Fluppy Dogs was a 1986 Made-for-TV movie created by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was originally slated as a pilot for an animated TV series that never came to fruition, due to it being met with low reviews.
The movie chronicled the adventures of the eponymous Fluppies, a group of dog-like creatures who journeyed in-between worlds with use of a special crystal key that allows them to open a doorway that leads them to another world. The Fluppies consist of Stanley, The Leader, Tippi, the Team Mom, Ozzie, the keeper of the Fluppy key, and Bink and Dink, the Brother–Sister Team. There, they ended up on planet Earth, where they are discovered by wealthy millionaire, J.J. Wagstaff, who aims to have the Fluppies for himself once he catches them. However, the Fluppies are befriended by a human boy by the name of Jamie Bingham, who promises the Fluppies to keep their sentience a secret from his mom and every other human, until they are also discovered by his next door neighbor, Claire. Now, it is up to Jamie and Claire to protect the Fluppies from Mr. Wagstaff.
Fluppy Dogs provided examples of the following tropes:
- The Ace: Stanley appears to show shades of this.
- Adapted Out / Adaptation Name Change: Originally, there was a sixth Fluppy named Fanci, who never appeared in the film, while the five Fluppies that appear had their names changed from what they used to be called: Brave Flup - Stanley, Cool Flup - Ozzie, Cuddle Flup -Tippi, Shy Flup - Dink, and Silly Flup - Bink.
- All Animals Are Dogs: Averted big time with the Fluppy Dogs, who may look like dogs, but don't act a thing like real dogs.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Each of the Fluppies have different fur colors, ranging from blue (Stanley), purple (Tippi), green (Ozzie), yellow (Bink), and red (Dink).
- Big Bad: Mr. Wagstaff
- Big Eater: The Falumpus who winds up in the basement of Jamie's house seems to have quite an appetite for flowers.
- Brother–Sister Team: Dink and Bink, respectively.
- But Now I Must Go: The Fluppies have no choice now but to say goodbye to Jamie and Claire, after finally making it back home to their home world because their crystal key is out of power. But it is subverted afterwards near the end, when the Fluppies return and reunite with their friends. Presumably they got a new one.
- Cartoon Creature: Again, the Falumpus.
- Chekhov's Gun: When Jamie scratches Stanley's head, it gives off a good amount of magic that causes Jamie's bed to become airborne, which allows him and Stanley to break into the dog pound to save the rest of the Fluppies that are imprisoned there. Later, during the climax when Mr. Wagstaff has all of the Fluppies captured, Jamie and Claire both start scratching both Stanley and Tippi's heads, which also gives off a bunch of magic that causes Mr. Wagstaff's house to become airborne, a la Up.
- Construction Zone Calamity: This occurs while Jamie is taking Stanley out for a walk, unaware that Stanley is a sentient being. When Stanley runs off to try to escape Jamie, he ends up leading him to a construction zone where Jamie almost dies from falling off a support beam, before being saved by Stanley.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mr. Wagstaff again.
- Disappeared Dad: Jamie's dad does not appear in the special.
- Dog Food Diet: Inverted, since Stanley cannot stand the taste of dog food, so Jamie allows him to eat other foods, such as pizza and chicken.
- Dogs Are Dumb: The Fluppies are again an aversion of this trope.
- Expy: Jamie appears to bear a bit of a resemblance to that of Cavin and Tommy Anybody.
- Follow Your Nose: Ozzie uses this technique as a tactic to find the inter-dimensional door necessary for the Fluppies to return to their homeworld.
- Gilligan Cut: After Jamie gets Tippi from the pound, with Stanley's help, and his mom tells him that they can't keep her:Mrs. Bingham: Tell you what, why don't you see if Claire next door wants her? Then they can be neighbors.Jamie: Claire?!? Mom, she hates me![Cut to Jamie ringing Claire's doorbell.]
- The Jeeves: Hamish, to Mr. Wagstaff.
- Motivation on a Stick: When traveling to Mr. Wagstaff's mansion to save Ozzie, after he gets captured, Jamie, Bink, and Dink get the Falumpus to take them there, by using a bunch of flowers tied to a broom handle as bait.
- Ms. Fanservice: Claire.
- Secret-Keeper: Jamie tries to keep the Fluppy Dogs' sentience a secret from his mother.
- Shout-Out: The idea of the Fluppy Dogs using a crystal key to travel in-between worlds later served as the basis for Sliders.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Jamie's mom didn't seem to notice that Stanley was blue when she got him. Nor did Claire notice that Tippi was purple.
- When Wagstaff and Hamish capture Ozzie, they try to get him to talk in order to be sure he's a Fluppy, completely ignoring that he's green.
- Water-Geyser Volley: Happens to Jamie and the Fluppies, after inadvertently opening a doorway to a water-based world that was under the sewer.
- You Can Talk?: Tippi is talking with Claire who discovers her true nature and can only annoyingly repeat the stock phrase in astonishment to which Tippi responds "I wish you wouldn't be saying that, I've been talking ever since I was three."
