Themes: Mad Scientists, Man's Best Friend, Experiments Gone Awry
Main Cast: Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, Shaun Flemming, Debra Jo Rupp, David Ogden Stiers
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 73 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Disney's animated feature Teacher's Pet is based on the award-winning ABC cartoon show created by artist Gary Baseman. Spot (voice of Nathan Lane) is a dog who wishes he was a real boy, like his master Leonard Helperman (voice of Shaun Flemming). He gets his wish when Leonard and his mom (voice of Debra Jo Rupp) decide to move to Florida. Spot seeks the help of Dr. Krank (voice of Kelsey Grammer), an evil scientist who experiments with turning animals into humans. Things inevitably go wrong with the procedure and Spot is turned into an old man. Leonard and his friends try to help Spot, who now goes by the name of Scott Leadready II. Teacher's Pet also features the voices of Jerry Stiller, David Ogden Stiers, and Wallace Shawn. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Gary Baseman - Art Director, Toon City Animation, Inc. - Animator, Melinda Carrillo - Associate Producer, Timothy Bjorklund - Director, Bill Steinkellner - Executive Producer, Cheri Steinkellner - Executive Producer, Gary Baseman - Executive Producer, Stephen James Taylor - Composer (Music Score), Peter Lurye - Songwriter, Cheri Steinkellner - Songwriter, Randy Petersen - Songwriter, Kevin Quinn - Songwriter, Brian Woodbury - Songwriter, Stephen Swofford - Producer, Ronald Eng - Sound Editor, Bill Steinkellner - Screenwriter, Cheri Steinkellner - Screenwriter, Keith Rogers - Re-Recording Mixer
Leonard Helperman (Shaun Fleming) is a 4th grader whose mother and teacher, Mary Lou (Debra Jo Rupp), has been nominated for a teaching award. They plan a trip to Florida for the finals, but need to leave their dog, Spot, behind. What Mrs. Helperman doesn't know is that Spot (Nathan Lane) has been masquerading as a boy, Scott, who is her star pupil. Spot wants nothing more than to be a real boy, and sees a way to this when mad scientist Ivan Krank (Kelsey Grammer) appears on The Barry Anger Show. Krank thinks he can turn animals into humans. Conveniently, his lab is right down the street from where the Helpermans are staying, so Spot, as Scott (and the rest of his family), convinces Mary Lou to take him along. Spot becomes a man, but discovers it's not everything he ever dreamed of after all.
Cast
Nathan Lane as Spot Helperman / Scott Leadready II / Scott Manly-Manning
The critical reception was fairly positive, with a 76% critic rating at Rotten Tomatoes (with a 75% cream of the crop rating). Over its 4-day opening weekend, Teacher's Pet took $3,602,245 in 2027 theaters, a mere $1,777 per theater, making it one of the lowest openings in history.[2] By the end of its run, the film had only made $6,491,969.[1]
