Rita and Runt

***Rita and Runt*** is a 1992 American animated musical buddy adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and Film Roman and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Produced by TBD, directed by Phil Roman and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film stars the voices of Bernadette Peters, Richard Kind, Anndi McAfee, Tony Jay, Rip Taylor, Henry Gibson, Michael Bell, Ed Gilbert, David L. Lander, Howard Morris and Charlotte Rae. It follows the story of two homeless animals; a cynical cat named Rita and a dimwitted dog named Runt. After escaping from the city pound and befriending each other, the duo eventually meet and help an orphan girl who is being berated and exploited by a greedy guardian.

After having its world premiere in Germany on October 1, 1992, the film was released theatrically by Walt Disney Pictures on July 30, 1993 in the United States and was met with both critical and financial success, grossing over $240 million during its initial run.

## Plot

Rita, an intelligent and sarcastic cat, is given to the city pound by her owner, a woman who recently went through a bad breakup. Runt, a big and rather stupid dog, is also thrown in the pound as his owner is a man who is frustrated that he has failed to housebreak Runt. They are put in different cells next to each other, but, since they can't see each other, they both think that they are of their species. Rita sings of the woes she suffered as a house cat, and how when she was a kitten she was adored and pampered, only to later be held in disregard as she got less cute when she grew up. She is about to escape when Runt wants to be let out as well. When he comes out, she realizes that he is a dog, but Runt still thinking Rita is also a dog.

After escaping the pound and wandering through the city for shelter, the duo meet a dog named Puggsy and his flea friend named Frankie who persuade Rita to be friends with Runt. While finding food from some nearby bins for a feast, Puggsy and Frankie are captured by two dogcatchers while Rita and Runt end up in a tussle with some alley cats. Later, the duo cross paths with an 8-year-old girl named Robyn Starling, who has run away from home since her mother died when she was still a baby and her father dissapeared in a recent avalanche while on a mountain-climbing expedition; she has been living with her evil guardian "Aunt" Pristine Figg, her scheming lawyer and boyfriend Lickboot and her overweight skateboarding dog Ferdinand. Despite Robyn's misgivings, Rita and Runt persuade her to return home. After Rita and Runt end up in a massive food fight with Ferdinand and stumble across a telegram confirming that Robyn's father is still alive which Figg hides from Robyn, Figg sends them to an animal shelter run by an animal takecarer named Dr. Applecheek, who turns out to be a cruel animal kidnapper and the employer of the two dogcatchers who caught Puggsy.

Reuniting with Puggsy and Frankie in the cells, Rita and Runt plan an escape, free all of Applecheek's captured animals and rush to tell Robyn the news. Elated, Robyn becomes determined to find her father in Tibet and they escape the city on a raft in the river but the raft is struck by a ship and they end up separated. Figg places a $1 million bounty on Robyn without even planning to give that kind of money while Mr. Starling is alerted of his daughter's situation and rushes back to America to find her.

Rita and Robyn are then found by Captain Kiddie, the owner of a failing amusement park to which he houses them until seeing an advertisement for the reward on a milk cardboard with the help of his parrot puppet Squawk whereupon he traps Rita and Robyn on a ferris wheel and contacts Figg. Runt finds and rescues Rita and Robyn and they flee in a paddle steamer as Figg, Lickboot, Applecheek and the dogcatchers arrive resulting in a long chase that ends with the dogcatchers ending up trapped in the ferris wheel, Kiddie being left stranded in the river, and Applecheek getting arrested by the police.

Rita, Runt and Robyn arrive at Robyn's summer cabin built by her father, but Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand have arrived first. In the ensuing scuffle, a lantern is accidentally knocked over thus setting the cabin on fire. Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand flee the burning cabin with Figg knocking the door down, but they unwittingly stumble on Ferdinand's skateboard to which they fall on Kiddie's paddle steamer; the steamer goes out of control after Ferdinand inadvertently moves the ship's rudder, sailing the trio away. Rita and Runt manage to get Robyn to the roof just as Mr. Starling arrives in his helicopter. Robyn is saved but Mr. Starling is unable to reach Rita and Runt in time before the cabin collapses. Fortunately, the duo barely survive and are rescued by Mr. Starling.

In the aftermath, Robyn is finally reunited with her father and takes Rita and Runt in as her pets while Figg, Lickboot, Ferdinand and Applecheek are arrested and sent to prison. Rita and Runt are happy about finally being accepted in a home.

## Voice cast

* Bernadette Peters as Rita
* Richard Kind as Runt
* Anndi McAfee as Robyn Starling
* Charlotte Rae as Aunt Pristine Figg
* Tony Jay as Lickboot
* Michael Bell as Ferdinand the Dog, Alley Cats, Straycatcher #1
* Henry Gibson as Dr. J. Sweetface Applecheek
* Sydney Lassick as Straycatcher #2
* Ed Gilbert as Puggsy the Dog, Mr. Starling
* David Lander as Frankie Da Flea
* Rip Taylor as Captain Kiddie
* Howard Morris as Squawk
* Bill Farmer as Goofy Goof
* Jeff Bergman as Porky Pig
* Don Messick as Droopy, Butch the Irish Dog and Barney Bear
* Frank Welker as the Road Runner, Runt's owner, Pound worker
* Tress MacNeille as Rita's owner, Pound customer

## Trivia

* TBD
* Several *Looney Tunes* characters make some cameos such as:
	+ The Warner Siblings are seen dancing outside the pound with umbrellas in a parody of the title song from *Singin' in the Rain* while they are chased by a police officer.
	+ Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey and Louie are seen on a magazine about *The World's Richest Duck*, being read by the pound's owner.
	+ Jerry Mouse appears on one of the posters in the alley.
	+ Goofy Goof appears as a mailman to deliver Aunt Figg and Lickboot the message confirming Mr. Starling is alive.
	+ Droopy, Butch Cat and Tweety are seen in Dr. Applecheek's secret pound, being released afterwards by Rita.
	+ A Mickey Mouse toy can be found in Robyn Starling's arctic room.
	+ Elmer Fudd appears as a news anchorman.
	+ A Marvin the Martian action figure and a Bugs Bunny poster can be found at Captain Kiddie's cabin.
	+ Wile E. Coyote is seeing chasing the Road Runner in the desert, only to be severely hurt by Aunt Figg's car who smashes him.
	+ Barnyard Dawg is seen fishing and being splashed by Captain Kiddie and Squawk as they chase Robyn, Rita and Runt.
	+ Sylvester and Wally Walrus appear as police officers who arrest Aunt Figg, Lickboot and Ferdinand for their crimes, along with Dr. Applecheek, who also was arrested thanks to Rita having mailed about his secret pound during the escape. While they are taken to prison in a police van, Aunt Figg is telling Lickboot and Dr. Applecheek that because of their incompetence (as well as Rita and Runt ruining her plans) her hopes to get rich are now spoiled. As she tries to open her bag, Pepé Le Pew appears and sprays his stench at the horrified four, making them smell bad for the rest of the journey.
		- The police van scene would be later used in the 1996 live-action remake of *101 Dalmatians*.
* TBD