Dog City (special)

Dog City originally aired as part of episode 104 of The Jim Henson Hour on May 5, 1989 and was later shown on The Odyssey Channel as a stand-alone special without the MuppeTelevision framing segments. It was in this form that it was released on region 2 DVD, where it was marketed as Dog City: The Movie.

The special inspired an animated spin-off series, Jim Henson's Dog City.

The full film is available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media.

Story

The story, inspired by a series of paintings by C. M. Coolidge, and adapted to the film noir genre, follows the exploits of a cast of Muppet dogs featuring Rowlf as the only character to break the fourth wall as a guide to the audience (directly; there were a couple of breakings of the fourth wall during the special).

Ace Yu, the antagonist in the film, arrives at "The Dog House", a restaurant in Dog City, to inquire about the death of his Uncle Harry, and his inheritance to the restaurant. He is told by the bartender, Bubba, that Harry was killed by Them, Bugsy Them. Them is able to find out about anything in the city. When finding out that Ace has bought the Dog House, he brings his gang, Scruffy, Laughing Boy, Mad Dog and Miss Belle to the Dog House and attempts to convince Ace to give the restaurant's money to him. When Ace insults Bugsy, Them vows that he'll get back at Ace.

In the evening, Ace is waken up by a noise in the alley. He goes out to find Colleen Barker. He tries to bring her into the restaurant, only to find someone has left a garbage can full of charcoal and on fire. After putting out the fire, Colleen, knocks down a vase. Inside it is a duck named Quackers, a toy that appears in Ace's earliest memory. With Quackers is a note that reveals that Ace's Uncle Harry was Ace's real father who had left him years before. Ace vows revenge.

The next day, while Ace and Colleen stroll down the dock, Bugsy spies on them and orders Mad Dog to kill them. However, whenever the two love dogs say a command, Mad Dog follows it. Only to end up in the harbor. Later, Ace and Colleen return to the Dog House. Colleen sings to the mesmerized dogs "A Dog's Best Friend" (with a final note that breaks all of the glass in the building). In the ending applause, Colleen is kidnapped by them. When Ace asks for help, almost every single dog in the building leaves.

Ace is given a note by Bugsy, asking for 10,000 dog bones in exchange for Colleen. Ace confronts Them, but when Them tries to kill Ace, Colleen escapes her gags and rope, and drives a car into the gangsters. A chase through the city ensues (accompanied by dramatic piano music provided by Rowlf, who always wanted to get his show in the road). In the chase, Scruffy, Laughing Boy and Mad Dog are launched into a billboard. Miss Belle attempts to tell Bugsy they've lost, but Them doesn't know the meaning of the word lost (though Mad Dog does).

At the docks, a final battle ensues, which includes Quackers' head being shot off when Ace puts it on Bugsy's tail. When Bugsy and Miss Belle make a last effort, they are promptly dumped into the harbor. As the police arrive, Ace proposes to Colleen, who accepts (having always wanted to say "When I'm Calling Yu").

Being a film noir parody, there are several breakings of the 4th wall, such as Ace and Colleen noting that saying "Dun Dun Dun Dun" brings out a musical cue, or Rowlf making dramatic stings on his piano.