So I’m watching Comedy Central this morning and I see a commercial for an ABC Family movie called “Karate Dog” that is airing on Memorial Day. As with the much-anticipated “Snakes on a Plane,” the title pretty much tells you what you’re going to get in this movie…a karate dog.
Oh, and not only does the dog know karate, it also talks…with a voice provided by Chevy Chase. More on that in a moment.
Now, when I first saw the commercial, my first thought was, “Hmm, a karate dog? Where have I seen that concept before?” And then it hit me…
Of course…Hong Kong Phooey! If you’re going to make a talking/karate dog movie, how could you not make it Hong Kong Phooey? “Karate Dog” is just a cheap knockoff of the Phoo.
But it gets even less original than that. When I saw that Chevy Chase provides the voice of Karate Dog, I immediately thought back to another of his films from years ago…“Oh Heavenly Dog.”
In that 1980 movie, Chase played a detective who is killed while investigating a murder. Before he can gain entry to Heaven, he is sent back to Earth to solve his own murder…as a dog (in this case, Benji).
But, wait! That’s not all. The late Pat Morita—Mr. Miyagi from “The Karate Kid” films—is in “Karate Dog.” The ABC Family site does not mention what role he played, but I am assuming he is the dog’s master, whose murder sets the whole “plot” in motion. So let’s throw some “Karate Kid” into this hodge podge of unoriginal ideas masked as family entertainment.
To recap, this “Karate Dog” movie is basically “Oh Heavenly Dog” meets “Hong Kong Phooey” meets “The Karate Kid.”
And I’m so bored, I just spent all this time blogging about this crap. Sigh.
Time to get working on some more music.
Tandem With The Random 