphabetical order and tells you something about each state.
This animated movie is flashy and has a lot of fun colors. It’s very funny when they make references to other Disney animation classics.
My favorite character is the cat because he is so cute and talks like he has braces.
The message from this movie is to accept who you are and happiness will follow. Being someone else does not guarantee happiness.
I would like to see some of the other pets in this movie be featured more, especially the house bird.
I rank this movie 4 out of 5 stars, for an age range of 5-10.
Look for this classic family film on HDNet Movies kidScene this month!
Teachers Pet
Reviewed by Morgan Bertsch
(See her full review on video.)
Teacher’s Pet is another great Disney animated creation! Teacher’s Pet is playing all month long on HDNet Movies kidScene.
Our story begins with the little dog Spot and his crazy idea that he wants to be a real boy. Shameless plug of Pinocchio on the TV while Spot is singing is very creative. Spot is voiced by Nathan Lane. His voice gives a great feel to the character of Spot.
Spot is a dog that can talk and read, so he gets this crazy idea to dress up as a boy and go to school with his owner, Leonard (voiced by Shaun Fleming). While at school, Spot sees his opportunity to change into a real boy in Florida.
My favorite part is when Spot the dog has to sneak his way onto the Florida vacation past Leonard’s mom, who doesn’t know Leonard can talk. She thinks she left Spot at home. Leonard’s mom is voiced by Debra Jo Rupp.
In Florida, Spot meets the wacko scientist Dr. Ivan Krank (voiced by Kelsey Grammer). The wacko claims he can turn any animal into a real person. That’s very confusing and really weird but just the thing Spot is looking to do.
It’s a catchy musical with fun characters that’s enjoyable and animated. The songs are wonderful and educational. Some of them stuck in my head for days and I just love to sing along with them. If you want your kids to lean their states in alphabetical order, then this movie gets bonus points.
I give it 5 twinkling stars, for ages 5 and up.
Photos: Teacher’s Pet poster (top), Cheyenne Nguyen (middle), Morgan Bertsch (bottom)
