Disney's The Fluppy Dogs: A criminally underrated classic (and why it failed)

So…I've been wanting to get this article off my chest since Last November. I want to talk about an obscure Disney Gem; The Fluppy Dogs

Released on Thanksgiving Day 1986; Disney’s The Fluppy Dogs was a one-off television Movie that was meant to serve as the pilot for a full animated series, and by extension the Toy Franchise, that never came to be. 

The Movie follows a group of colorful, dog-like creatures called Fluppies who travel between dimensions using a magical key. After arriving in the human world, the Fluppies befriend a boy named Jamie and his Neighbor Claire. Together they try to find a way back home to the Fluppy world while evading the clutches of the greedy businessman J.J. Wagstaff, who wants to collect the Fluppies for himself (for some reason).

The movie was intended to be part of a larger franchise including a toy line, books, and an animated TV series. However, due to poor ratings, neither the series nor the franchise took off. 

Despite this, The Fluppy Dogs is a fascinating special and a very well done piece a 1980s American Animation (especially Disney); and its quite a shame it got canceled because it had a lot of potential as a series and still does today 

In this article I want to explain why The Fluppy Dogs is a criminally underrated classic, and why I think it failed

First I want to explain why it's good

Ironically, The Human element of the movie, especially its “Present Day” setting of the 1980s, is what I gravitate to the most

The series main protagonist is Jamie, who is tasked with keeping the Fluppies a secret in order to help them get back home. Jamie is a little generic as a character; as he kind of starts out a neurotic and socially awkward young boy. However, he does pull through as a character by the end of the film.

Probably the most likeable character in the movie is Claire. She is a teenage girl who becomes an active character in the movie in helping the Fluppies get back home. Despite Jamie Telling his mother that Claire "Hates Him", her interaction with Jamie comes across more as playful teasing. In a way, Claire almost seems more like a big sister figure to Jamie than anything else.

Jamie's Mother is also an especially fascinating character. She starts out as a loving and gentle mother who unwittingly buys Stanley to give to Jamie as a birthday present. However, as the movie progresses, she gets increasingly impatient and frustrated at Jamie's seemingly erratic behavior (skipping school, messing up his room, stealing her flowers, etc.). It doesn't help that Jamie keeps the fluppies a secret from his mother. All of this comes full circle when Jamie’s Mother Confronts him towards the climax of the film.

The weird thing though is that, despite her clear outward sides of anger over her son's behavior, you still get a sense that she's a loving parent who wants what is best for her son but also wants him to behave.

Despite the criticisms with the music, I also felt the musical score was perfect (at least compared to most Saturday morning cartoons at the time) and matched the whimsical tone of the movie.

However, I think the shows greatest quality is how it depicts the 1980s in Disney animation 

I usually find it kind of annoying when people talk about Disney as a staple of Americana, especially when one considers how derelict the company had become in the 1980's (ironically under the All American President himself Ronald Reagan). Disney had stagnated creatively between the 70s and 80s, and produced very little animation as a result. As such, a relevant depiction of the time period in Disney animation is even more rare still. It doesn't Help that American Animation across the board also struggled at the time while Japanese Anime and Canadian Animation seemed to flourish creatively (and financially in the case of Anime).

As such, the Fluppy Dogs is one of only two films that depicts the 1980s in Disney animation; and it shows. One look into any of the human character designs, fashion,  setting design, or even the dialogue and you can definitely see Reagan-Era Middle America in it. Also, I cant get over Claire listening to pop music on her walkman when we are introduced to her, which I think was a perfect detail. In addition, I'd argue Fluppy Dogs did a better job at it than most 80s TV cartoons at the time. In a strange way too, Fluppy Dogs reminds me of an American equivalent of a Creamy Mami or a Kigamure Orange Road, which depicts the everyday lives of average people in their respective countries in the 1980s despite the fantasy premise.

I should also note that Oliver and Company, my favorite Disney movies of all time, also depicts the 1980s in Disney animation quite well (especially New York City from that Era). Now some may also argue Rescue Rangers falls into that category. However Rescue Rangers more came out under Bush Sr. era and counts more as early 90s than the 80s. Fluppy Dogs and Oliver & Company both came out under Reagan, which reflects the bulk of the 1980s proper. 

Now That I talked about its good aspects, Time for the bad

While I liked the three protagonist characters, I didn't care much for Wagstaff or Hamish. To me, they felt more like the "obligatory Rich villains" than anything necessary to the story. If anything, they could have just replaced Wagstaff with the dog pound and the story would change very little. 

First, He'll Go after the Fluppies. Then He'll go after the Goon Docks, and finally He'll go after Bluestar Airlines

Also, you had the Falumpus, which felt more like a wuzzles cameo than a character.

Probably the characters I have the biggest problem with, ironically, are the fluppies themselves. Not necessarily their personalities but more the lack of clear direction of the creators In approaching them.

Disney Created the Fluppy Dogs intending to turn it into a franchise. However, considering how little the special had in common with The Toys and the books, Its easy to see why the series was doomed from the beginning

In the books, the Fluppy Dogs are considered Dogs and their existence is public knowledge, with the aforementioned Fluppies constantly interacting with the humans around the (especially children). The books also took a more Slice-of-life approach to the Fluppy Dogs than the TV Movie.

In the television movie however, the Fluppies are not dogs but are instead dog-like magical creatures (i.e. as much dogs as Stitch is). Only Jamie and Claire are aware of their existence, which the Fluppies have them keep a secret. This only causes trouble for them, especially for Jamie and his relationship with his mother.

Now it's hard to say what the rest of the Fluppy Dogs series would have done if it got greenlit. 

There is an alleged series Bible that was posted to DeviantArt and the Disney Wiki. However, there were a lot of things featured in the Series Bible that weren't in the TV movie (for example, Jamie's father & Claire's parents), and not every Series Bible ends up being the final product. Added to that, there were a lot of aspects about the series Bible that, while I can see being made, sounded like bad ideas.

I think a more practical route would have been for the series to be more akin to the books; with the Fluppies not being a secret but publicly interacting with the human world around them. However, much of the events of the special would have ruled that out.

At the very least, I believe that such a series would have had to let Jamie's Mother in on the secret. The reason for this is that in the movie, the secret of the Fluppies becomes a major source of conflict between Jamie and His Mother when she catches on quickly that Jamie is hiding something from her. Despite the details in the series Bible, it would be nearly impossible to keep that secret up for another episode, let alone several seasons. Added to that, it would have been cool to see Jamie's mother as a sympathetic adult to interact with the Fluppies.

In the end, Disney's The Fluppy Dogs suffers from the opposite problem of "So Bad, It's Good". If anything, it's "So Good, it's Bad". True to Disney animation, it hit almost all the right notes except the ones that would have kept the series going. On the other hand, it's hard to say if The Fluppy Dogs would have been just as good if those notes were hit. It's a shame because I feel The Fluppy Dogs is a lost opportunity for a great series. 

In addition, given the popularity of "Eighties Nostalgia shows" like Stranger Things or Glow or The Goldbergs; a revival of The Fluppy Dogs (specifically one still set in the 1980s) would be perfect for Disney in the present Day. However, given the company's current Bad creative direction, bloated streaming platforms, and brand identity crisis; it would be the last thing they should pursue, lest they botch it for good

In the meantime, I highly recommend you guys to check out the special on youtube. Also, more fan art and awareness of the series i would encourage as well.

In A future Article, I might Try My hand at it myself. In the meantime, Ill leave you with these collages I made

Claire from fluppy dogs

Mrs Bigham (Jamie's Mom) from fluppy dogs

Jamie From Fluppy Dogs