Doug's 1st Movie
Tags: psychedelic

Plot synopsis:
Doug Funnie (Tom McHugh) and Skeeter Valentine (Fred Newman) discover a monster (Frank Welker) that lives in Lucky Duck Lake. Believing the monster is evil, they are scared of him at first, but later on, they find him to be nice. Despite this, however, the monster is proof that their friend Beebe Bluff's wealthy father, Bill Bluff (Doug Preis), owner of Bluffco Industries, is polluting the lake, which was what created this monster. The monster almost eats the book Moby Dick, but Skeeter stops him and says, "Stop! You almost ate Herman Melville! You don't eat books, that is a NO!" and the monster returns it to them as an apology, so they name him Herman Melville after the author of the book, and the monster takes a liking to the name. Unfortunately, all of this commotion with the monster makes Doug forget that he was supposed to meet Patti (Constance Shulman) at Mr. Swirly's (Bruce Bayley Johnson), the owner of the local ice cream factory. When he remembers this at the last minute, he runs to Swirly's as fast as he can using the quickest shortcuts that he knows. Once he gets there, Patti is nowhere to be seen. He asks Mr. Swirly if he's seen her, and he says the she was here for a while and looked very upset, and then left with a guy who kept talking about his big plans for a dance. When Doug heard this, he knew that this guy was no one else but Guy Graham (Guy Hadley), a snobby upper class man who wants Patti. Meanwhile, Roger (Chris Phillips) and the AV nerds are building a robot (Eddie Korbich) to kidnap Herman, but when they build the robot it acts like a babysitter to Roger, much to the latter's dismay and annoyance.
Doug then rushes to the Funky Town night club, where Guy and Patti are working on the dance. He apologizes to Patti there and she accepts his apology, but Guy cuts in and says that Doug is "just a stupid little kid." Doug, very angry now, says that he has proof that Mr. Bluff is evil and is polluting the lake. Guy then calls Doug a liar. Doug then invites them both to the report that is being held in front of his next-door neighbor Bud Dink's (also played by Newman) house about Herman and the pollution. Doug then leaves, but the picture of the monster falls out of his pocket without him knowing. Guy picks up the picture and realizes that Doug was telling the truth; however, he calls Mr. Bluff, whom he has connections to. At the reporting, Doug sees that a news reporters camera is inflatable. He then realizes that the news company is a fake, that it is supporting Mr. Bluff, and trying to capture the monster. Doug then has to tell everyone that there has been a mistake, Patti gets mad at him, thinks that he is a liar and walks away with Guy.
That night, Mr. Bluff finds the boys with Herman and kidnaps the monster. The next morning, Doug knows that this is his last chance to save Herman. He goes to the school newspaper room, hoping to find Guy who can lead him to Mr. Bluff. Guy isn't in the room, but Doug sees a newspaper article that says that Mr. Bluff and his men blew a monster to smithereens at a school dance. Doug is at first sad and believes that Herman has died, but he then realizes that the school dance isn't until tonight and that this is what is being planned, so Doug and Skeeter call the Sleech twins Al and Moo (also voiced by Korbich) to help.
At the school dance, Doug has to make the biggest choice of his life: going after Patti or saving Herman. When he does the latter, Mr. Bluff catches Doug and Skeeter in front of Lucky Duck Lake after Herman escapes into it and plans to enslave them, but is stopped by Beebe and Mrs. Dink (Doris Belack). Beebe forces her father off of the scene to defend her friends, while Mrs. Dink hints at Mr. Bluff facing the wrath of the federal government if he does not clean up Lucky Duck Lake. Doug then finds Patti in front of the woods and Doug tries to tell her he is in love with her, but is interrupted by Herman. With the return of Herman and a copy of the newspaper, Patti sees that Doug had been telling her the truth all along and dumps Guy. Also, Skeeter gives Herman the Moby Dick book for something to eat in the lake and Herman also gives Doug a flower to give to Porkchop (also played by Newman) to which Porkchop comes running out of the woods into Herman's arms (earlier in the film, Porkchop was opposed to Herman, but softened up when the Monster gave the dog a gift). The kids say goodbye to Herman; after Herman jumps back into the lake, Doug tells Patti he likes her and Roger almost becomes friends with Doug, but is interrupted by the robot. Doug starts dancing with Patti and Skeeter dances with Beebe as the music continues in the background, ending the film.

Review: I looked up this movie on Wikipedia a few weeks ago to see what it was about.
When I read the plot summary, I honestly thought that somebody had trolled the page and typed in the weirdest s*** they could think of.
Then, after checking IMDb's plot summary, I realized that it was ACTUALLY ABOUT A FRIENDLY MONSTER NAMED HERMAN MELVILLE.
And the funny thing about this: I actually DID see this in theaters when it came out (back in '99, which made me 9 years old at the time), but I literally had NO memory of this movie.
I remember everything else I've ever seen in theaters, to some degree, but not this one.The fact that this movie was SO ridiculous, yet SOOOOO forgettable is a testament to its quality.
I was a fan of the show too (when it was on Nickelodeon, I hated what Disney did to it).
Btw, "Doug's FIRST Movie"?
Disney ruined Doug for good..
I saw this movie when I was a kid.
I grew up watching the Nickeleon Doug but didn't see much of the Disney Doug.At first I seemed to enjoyed it from the first time seeing it.But years later I didn't felt like watching it again.Getting the VHS was a waist of money if I didn't bother in watching it again.This has to do with Doug and Skeeter trying to solve there monster in the Lucky Duck Lake mystery.
They encounter the monster who's more friendly than it seems.
Mr. Bluff over hears about it and has sent out agents to locate the creature, blah blah blah.I thought it be great bu it stank.
Disney ruined Doug for the last time.Those who only like the Nickeleon Doug keep away from this movie if you dislike the Disney Doug.
This movie is awesome!
It's really a great movie for all die-hard Doug fans (like me).
Doug fans (as well as kids and adults, not to mention teenagers) will really like it.
The movie answers all questions that Doug fans have like, is there really a monster in the lake?
And will Doug and Patti get together?
The animation is a step higher than the TV show which is great!
Lots of fun to watch!.
Personally, I think "Doug's 1st Movie" was boring and a waste of time.
I think when the Doug TV Series was on Nick was good, then Disney came in.
Probably kids from the ages of 4-9 will be able to sit through this movie, and maybe their parents, but nobody else.
It was okay though I guess, I'm sure the younger kids probably liked it and it still has problems that everyone can relate to.
And by the way, why was Disney's "Doug" TV series canceled that same year?
And why the heck was the movie PG?
This is one of those kids' films that adults can't sit down and watch as well.
Okay, it's got nice morals, but pleeeeease, no DOUG'S 2ND MOVIE !!!!!
Boring attempt to stretch a tiny DOUG episode into a feature-length production...didn't work.
Hugely entertaining for real Doug fans like me.
This is an interesting movie.
I really enjoyed it and was perfect for the kids and also a great film for the young at heart aswell.
The plot is gripping with the Lucky Duck lake monster and the fact that his secret love for Patti is almost over in just over 1hr and 30mins which is just perfect for the kids who want to go to bed soon.
But over all a fine film and I will watch time and time again.
Hopefully there will be Dougs Second Movie, now that would be great.
finally...an intelligent children's cartoon.
Children's Cartoons have long been showcases for slapstick silliness and poorly written humor.
Doug stands out in stark contrast to the rest.This movie is sharply written, humorous with a message that is not laid on in a schmaltzy manner.
The creative script is intelligent enough to keep the attention of adults while still entertaining children.Doug himself is a likeable protagonist.
He isn't really one dimensional, the kid has feelings.
Its fun to watch him deal with the pressures of dating, (albeit at the ripe young age of 12...) he and Patti actually have a sort of chemistry (as far as cartoon characters are concerned.) I was actually able to watch this movie without feeling silly for being there....its dark elements are nicely balanced out with some traditional cartoon absurdities.
I personally was looking forward to "Doug's 2nd Movie.".
Despite having watched the cartoon series "Doug" almost religiously as a child, it took until adulthood for me to get around to viewing the feature-length movie adaptation spun off of that wonderfully rich, beguiling television classic.
I myself am surprised not only for that reason, but also because if I loved it so much as an adult, I surely would have loved it so much as a kid as well.
Along with pictures such as "A Boy Named Charlie Brown," this is one of those animated gems I wish I had seen earlier in my life."Doug" was originally on Nickelodeon, and then later appeared on Disney's network.
The film, "Doug's 1st Movie," is akin to the Disney version.
You know, Mayor White is now principal, Patti Mayonnaise has shorter hair, Connie is thinner, there's an obnoxious upperclassman competing with Doug for Patti's attention...there goes my inner-child!
In the film, we finally get a load of the infamous Lucky Duck Lake Monster, which Doug Funnie and Skeeter Valentine have been soulfully searching for over the years.
Except "Doug's 1st Movie" takes things in a different direction...as it should, since it is in the same tradition and mood as its source material.
The plot, the characters, the drawing style is all played for heart and for laughs.
Furthermore, just like the show, the film allows itself to balance between the two media so the gags do not overpower the more gentle, touching moments.
And the film's occasional message toward real-world issues (pollution, for one) are not pretentious.Fans of the show will also be delighted in how well the film captures the memorable personalities of the characters.
Doug is truly one of the better animated protagonists of recent years: whimsical, goodhearted, has soft spots.
But the character does not wallow in his slightly silly manner and thereby render himself insufferable.
Doug's fantasy moments, most of them depicting his romantic affections for Patti--a likable character--are oddball, but in the slightly bogus way everybody not only appreciates, but can recall from their own lives.
Those secure enough to admit to it, anyway."Doug's 1st Movie" is also a fine aesthetic accomplishment.
That is partially because many of the characters do have purple, green, or blue tint to their skin.
There's a lot of detail; Doug and his co-stars do not merely stand against flat walls.
That comes to show just how much children have lost now that the show, as far as I know, has virtually vanished from television.
True, it's now on DVD (the show, not the movie, unfortunately) but with so much poorly drawn and abysmally dull junk populating the children's programming guides, it really does beg Disney to reconsider their plans.I adored "Doug's 1st Movie" for a great many reasons, but the primary one was the way it recalled what it was like to be a child without making me feel as though I were sinking into immaturity.
I have no guilty feelings in proclaiming that I liked this movie very much and am hoping to see a restored DVD release of it someday.
And the song that plays over the credits is truly beautiful, something I cannot say of most songs I hear over animated films today.I personally was looking forward to "Doug's 2nd Movie.".
Questions about Doug answered at long last!.
This animated film answered all my questions about Doug.
The 8 and 6 year olds that I watched it with thought it was Awesome!
This is a good animated film.
It has a moral lesson about doing the right thing even if it doesn't make you look cool.
It's a film for kids that isn't so lame that it'll make adults want to run and hide.
In reality we all should be able to relate to some of that Jr. angst that Doug and Skeeter experience.
There's a really neat question and answer session with Doug's creator after the cartoon is over.
For all the hype in the 6 through 10 set about this movie it was actually enjoyable which came as a pleasant surprise to this viewer.
As a foot note I'd like to mention that Herman Melville is really an endearing character..
Good movie, but where was the "real" Doug?.
I'm not sure why, but it was the first thing I noticed and it annoyed me through the whole movie that the "real" Doug had been replaced..
Harmless animated feature.
I don't process much working knowledge about Doug and his adventures.
The story and animation are average.
Patti Mayonnaise reminded me of a cartoon version of Sandy Duncan.
I'll admit it, I'm a guilty fan of the TV show.
Doug is a geniunely likable character, and the movie is entertaining.
Its not going to win any awards, but for a good babysitting movie, or ever something to do when you're bored, you really can't mess this one up..
Doug's First & Hopefully Last Movie..
Doug's 1st Movie (1999): Dir: Maurice Joyce / Voices: Thomas McHugh, Fred Newman, Chris Phillips, Frank Welker, Alice Playten: Every bit as flat in its animation as The Rugrats Movie, with a story that is every bit as stupid.
Doug is a smart kid who shares a secret with his friend Skeeter (and no, it doesn't include a secret stash of pornography).
They manage to snapshot a monster that is dwelling in the lake.
The creature is friendly and only shown to the Mayor but they take him home when the lake is threatened with pollution.
Doug must protect it from exploitation while explaining things to a potential girlfriend.
Yes, the dating subplot might be beyond the audience this film is directed at but in all fairness any child should be smarter than the intelligence presented here.
Predictable and stupid in every manner but director Maurice Joyce knows the cartoon well.
A character like Doug should be in a story better than this.
His friend Skeeter is a moron.
The Mayor is either drunk or on heavy cocaine if he accepts these things at face value.
The villain should study the Bond films so that he can pick a bigger target, like the world.
The animation will not impress adults but perhaps children will not care.
It is Doug's first embarrassing act on film.
I bought this for my little brother, and thought he'd enjoy it.
I also vaguely remember seeing Doug as a kid on TV before I stopped getting satellite/cable reception.
That's a little kid (intended audience) and adult both saying this!
I bought him a new movie, because this one was okay, even kinda funny and entertaining, until it got to the businessman Mr. Bluff (now that's not biased at all!) trying to keep the protagonists from reporting him for polluting the lake.
It's bad enough I see all this crud all over the place about recycling and green living and anti-pollution these days, now it's showing up in films for children?
Well, I like pollution, and I couldn't care less if I went right out to the nearest lake and dumped chemicals in it!
And this "villain" Mr. Bluff, if this film were real I'd be shaking his hand for a job well done, pollution is wonderful.
Now, that's an opinion from an adult who watched it for nostalgic value, so here's an opinion from a kid.
My brother thought it was about hippies, he also didn't like the soundtrack.
He quickly got bored of it and said it was like Captain Planet, Toxic Crusaders and The Waterhorse all shoved into one.
I took him shopping later that day and we bought Goosebumps: Welcome to Dead House on VHS instead.
If you're one of those parents who wants to teach your kid (or kids) all that "go green" hippie junk, this movie is right up your alley.
If you're smart though, and want an entertaining movie that doesn't shove its environmental messages right in your face, a movie with great acting/voices, soundtrack and an original plot, try something else..
Doug's 1st Movie.
This was one of those Nickelodeon cartoons that ran during the early 90's which I used to watch religiously.
Along with 'Rugrats' and 'Hey Arnold!' the toons of that time were really decent and quite fresh in terms of originality and artistic style.
'Doug' being the most simplistic to look at compared to the others, yet I still can't recall how or why I actually got into this.The movie has the same age old issue, can it work when stretched out to a films length?
Its purely 100% for kids and not meant to be anything more, hence its extremely errr...childish, simple and unoriginal.I thought everything here worked really well to be honest, all the characters seem to be voiced by the regular people, give or take.
Everything visually is recognisable from the daytime cartoon, its been spruced up of course but it still looks like Doug and there hasn't been any CGI tomfoolery.
That fact I like, the fact they kept it pure like the original material and didn't use CGI, that's good (at least I don't think they used CGI).The only thing I didn't really like here was the plot believe it or not.
Now I know this will sound stupid but the plot was unrealistic, let me explain.
I'm reasonably sure that in all the 'Doug' cartoons the plot has always been relatable, in other words about problems kids face in school, at home, growing up, daily life we all can understand etc...It has never ventured into the realms of complete fantasy, I don't think.
So this movie to have the plot based around a dinosaur lake monster running amok is kinda crappy frankly, just seems totally lame and as if they couldn't think of anything else.
'Ah lets just stick a monster in their and they make friends with it blah blah blah', a cartoon version of 'Splash' or 'Free Willy'.If you know this franchise then you'll know what to expect, good morals, good-natured harmless silliness and plenty of sickly kiddie romance.
Although it doesn't seem as witty with Doug's regular daydream interventions which he had in the daily cartoon.
There does seem to be a clear difference between the early Nickelodeon Doug and this Disney Doug, early Doug did seem cheaper with those corny tacky homemade sound effects and sketchy animation, but that was its charm.
I never saw the later Disney Doug episodes but I've heard bad things.This big screen adventure does lack that charm but it still manages to do what it set out to do.
The film is enjoyable and still looks nice but admittedly isn't as rich or pretty as other animations.
You really have gotta be a fan to enjoy this, otherwise I can fully understand if you think it looks terrible.
I think time has passed for this franchise and film now, the moment has gone and it doesn't really stand the test of time, plus no Billy West!
I LOVED This Movie.
*Contains Spoilers*"Doug's 1st Movie" was one of the best Disney movies I've seen in a long time.
I saw the movie the day it came out in the movies and remember waiting on line for a long time to get tickets for it.
The movie takes place after the series with Doug and his friends looking for the "Lucky Duck Lake monster".
They find the monster at Skeeter's house (I love that scene) and help the monster adapt to human civilization by helping her wear clothes and go to school.
But alongside this part Doug is getting ready for Valentine's day and trying to prepare for the Valentine's day dance with Patti.One thing that I was unhappy about was that Doug and Patti didn't kiss at the end of the movie.
But at least the movie revealed the truth about the "Lucky Duck Lake Monster".Overall I loved this movie (10/10 stars) and watch it whenever I get a chance to..
Do You like That Herman Melville?.
Back when I was born in 1998 I never really grew up watching the show Doug but when reruns came on TV I was pretty entertained by it.
But when I was 6 years old my mom found out that I liked Doug she bought me the movie on VHS.
I watched this movie all the time for the next year.
Recently now in the year 2011 I came across a box of VHS Tapes and found this movie.
I sat down and watched it and now I can happily say that I sold it and never want to see it again.The films plot, if you want to call it that, is about Doug and his friend Skeeter find a monster in Lucky Duck Lake and name it Herman Melville the author of Moby Dick.
They go through every cliché in the book in order to hide the monster but soon the villain Mr. Bluff wants to kill the monster and keep the 2 boys quiet about him polluting in the lake.This movie is just a downright mess.
The story, again if you want to call it that be my guest, is so clichéd and tired that I get sick of looking at it, The animation looks like a six year old colored his coloring book at 4 in the morning, and the voice acting is just annoying and terrible which is a first of me saying that because usually in an animated film I praise the voice acting.
The only redeeming factor this movie has is that it is under an hour and a half.