Doug's 1st Movie (Originally The First Doug Movie Ever and Doug: The Movie) is a 1999 animated movie based off the Nickelodeon (later Disney) series, Doug (released during its third and final season of the Disney version, and its seventh and final season altogether), produced by DisneyToon Studios and Jumbo Pictures. It was the third movie based off a Disney TV show to be released theatrically, and the first movie based off a One Saturday Morning show.
After searching various times in the series, Doug and Skeeter finally find the Lucky Duck Lake monster, who turns out to be nicer than they thought. They name him Herman Melville, and he becomes their friend. After showing him to Mrs. Dink, she tells them to keep Herman a secret, as well as the fact that Bill Bluff has been polluting the lake he came from. However, after Guy Graham, Doug's rival, finds a picture of Herman left behind by Doug when he was seeing Patti and Guy decorate for the Valentine's Day Dance at Funkytown, he quickly calls Mr. Bluff and tells him about the monster. Now, Mr. Bluff's army are searching for the monster, while Doug is trying to keep him a secret - all while trying to win Patti's affections from Guy.
Originally conceived as a Direct to Video release, Disney decided to release it theatrically to capitalize on the success of The Rugrats Movie. Because this decision was so last-minute, the film was only barely changed visually to appeal to a theatrical presentation. Critics bashed the movie for, appropriately enough, looking like an overdone direct-to-video movie and feeling like just like an extended version of an episode. And while it did recoup its small budget, it still didn't make a lot of money.note It ended up selling much better on video. Go figure.
This was also the last traditionally-animated American film to use painted cels before digital ink and paint became industry standard.
This film provides examples of:
- Animation Bump: Slightly. The movie's 2D animation uses more detailed cel animation and also uses shadows.
- Award-Bait Song: "Someone Like Me" by Michael Africk, followed by Deep Deep Water by SHeDAISY.
- Big Damn Movie: While Doug faces some real life problems in the show, the movie has him meet a real monster and go up against a corporation.
- Call-Back: In the first episode of the Nickelodeon series, Doug was hunting a Neematoad, a Loch Ness like monster. Then in the movie a real one appears.
- Chekhov's Gun: Early on, Guy mentions that he has to print something a week in advance to make it out on time in the school paper. Later on, Doug sees an announcement saying that the monster at the dance was dead and falls for it... before realising what Guy said early on.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: In the beginning of the movie, Roger and his friends steal Doug's clothes, hang them high up in a tree, and abandon him in the forest in nothing but his briefs. Doug is forced to use a broken branch to retrieve his clothes.
- Contagious Cassandra Truth: Doug and Skeeter tell the Mayor about the swamp creature they found, but she can't publicly declare its existence without backlash. They try, but an attempt to capture the monster by a Corrupt Corporate Executive impedes this.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Mr. Bluff was polluted the lake and try to kill Herman all because Doug got jealous of Guy and Patty was hanging out with Guy. Doug was using Herman and exposing Mr. Bluff to impress Patty. Doug also tried to use Herman to get back at Guy and rub it in Guy's face. Doug's jealously, selfishness and stupidity put Herman endanger. At the end once the truth gets out, Doug admitted that if all of this wouldn't have happened if he wasn't being stupid and jealous. He should have kept quite about it and should have listen to the Mayor's advise in the first place.
- Demoted to Extra:
- Chalky has one line and he says "A valentine!" in the movie, and then appears very briefly in the Weekly Beebe office with no lines in a flashback.
- Judy only appears once in the entire movie; at Doug's house when they're cleaning up muddy footprints left by Herman.
- Porkchop plays much less of a prominent role in the movie compared to the series.
- Denser and Wackier: The movie is pretty exaggerated in comparison with the series. Doug's universe is almost a copy of the real universe but in the movie there is a Stock Ness Monster and a robot with a Shrink Ray. There is even a dancing party with swat levels of security.
- Didn't Think This Through: Doug was such an idiot in this movie. He tried to exposed Mr. Bluff and using the monster to impress Patty instead of doing the right thing. He also tried to use Herman to get back at Guy and wanting to rub it in his face. He was so blinded by jealously of Guy and wanting to get back at Guy that he put Herman endanger.
- Exact Words: Roger Klotz has the twins build Robo-Crusher to deal with the monster of Lake Bluffington that's been revealed that was supposed to be giant (using a diagram that shows himself as the scale of the size). They then build Robo-Crusher, only for it to be shown to be extremely smaller than intended (It was about Roger's height at best). When Roger points out that it's supposed to be much larger, the Twins agree... and then shrink Roger down to the size indicated on the graph, with Roger then commenting that this wasn't funny and demanding to be changed back.
- Green Aesop: While not quite as in-your-face as other examples, this is a major plot point. Mr. Bluff's pollution of Lucky Duck Lake results in the creation of a monster, which he then wants to kill to cover up his tracks. In the end, the monster escapes, Mr. Bluff's actions are exposed and he then volunteers to clean up his mess. (Unless he wants to face the financial consequences, which could drive him bankrupt from lawsuits by the Feds.)
- Genre Shift: From a mostly-realistic Slice of Life show, into science-fiction, with a lake monster, a shrink ray, and a robot piloted by the villain.
- Hypothetical Fight Debate: Two cops debate who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman.
- Idiot Ball: Doug and the Mayor toss this to each other in the movie, from Doug talking about exposing Mr. Bluff's plot in front of Guy who happens to be good friends with Mr. Bluff and thinking that Herman is dead despite knowing that said death is in next week's paper (Which he figures out to his credit and Guy exposed the plan that lead to Doug to foil it), to the Mayor, despite being, y'know, the Mayor and knowing that Mr. Bluff is polluting the lake and had hired goons to capture Herman, doesn't do anything about it. Though with the latter, you can justify it with the good ol' Screw the Rules, I Have Money! trope. Also, Patti believed Doug is dating 'Hermananoniney' and failed to see through the disguise.
- Ironic Echo: When Doug is put off that Mr. Bluff and Bebe would rather let Guy ride in their limousine and not a long-time friend like him, she explains that this treatment is only for people who know her father personally. Doug tries to object "I know your dad." But Mr. Bluff smugly argues "Not like [Guy]". Later, after Herman is caught by Mr. Bluff, Doug has a nightmare sequence of those exact words from earlier. Only this time, it takes on a meaning that Doug thought he knew Mr. Bluff, but only Guy is unscrupulous enough to share the same amoral mindset.
- Karma Houdini: How was Mr. Bluff not arrested at the end? Yes, he did get comeuppance but he broke so many U.S. laws it's ridiculous. He polluted a lake he didn't even own, he bribes the police, he bribes the media. He bribes everyone! That's just the beginning. (Though Mayor Dink does warn him of facing trouble from the Feds if he does not clean up his pollution quickly.)
- Leitmotif: An instrumental of the Doug Live! song "Someone Like Me" plays during Doug and Patti's moments.
- The Movie: And the only movie.
- Myth Arc: Prior to the movie, Doug and Skeeter were irregularly searching for the monster. The movie ends the arc.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After Herman gets capture, Doug has a nightmare and realizes how horrible he acted towards Herman and he put Herman endanger because he wanted to impress Patty and didn't think about the consequences and he doing it for the wrong reasons. He realizes that all of this was his fault which it was his fault.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Doug and Skeeter dress Herman up as a beautiful female and somehow it fools everyone. Patti even becomes jealous of the new "cute girl" Doug has been hanging around.
- Production Throwback: Music cues from another Disney / Jumbo Pictures show, 101 Dalmatians: The Series play in a few scenes. When Doug and Skeeter are walking out of the photoshop at the mall, the background music theme from "Mall Pups" plays, and when Mr. Bluff's army are searching for Herman, Lt. Pug's Leitmotif plays.
- Right Behind Me: At the opening, as Skeeter calls Roger and his gang out for scaring him and Doug with their lake monster prank, the real swamp monster slowly emerges behind Skeeter, making Roger and his goons stammer in terror. Seeing Roger's horrified state doesn't take long for the realization to dawn on Skeeter.Skeeter: There's something bad behind me, isn't there? (Roger and his gang flee. Skeeter turns around and gasps in fright, dropping his camera)
- Shrink Ray: When Roger learns that Doug and Skeeter have became friends with the swamp monster, he hires with science nerds to build him a 50-foot Killer Robot to defend himself. They build a 6-foot tall robot instead, then whip out a ray gun to shrink Roger down to the appropriate size.
- Shout-Out: Roger's Imagine Spot where Skeeter orders his monster to crush him is a reference to Bambi Meets Godzilla, right down to it being in black and white, as well as the monster's foot looking similar to Godzilla's.
- Title 1: Yup, it was the first movie, so it got this.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Guy, compared to the series. He wasn't exactly one of Doug's friends, but he never seemed to deliberately do anything to spite Doug. In the movie? Even before the plot about the monster takes center stage, he's throwing Doug off of the organizing council he signed up for just because Patti was on it.
- Tsundere: Patti becomes one in the movie (Type B). She gets jealous when sees Doug with a new girl (who is a monster in disguise) and has a heated discussion with Doug.
- The Unfair Sex: A small example with Patti; she's happy to spend all her time with Guy but the minute Doug spends more time with another "girl" (actually Herman in a bad disguise) than her, she's very angry with him. That being said, she never implied she had feelings for Guy, but at the same time, Doug never implied he had feelings for "Hermananoniney" either.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: The movie ends without resolving the romance between Doug and Patti. They ended together or not? It's very likely we never know.
- Vanilla Edition: Not only does the DVD have horrible quality, frequent faded edits and shortened end credits (due to it being a television master), but it lacks any bonus features, which even the VHS release had.
- Walkie-Talkie Gag, Over: Doug ends a walkie-talkie transmission with "Roger" while the bully Roger is walking by and assumes Doug is talking to him.
