Dog City was a tv special done for the fourth episode of The Jim Henson Hour. It was later released as a stand-alone movie with the MuppeTelevision segments excluded. The special was inspired by the paintings of M.C. Coolidge, taking place in a city populated entirely by dogs. It was cited by Jim Henson to be his favorite show, followed by The Storyteller's "Heartless Giant" segment. This special would later inspire the animated series Dog City.
MuppeTelevision: Due to technical difficulties, the showing of Dog City is delayed. To fill in time, previews for two of Bean Bunnies upcoming movies are shown. Following that, a "Behind the Scenes" documentary is played before Vicky finds the movie in the film library (Filed under "D"), and the show begins.
Dog City: The plot is Ace Yu, our protagonist, arrives in the titular Dog City to take over his uncle's restaurant, the Dog House. However, he has to deal with the gangster Bugsy Them, who wants a cut of the Dog House's profits. He also meets and woos Colleen Barker, the wayward daughter of accountants. Can Ace come out as top dog, or is his bark worse than his bite? Considering that he refuses to resort to violence, probably, yeah.
This special has examples of
- Argument of Contradictions: "Oh, he will alright." "But, what if he doesn't?"
- Binocular Shot: Parodied. From the POV of villain Bugsy Them, we see the two leads through two overlapping circles. Then the camera cuts to a wide shot to reveal that Bugsy isn't looking through binoculars — he's just holding up a piece of cardboard with two overlapping holes and looking through it.
- Brick Joke: Colleen being raised by accountants; a brief gag as she talks about her history with Ace, and mentioned again at the very end.
- The Cameo: Rowlf the Dog plays piano at the bar.
- Sprocket is the dog who gets thrown out for not having any cash.
- Curse Cut Short: Colleen's song contains this bit:Colleen: Don't care if he's a big dog, I don't care if he's rich,
He'll be my everloving puppy, and I'll just be hiiiiiis—
(Rowlf clears his throat to cut her off and the scene cuts to him)
Rowlf: Welcome to family progamming, folks! - Dogs Are Dumb: Mostly averted. The only exception is Bugsy's hired muscle, Mad Dog, whose two- I mean, fourteen years of obedience school have done nothing for his thinking ability.
- Family-Friendly Firearms: Averted, big time.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Bugsy's defeated by Ace getting him to chase his own beloved tail.
- Narcissist: As mentioned above, Bugsy takes great pride in his tail, getting Miss Belle to brush it and recite a speech about its greatness in their first appearance.
- Overly Long Gag: "Bugsy will hear about this!" "But what if he doesn't?" "Oh, he will alright!" "But what if he doesn't?" "Oh he will..."
- Punny Name: Rowlf even Lampshades the names of Ace Yu and Bugsy Them as 'Cheap joke names'.
- Rhetorical Question Blunder: When Ace arrives for the first time in the Doghouse, he tries to pull something (actually his act of property) out of his jacket. This causes every customer around to raise a gun, and the following exchange follows:Ace: "Eeeeeh, come on! Do I look dumb enough to pull out a gun in a place like this?" (The customers look at each others for a few seconds, then all nod) Alright, alright! Ask a stupid question...
- Running Gag:
- Amounts of time being translated into dog years.
- Ace's plans for a halfway/quarterway/eighthway/fifteen-sixteenthsway house for orphans.
- Sting: Invoked for The Reveal.
- Who's on First?: With names like Ace Yu and Bugsy Them, this is a given. Rowlf lampshades this.Rowlf: That's Ace Yu. Get it? Boy, if that isn't the setup for a gag, I don't know what is.
Ace (to the bartender): "I am Yu."
Bartender: "You are me?"
Ace: "No, Yu! Y-U." (The Bartender looks confused) "Look, it's simple: Yu is me!"
Bartender: "Yu is you?"
Ace: "Right."
Bartender: "So who is me?"
Ace: "Oh! Hu is you? Pleased to meet you, Hu!"
Bartender: "Now I am confused..."
Ace: "But you used to be Hu!"
Bartender: "What?"
Ace: "... Call me Ace." - You Killed My Father: Ace later learns that his Uncle Harry was actually his long-lost father. However, he refuses to pursue vengeance.
