Ed is a 1996 comedy “film” starring Matt LeBlanc. LeBlanc plays Jack “Deuce” Cooper, a talented baseball pitcher.
It received three Razzie Awards nominations for Worst Picture, Screenplay (David M. Evans), and Screen Couple (for LeBlanc and the real life “ape: who plays Ed).
Dunston Checks In is a 1996 film starring Jason Alexander, Eric Lloyd, Faye Dunaway, Rupert Everett, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, Graham Sack and Sam as Dunston. It was written by John Hopkins and Bruce Graham and directed by Ken Kwapis.
The Majestic Hotel is a 5-star luxury establishment, and manager Robert Grant (Jason Alexander) is devoted to keeping his guests happy. Grant is informed by the chairman of the hotel that a sixth star could be rewarded to the Majestic Hotel, if a certain representative is impressed, and that this representative is posing as a guest of the Majestic Hotel. However, a certain guest by the name of Lord Rutledge (Rupert Everett) checks in with his orangutan, Dunston, who is trained as a jewel thief. Dunston attempts to escape a life of crime with the help of Kyle and Brian, Grant’s mischievous sons, but this just might destroy the chances of the hotel becoming a 6-star establishment.
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 is a 1996 American animated film, and a sequel to United Artists’s 1989 animated film All Dogs Go to Heaven. It is directed by Larry Leker and Paul Sabella, and features the voices of Charlie Sheen, Sheena Easton, Dom DeLuise and George Hearn. The film was released on March 29, 1996. Don Bluth, the director of the original film, had no involvement with the sequel. It was the second and final theatrical sequel to a Don Bluth production; the first being An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. It was MGM’s last theatrically-released animated film until 2006′s Arthur and the Minimoys (known in North America as Arthur and the Invisibles).
Charlie the German Shepherd welcomes his best friend Itchy the Dachshund into Heaven after he chokes to death on a chicken drumstick. Though Itchy is beginning to enjoy being in Heaven, Charlie finds it boring and is longing for some excitement. (“It’s Too Heavenly Here”)
Charlie’s former nemesis Carface the Bulldog is conspiring with a feline devil named Red who is plotting to imprison all the dogs of Heaven and take them to Hell. In order to do that he needs Gabriel’s Horn, a magical golden brass horn that opens Heaven’s Pearly Gates. In a secret attempt to steal the horn, Carface accidentally knocks the horn down a hole to Earth where it lands in San Francisco.
Annabelle, the Whippet angel, announces to all that Gabriel’s Horn has been stolen. Charlie convinces her to let him return to Earth to bring it back. Annabelle agrees, and sends Itchy with him for assistance, along with a miracle that he is only supposed to use in an emergency.
When Charlie arrives back on Earth, he decides to have some fun, so he and Itchy make their way to a club/bar where a talent contest is being held. To their dismay, they learn that none of the living can see nor hear them. Soon after this, a female canine named Sasha la Fleur, a pretty Irish Setter, enters upon the stage with a vocal performance of “Count Me Out” for the talent contest. As soon as Charlie lays eyes upon her, he immediately feels attracted to her.
Charlie and Itchy cross paths with Carface in the bar, who can be seen by the other living dogs. Carface tells them this is possible because of a special collar provided by a “friend”. Charlie, determined to talk to Sasha, drags Itchy along to meet Carface’s friend, Red (disguised as an elderly dog). Red gives them the collars, telling them that they will only last a day. Once they are gone, Red tells Carface that he needs Charlie to get the Horn, because only an angel can hear its “heavenly tones”, and Carface no longer qualifies as an angel. Here the song “It Feels So Good To Be Bad” is performed.
Charlie and Itchy meet Sasha back at the bar as she’s attempting to gather food to take with her. From Charlie’s persistent advances, and from a sudden scare by a waitress who notices her stealing, Sasha bolts leaving her food behind. Charlie and Itchy decide to follow her to return the food to her. When they catch up to her in an old abandoned courtyard, they learn that she is friends with a human boy named David, who ran away from home. Charlie uses up his one miracle to allow David to understand Sasha’s speech, as David can already understand Charlie and Itchy. Upon being convinced that Charlie and Itchy are in fact angels, David deems Charlie his guardian angel. Charlie approves of David’s plan to busk on Kennedy Square using his magic talents, but while traveling there, Charlie and Itchy hear the heavenly tones of Gabriel’s Horn at a police station. Charlie, Itchy, Sasha and David manage to work together to retrieve the Horn together and escape on a police motorcycle, but not without a police officer lady noticing David as a missing person and pursuing them. They manage to finally escape. Despite Itchy’s insistence, Charlie does not want to return to Heaven yet for he would like to spend a little more time with David and Sasha. He keeps the Horn hidden for safekeeping by throwing it into a crab net and letting it sink into the ocean by the dock.
David makes his first attempt on busking at Kennedy Square which starts out fine, but backfires when he falls into a fountain. (“On Easy Street”) Sasha and Charlie convince David to go home, and though he agrees, he says he would like to bring all the dogs with him. Charlie is saddened by this, and explains to Sasha that he has to leave but is extremely sad because he finally “found someone special.” (“I Will Always Be With You”). Sasha is about to kiss Charlie when the sun sets and the collars stop working, making him a spirit again.
Charlie runs off to meet Red, asking for another collar. He offers to trade the Horn for a collar, but insists that he get the collar first, so that he can pick up the Horn and bring it back for Red. They shake on it, and Red reveals his true form. Charlie and Itchy escape, though only Charlie is corporeal. Charlie searches for Sasha and David, learning that they left for the train station. At the train station, Charlie sees David grabbed by Carface, who orders Charlie to bring the Horn to Alcatraz in an hour, or David will be killed.
Charlie arrives at Alcatraz with the Horn as instructed. Red takes the Horn and blows it, causing a gateway to appear and all the dogs from Heaven to be sucked down into the prison cells of Alcatraz. Charlie and David manage to escape to a rowboat where Sasha and Itchy are waiting, but Charlie doubles back when he sees the other dogs in trouble. He tries to help, but it almost beaten by Red when David, Sasha, and Itchy step in. Itchy gets the Horn back, giving it to Charlie. After a struggle, Charlie blows the Horn and all the dogs in Heaven are sent back, the storm dies, and Red is sucked down a hole in the ground. Carface gets sucked down the same hole because Carface had, unknowingly, sold his soul for his collar (he thought Red said “sole”, the bottom padding of a shoe).
Charlie convinces David to let Sasha take him home while he and Itchy leave for Heaven with the Horn. Halfway there, Annabelle takes the horn and tells Charlie that for what he did he deserves a second chance. Charlie returns to Earth, where he and Sasha are invited to live with David and his family. Sasha decides that being Mrs. Barkin might not be so bad after all, and in the final scene the two share a kiss and walk into David’s home. (“It’s Too Heavenly Here Reprise”).
101 Dalmatians is a 1996 live-action film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a remake of the 1961 animated film of the same name (which was based on Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians). It stars Glenn Close as the villainous Cruella de Vil, and Jeff Daniels as Roger, the owner of the 101 dalmatians. Pongo, Perdita, and the 99 Puppies are all played by real-life dalmatian actors in this version, unlike in the 1961 animated version. 102 Dalmatians was released in 2000 as its theatrical sequel to that film.
Set in present-day London, Roger Dearly is an American designer of computer games who shares his home with his pet Dalmatian, Pongo. One day, Roger takes Pongo for a walk and the dog sets his eyes on a beautiful female Dalmatian named Perdy. Perdy likes Pongo as much as he likes her, and thankfully Perdy’s owner, fashion designer Anita Campbell-Green, is quite taken with Roger. Romance blossoms between the human and canine couples, and Roger and Anita tie the knot a little while later.. Anita works for Cruella de Vil, a sexy fashion maven with a great love for fur.
Inspired by her dogs, Anita finds herself working up a design for a fur coat made with spotted fur, and Cruella leaps on the idea of making garments out of real Dalmatians. To obtain the fur, Cruella sends her two nasty but not especially intelligent henchmen, Jasper and Horace, on a mission to round up Dalmatians, and when they fall a bit short of their goal, it comes to Cruella’s attention that Perdy has just given birth to a litter of fifteen Dalmatian puppies. She hastily offers the couple a decent price for the newborn puppies, but the couple refuses to take it. Flying into a maniacal rage, she fires Anita and vows to get even. She gets Jasper and Horace to steal the puppies, which are taken to Cruella’s ancient estate, De Vil Manor, out in the country, where they should be waiting for a ruthless old man named Mister Skinner, who works in taxidermy.
With the help of the other dogs and animals scattered throughout London, the puppies manage to outwit Jasper and Horace and escape to a farm, where their parents have been called to wait. But shortly after, Cruella de Vil shows up, and tries to retrieve them; she ends up having a pig sit on her and fart in her face, after which she falls into a vat of molasses and is kicked into a pig pen. All of the Dalmatians manage to get home by the Metropolitan Police Service, who then arrest the filthy Miss de Vil and her henchmen and send them to prison. The family adopts the 84 other Dalmatians Cruella had stolen, bringing the total to 101 and moving to the English countryside.
The film performed well at the Box Office, earning $136,189,294 in the US and $184,500,000 overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $320,689,294
Top Dog is a 1995 film, directed by Aaron Norris and starring Chuck Norris.
The film opens as two white supremacists destroy an apartment complex where most of the residents are minorities. A veteran cop and his dog Reno go to investigate when they realize the explosives are military in style. Their investigation takes them to the harbor, where they find a ship loaded with weapons. They are discovered and shot, however the dog survives.
Enter Maverick cop Jake Wilder (Chuck Norris), who is suspended from duty. The awesome Chief of Police calls and requests his help in bringing down this Neo-Nazi plot. Jake is angered that he has to work with Reno, despite Reno proving himself capable through a battle training scenario. It is implied the Police Chief has a hidden agenda into running for mayor.
Meanwhile, members of the Neo-Nazis are trying to smuggle weapons across the border from Mexico. It is implied that they murdered their Mexican arms dealers. They are stopped by Border Patrol and try to escape, but their car is destroyed in the process.
Jake and Reno go to the harbor where Jake forcibly takes a document that could give him a clue. The harbormaster is shown to be working with the Neo-Nazi leader. The leader tells the harbormaster that they’ll have to deal with Jake.
After this, the Neo-Nazi leader gathers his followers up, and they have a rally inside an abandoned warehouse. He makes a short speech about their plans to destroy minorities, Catholics, and Jews. He gets them worked up into a frenzy and they all start to chant, “White Power! White Power!” One of his minions lowers a flap revealing the insignia of the swastika.
Meanwhile, Jake and Reno return home after a busy day of investigating. Jake has bought some chicken for his dinner, however, while he’s on the telephone, Reno steals eat and gobbles it up. Jake asks the question, “Now what am I going to eat?” Reno responds by offering him a bowl of dog-food. One of the cops who trained Reno arrives to see how the dog is doing. She is stunned by the large mess in Jake’s house. Suddenly, gunshots are heard. They duck and separate. She goes out the back, and Jake going out the front. It is revealed the hitmen are dressed as clowns. Jake manages to subdue one while the woman cop kills one. Even Reno manages to capture one. A few of the hitmen escape.
The next morning, Jake goes to help his mother repair her TV set. She is thrilled to meet Reno. Jake returns home briefly, but is met by the murdered veteran cop’s grandson, who wants to spend the day with Reno. Jake, happy for the break from dog sitting, sends the boy away with Reno where they end up spending the day at a dog show.
Jake returns to his mother’s where he is talked into doing some gardening for her. As they’re talking, his mother reveals that Adolf Hitler’s birthday will be the following day. Jake realizes this a clue, and takes off running.
The Police PD works with the Sheriff’s office, as well as the FBI in determining where the Neo-Nazis are going to hit. One officer reveals that on Hitler’s birthday, the Pope, and several other of his esteemed Bishops will host the Coalition for Racial Unity. This must be the plot.
As the Neo-Nazis hitmen are getting in some target practice, the leaders are revealed not to be just one white supremacist group, but an alliance of several including the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, and the Church of the Creator. They do indeed plan on hitting the Coalition for Racial Unity and decide to use this opportunity to unite all the Neo-Nazi groups in the US, as well as, the world.
Jake discovers the location of the warehouse where the Neo-Nazis are located. He and Reno go undercover and manage to steal a piece of evidence that could lock away the Neo-Nazi leaders. They are discovered and Jake orders Reno to flee with the evidence. Jake is attacked by a group of radicals, but, using his fighting skills, manages to subdue several of them. Outside, his look outs are getting worried, and they are killed for their troubles. Jake is finally captured after a dozen of them attack him at once and he’s hit on the head with a blunt object. He wakes up to find that the Neo-Nazi plan is under way. Reno finds Jake and secretly eats away his binds just before a Neo-Nazi kills him. Jake then proceeds to beat up his attacker. Jake and Reno call the Police Chief and tells him the plan is in motion. Again, the Police Chief makes a reference to wanting to run for mayor.
The police, FBI, CTU, and Sheriff’s Department arrive as the Coalition for Racial Unity is attacked. The Pope and his Bishops get in their bulletproof car, but it is rigged to explode. Jake manages to defuse the bomb, and Reno goes after the Neo-Nazi leader. Jake chases after him as well, and after a vicious fight, manages to subdue him. Reno is all set to attack the Neo-Nazi leader, and Jakes asks why. The leader confesses to killing the veteran cop. Just before Reno can attack the leader, the dead cop’s grandson arrives to stop him. The Police Chief tells the media that this rescue would be used in his campaign for mayor. When the Chief sees Jake, he runs to congratulate him telling him he did a great job. As the Pope is saying that “God has saved us,” Reno spots his red scarf and runs at it. He steals the scarf, nearly strangling the Pope, and takes off running.
Operation Dumbo Drop is a 1995 live-action movie. It is loosely based on true events, as related by MAJ Jim Morris (USA, Ret.) which involved the U.S. Special Forces in 1968, in the tiny South Vietnamese village of Dak Nhe. The film aired on Cartoon Network for the first time ever on September 27, 2008, replacing a re-airing of Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea.
It’s 1967, during the Vietnam War. A village that U.S. Forces are using to spy on the Ho Chi Minh Trail has its sacred elephant killed by the North Vietnamese Army, because they were cooperating with the Americans. The villagers need an elephant for a ceremony that will occur within the week. Special Forces Captain Sam Cahill (Danny Glover), an easygoing man who is heading home, and his hotheaded replacement Special Forces Captain T.C. Doyle (Ray Liotta) embark on a mission to scrounge up another elephant. Enlisting the aid of a sneaky Supply Chief Warrant Officer Three David Poole (Denis Leary), a luckless farmboy 101st Airborne Specialist Five Lawrence Farley (Corin Nemec), and short-timer 101st Airborne Specialist Four Harvey Ashford (Doug E. Doug), they transport the elephant across South Vietnam to get it to the village on time. Along the way, the unit encounters calamity and other misadventure as they attempt to transport their animal; not the least of which are transport problems, personality conflicts, and an NVA unit that want the Americans out of the village.
Jumanji is a 1995 fantasy film directed by Joe Johnston and based on Chris Van Allsburg’s popular 1981 book of the same name. The story is about a supernatural and ominous board game which makes animals and other jungle hazards appear upon each roll of the dice. Expensive, state of the art computer graphics and animatronics were employed by Industrial Light & Magic for the special effects sequences. The film stars Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt.
It is dedicated to the memory of Stephen L. Price, an ILM visual effects supervisor who was involved with the film.
Fluke is a 1995 film, directed by Carlo Carlei and starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Max Pomeranc and the voice of Samuel L. Jackson. It was based on the novel of the same name by James Herbert.
Centered on a mixed-breed puppy named Fluke (voiced by Matthew Modine, and played by Golden Retrievers), who has flashing memories and dreams of a human life. He befriends a street-wise St. Bernard-like dog named Rumbo (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), and a homeless woman who gives him the name Fluke. During this time he eventually realizes that he used to be human – a workaholic Thomas Johnson (also portrayed by Matthew Modine), who died in an auto accident. After Rumbo and his homeless owner both die, he seeks out his wife (Nancy Travis) and son (Max Pomeranc) and reunites with them as their dog. Fluke tries to show them who he used to be, at the same time suspecting that his human death was caused by his business partner, Jeff (Eric Stoltz). It’s during his time among them as a dog that he gets to know his family better and bitterly realizes that he was an emotionally distant workaholic.
His stay with them doesn’t work out, and he comes close to killing Jeff, but at the last minute has a flashback and realizes that Jeff wasn’t involved in his death – his death was caused by his own recklessness. Fluke makes one final attempt to point out to his wife who he really is (by digging away the snow covering his tomb stone and pointing out his name there). With a heavy heart, he decides it’s better to move on — the man he used to be is dead and gone, and so leaves his family, never seeing them again. He also learns that life is simply meant to be cherished, regardless how one lives it.
Far away and months, or possibly years later, Fluke is resting under a tree by himself. To his surprise, he encounters Rumbo, who is now reincarnated as a squirrel.
Reviews of Fluke were mostly negative, with film review website Rotten Tomatoes tallying only 33% of its collected reviews as positive, giving the film a label of “Rotten”. However, both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave it thumbs up. In conjunction with negative reviews, Fluke also underperformed at the box office, generating just under $4 million dollars in the American box office. Despite both critical and commercial failure, Fluke was nominated in 1996 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Fantasy Film and Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Max Pomeranc
Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog is a 1994 family film adventure film film starring Jesse Bradford and directed by Phillip Borsos. Its cumulative box office earnings were $10,435,021.
Teenager Angus (Bradford) adopts a stray dog and names him Yellow. Several days later, while travelling along the coast of British Columbia with Angus’s father, the boy and dog become stranded when turbulent waters capsize their boat. Angus’s parents relentlessly badger rescue teams. Angus, schooled by his father in wilderness survival skills, and assisted by the intelligent Yellow Dog, tries to attract rescuers.
Congo is a 1995 movie, based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park. It was directed by Frank Marshall and stars Dylan Walsh, Laura Linney, Tim Curry, Ernie Hudson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Grant Heslov and Joe Don Baker. The screenplay for the movie was written by John Patrick Shanley. The music was composed by Jerry Goldsmith.
Congo opened with a weekend total of $24,642,539, eventually going on to gross $152,022,101 worldwide ($81,022,101 domestic) theatrically versus a $50,000,000 budget. However the critical reaction was less successful. Roger Ebert said that Congo is a splendid example of a genre no longer much in fashion, the jungle adventure story. He gave it 3 out of 4 stars. Most critics called it a theme park that can’t decide whether it’s a spoof or a thriller.
A significant cause of disappointment among fans was that the “gorillas” were costumes and puppets, whereas the 1993 film Jurassic Park had familiarized audiences with CG dinosaurs. In fact, CGI was originally planned for the grays, but the technology had not yet been developed to the point where realistic hair could be created. While smooth skinned dinosaurs were possible, hairy apes would have looked inappropriately cartoonish. Therefore, animatronics, masks and puppetry had to be utilized.
There are significant differences between the book and movie:
