# Rover Dangerfield
**Rover Dangerfield** is a 1991 American animated musical comedy in which comedian [Rodney Dangerfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/rodney-dangerfield) voices a Las Vegas showgirl's dog who, after being thrown off the [Hoover Dam](https://www.edgepedia.org/hoover-dam) by her boyfriend, survives and lands on a farm. Dangerfield also wrote the screenplay and executive produced, and the film was produced by Hyperion Pictures and The Kushner-Locke Company for Warner Bros.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rover_dangerfield)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Limited US theatrical release beginning August 2, 1991; no box office figures are available[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/) • [3](https://www.intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry?shortID=30930) |
| Runtime and rating | 74 minutes, rated G[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rover_dangerfield) |
| Directors | Jim George and Bob Seeley[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rover_dangerfield) |
| Writing | Screenplay by Rodney Dangerfield; story credited to Dangerfield and Harold Ramis, based on an idea by Dangerfield[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rover_dangerfield) • [2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/) |
| Music | Original score by David Newman; songs co-written by Dangerfield with Billy Tragesser[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-ca-3857-story.html) |
| Reception | 17% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (1 fresh, 5 rotten of 6 reviews); 57% Popcornmeter from over 1,000 user ratings[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rover_dangerfield) |
| Home video | The Numbers lists a video release of September 10, 1996 by Warner Home Video[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rover-Dangerfield) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Rover is a street-smart basset hound living the high life in Las Vegas with Connie, a showgirl. When Connie leaves on tour, her boyfriend Rocky, who owes money to gangsters, puts the dog in a bag and throws him off the Hoover Dam. Fishermen pull the bag from the water, and Rover makes his way to the countryside, where farmer Cal and his son Danny agree to keep him on the condition that he causes no trouble. Daisy, the collie from the neighboring farm, and the other farm dogs help him settle in.[6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/rover-dangerfield-1991) The story is a fish-out-of-water setup, moving Rover from the gambling dogs, gangsters, and chorus girls of the Las Vegas opening to barnyard life.[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/)
## Production
Dangerfield conceived the idea of a canine alter ego around 1986, when he told the Los Angeles Times that "animation wasn't hot four years ago, when I first got the idea for 'Rover.'" He funded the early phases of production himself, an investment Thomas Wilhite of Hyperion Pictures described as "well over a million dollars," covering the character and production designs, songs, and screenplay that convinced Warner Bros. to fund the picture.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-ca-3857-story.html) He developed the story with his friend and collaborator [Harold Ramis](https://www.edgepedia.org/harold-ramis), co-writer of *Caddyshack* and *Back to School*, and commissioned designs from Hyperion Pictures, the studio founded in 1984 by two former [Walt Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney) executives, Wilhite and Willard Carroll, whose earlier film was *The Brave Little Toaster* (1987).[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-ca-3857-story.html)
More than 150 artists contributed to the film, which was supervised by two directors: James George, who had previously worked at the Disney and [Don Bluth](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-bluth) studios, and Robert Seely, an animator of commercials who had won a Clio.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-ca-3857-story.html) The hand-drawn production drew on work from several studios, including The Baer Animation Company and Wang Film Productions.[3](https://www.intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry?shortID=30930) Rhythm & Hues created the animated opening title sequence, combining computer animation and digital compositing with traditional cel animation from Hyperion; the studio's proprietary software ran on [Silicon Graphics](https://www.edgepedia.org/silicon-graphics) hardware.[7](https://history.siggraph.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SIGGRAPH-1992-Visual-Proceedings.pdf) Dangerfield was filmed recording his lines so the animators could reproduce his facial mannerisms in the character.[8](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Rover_Dangerfield?hl=en_US&id=cmYaPE6Vl3o)
## From R rating to G
The film was originally planned as an R-rated animated feature in the vein of [Ralph Bakshi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-bakshi)'s work, closer to Dangerfield's stand-up persona, but Warner Bros. wanted the content toned down to a G rating.[3](https://www.intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry?shortID=30930) • [6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/rover-dangerfield-1991) Over the following years the film was extensively reworked to remove the R-rated elements, which added post-production time. Some adult material survived the revision: the Las Vegas setting with its gambling dogs and gangsters remains, and the sequence in which Rover tries to beat life back into a dead turkey proved difficult to mitigate.[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/) A contemporary review in *Library Journal* through Videolibrarian argued the result was "a film without an audience: not clever enough for adults, and too tacky for kids," while still calling the hand-drawn cels better than basic modern cartoon fare.[9](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/childrens/rover-dangerfield/)
During the extended production, it emerged that Ramis had not been compensated for his story work, producing a legal case in 1990. The finished film's credits read "Story By Rodney Dangerfield And Harold Ramis, Based On An Idea By Rodney Dangerfield."[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/)
## Release and reception
The film was originally set for a December 1988 theatrical release, and when it missed that date the trade press began running negative stories about its fortunes.[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/) By September 1991, Warner Bros. president of worldwide theatrical advertising and publicity Robert G. Friedman told the Los Angeles Times that the film was "probably not going to find a broad national release" and would instead have a limited release in a handful of small markets, with no Los Angeles engagement.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-ca-3857-story.html) The theatrical run was brief enough that no box office figures exist; the film went to video afterward, and The Numbers records a Warner Home Video video release of September 10, 1996.[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rover-Dangerfield) In his autobiography, Dangerfield wrote of the studio: "I thought it was a funny movie, but I had some trouble with the studio, and they buried it like a bone."[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/)
Critical reception has remained negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 17% among six critics, with an average rated score of 3.30 out of 10, against a 57% audience Popcornmeter from more than 1,000 ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rover_dangerfield) IMDb users give it 5.9 out of 10 from about 3,600 votes.[10](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/rover-dangerfield) Retrospective commentary has treated the film as an oddity: a star vehicle built entirely around one comedian's persona, caught between audiences too young for Dangerfield's comedy and adults with little use for a talking-dog cartoon.[2](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/)
## References
1. [Rover Dangerfield, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rover_dangerfield)
2. [Revisiting Rover Dangerfield – a truly weird Hollywood star vehicle, Film Stories (Mark Harrison, December 9, 2021)](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/revisiting-rover-dangerfield-a-truly-weird-hollywood-star-vehicle/)
3. [Rover Dangerfield (1991), The Internet Animation Database](https://www.intanibase.com/iad_entries/entry?shortID=30930)
4. [DOG DAZE: Why (Woof) Can't (woof) I (woof) Get (woof) Any (woof) Respect (woof)?, Los Angeles Times (Charles Solomon, September 22, 1991)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-ca-3857-story.html)
5. [Rover Dangerfield (1991), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rover-Dangerfield)
6. [Rover Dangerfield (1991), NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/rover-dangerfield-1991)
7. ["Rover Dangerfield" title sequence, SIGGRAPH 1992 Visual Proceedings](https://history.siggraph.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SIGGRAPH-1992-Visual-Proceedings.pdf)
8. [Rover Dangerfield, Google Play Movies](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Rover_Dangerfield?hl=en_US&id=cmYaPE6Vl3o)
9. [Rover Dangerfield review, Videolibrarian (Randy Pitman, Library Journal, February 1, 1992)](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/childrens/rover-dangerfield/)
10. [Rover Dangerfield streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/rover-dangerfield)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by source material and subject › Films with original stories and animal leads*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license