'Teacher's Pet' gets another go after failing at the box office

By NANCY CHURNIN
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
So what happened to "Teacher's Pet"? The rollicking musical adaptation of the popular Emmy Award-winning animation series was cute, well-reviewed, appealing to kids and a box-office dud.
Are audiences tuned off to classic noncomputer generated animation? Do the studios lack the confidence -- and, consequently, advertising campaigns -- to support such films? Are parents resistant after too many TV-to-big-screen disappointments?
Whatever the reason, "Teacher's Pet" deserves a second life on DVD. Nathan Lane voices Spot, a blue dog who yearns to be a boy and go to school, like his owner, Leonard (Shaun Flemming). The film begins with a take-off on the classic Blue Fairy scene from Disney's "Pinocchio."
The silliness escalates when Spot hears about a mad scientist (Kelsey Grammer) who is trying to turn other species into humans. Leonard doesn't like the idea. But there's a musical moment when each learns to put the other's feelings first. Cute plot twists and great supporting voice talent amp up the fun, with Jerry Stiller as Leonard's gravel-voiced pet bird, Pretty Boy, and Megan Mullaly as a mixed-up mosquito. Besides, you have to have a soft spot for a film with lines such as: "What is it with this family and singing? I'm starting to feel a little Von Trapped."
The DVD extras aren't much, but they do include the series premiere episode so you can see where Spot first gets the idea of pretending to be Scott, a fourth-grader in Leonard's class.
X'Teacher's Pet,' rated PG, is available on DVD and VHS.