We all know The Jim Henson Hour, the show that never lasted too long due to NBC putting it in a dead slot and cancelled it after only nine of thirteen episodes aired. It was sad, as this was the final show Jim Henson did before his death the following year, but it did have some good ideas. Dog City is one of them.
After an introduction by Jim Henson, explaining the episode is based on gangster films from the 30's and 40's as well as paintings of dogs playing poker, as well as some trailers from Bean Bunny, we see the movie. Narrated by Rowlfe The Dog, the special tells the tale of Ace Yu (performed by Kevin Clash, who is best known as the performer of Elmo before he retired due to a controversy years after this) inherits a pub from his late Uncle Harry, who was killed by crime boss Bugsy Them (performed by Jim Henson) for not paying protection money. When Ace defies Bugsy, things start to go to the dogs, especially when Bugsy kidnaps Colleen Barker (performed by Fran Brill), a collie Ace falls in love with.
The special is good, as it emulates a gangster film while keeping the humor that the Muppets are famous for. The humor mostly comes from the fact that the characters are all dogs, and as a result, they do dog things when a character mentions them (like sit or roll over). Also, the movie contains action like the movies it's based on (and even before, as one of the trailers Bean Bunny shows is a parody of the Rambo films). The Muppets made for this special are neat (and some would be redesigned for the Dog City show that would air on Fox Kids three years later). This is a good episode for the family, as despite the gangster theme, it does keep things clean, and the comedy keeps it from being too dark.
After an introduction by Jim Henson, explaining the episode is based on gangster films from the 30's and 40's as well as paintings of dogs playing poker, as well as some trailers from Bean Bunny, we see the movie. Narrated by Rowlfe The Dog, the special tells the tale of Ace Yu (performed by Kevin Clash, who is best known as the performer of Elmo before he retired due to a controversy years after this) inherits a pub from his late Uncle Harry, who was killed by crime boss Bugsy Them (performed by Jim Henson) for not paying protection money. When Ace defies Bugsy, things start to go to the dogs, especially when Bugsy kidnaps Colleen Barker (performed by Fran Brill), a collie Ace falls in love with.
The special is good, as it emulates a gangster film while keeping the humor that the Muppets are famous for. The humor mostly comes from the fact that the characters are all dogs, and as a result, they do dog things when a character mentions them (like sit or roll over). Also, the movie contains action like the movies it's based on (and even before, as one of the trailers Bean Bunny shows is a parody of the Rambo films). The Muppets made for this special are neat (and some would be redesigned for the Dog City show that would air on Fox Kids three years later). This is a good episode for the family, as despite the gangster theme, it does keep things clean, and the comedy keeps it from being too dark.
