Jock the Hero Dog Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Jock the Hero Dog Blu-ray Movie Review

This Is the Bushveld Primeval

Reviewed by Michael Reuben September 30, 2012

The principal voice talent may be British and North American, but the animated film Jock the Hero Dog is a South African tale through and through. The source material, Jock of the Bushveld (1907), is considered a children's classic. Statues of its canine hero can be found throughout the region where the story takes place, which is now known as Mpumalanga. Although the book's author, Sir James Percy Fitzpatrick, descended from Irish parents and was a friend of Rudyard Kipling, the tale's colonialist origins have been neutralized by the participation of anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who voices one of the characters.

Jock was a labor of love for director, producer and co-writer Duncan MacNellie, who also edited and performed numerous other tasks. Working from Fitzpatrick's collection of tales about his loyal Staffordshire bull terrier, which began as stories Fitzpatrick told his children about his youthful adventures, MacNellie crafted a feature-length narrative of a brave dog exploring the African wilderness, encountering the brutality of humans and helping to free other animals that have been mistreated. MacNellie obviously studied the Disney template closely, even recruiting Disney regular Tim Rice to co-write songs for the film. But the group of animators that MacNellie gathered in Johannesburg to make Jock were there to create a film for their own country, and the result bespeaks a familiarity with Fitzpatrick's stories and their historical background that may be the reason for the film's lack of a U.S. release. It was probably a wise move: One Amazon reviewer complained because the story contained "monkeys (even though it is supposed to be a dog movie)" and because Jock's master is seeking "gold in Africa (Which I do not think even has much gold to mine...)"—the latter point proving that just because the internet provides access to information doesn't mean people will use it.

Jock was made in 3D and was so released in South Africa. Knowing that, you can appreciate how various scenes were designed to exploit the potential for 3D effects. ARC Entertainment hasn't begun releasing Blu-rays in 3D, but as we know from too many 3D films that don't hold the viewer's attention on visual effects alone, it's the story that counts. Jock's is worthwhile.

An older Percy Fitzpatrick narrates the story in the voice of Donald Sutherland. As a young man who goes by the name of "Fitz" (Theo Landey), he arrives in Africa to seek his fortune prospecting for gold. At about the same time, a female terrier named Jess (Helen Hunt) has a litter of puppies. The runt of the litter will become Jock (voiced by Makenzie Hart as a puppy and by singer Bryan Adams when fully grown).

Though small, Jock is a favorite of his mother Jess, who sees greatness in him. The perception is shared by the villager named Baba (voiced by Archbishop Tutu), who is Jess's master, and, more importantly, by a Zulu warrior named Jim Makokel (Bongani Nxumalo), who spots Jock and recommends him to Fitz as a companion on their journey. Fitz is unsure, but his mind is made up after Jock single-handedly (pawedly?) fights off an attack by a huge swooping eagle and survives a second onslaught by a nasty hunter named Claude (Michael De Pinna) and his mangy retriever, Snarly (Jason Kennett). It's then that Fitz realizes Jock is "his" dog, and gives him a name. Jock, Fitz and Jim set off for the gold fields, accompanied by a chicken—yes, a chicken—named Pezulu (Ted Danson), whom Jock's mother has ordered to keep an eye on him.

The most significant stop along the way is the town of Crook's Corner, which lies on the other side of Crocodile River ("These names mean something!" exclaims Pezulu). The town is dominated by a trading post run by a reprobate named Seedling (Robert Hobbs). In addition to selling supplies to miners, Seedling operates a bar and sponsors animal fights, of which the reigning champion is a vicious baboon called George (Anthony Bishop). George was once a circus animal, who toured with a talented but timid capuchin named Basil (Mandy Patinkin), but Basil now cowers at George's approach, as does every other animal in the vicinity of Seedling's.

Seedling also organizes races that attract spectators and gamblers from far and wide. Since Africa has no horses, he races warthogs, with small monkeys for "jockeys". He also fixes the races, hobbling the favorite after all bets are in. Jock and Pezulu spot Seedling doing this dirty business, after Fitz has been persuaded to place a bet on the race, following in the footsteps of a well-to-do English gentlemen, Mr. Morris (Michael Richards, without a hint of Cosmo Kramer in his vocal work). Mr. Morris' erudite daughter, Lillian (Diane Simpson), has caught Fitz's eye, just as her haughty French poodle, Polly (Sylvaine Strike), has caught Jock's.

It's hardly a spoiler to disclose that, by the end of the film, Jock has dismantled Seedling's evil empire and freed his fellow animals. Moreover, he does it not by fighting, but by showing them a better, more courageous way to stand up for themselves and for what's right. Meanwhile, Fitz discovers that he's too late for the gold rush, but finds other employment and additional consolations in the company of Lillian Morris. Fitz also falls in love with the magical allure of the African countryside and its teeming and noble wildlife, which is what Jock the Hero Dog was made to celebrate.

Jock the Hero Dog Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While Pixar has nothing to worry about, the image on ARC Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray of Jock the Hero Dog provides a generally pleasing rendition of the efforts by director MacNellie and his team to invoke 1890s South Africa and its inhabitants through CG-rendered animation. Any limitations are in the source. MacNellie had a fraction of the money and personnel that Pixar and its Disney overseers can throw at a project, and some of the animation reflects those constraints, especially in background motion that isn't as smooth as it could be with greater time and expense. (Some of the issues no doubt result from the 2D presentation of a film meant for 3D.) Still, the "drawn" figures have detail and texture, the colors are richly saturated, and obvious care and thought have been invested in developing the look of each major player. Young children should have no difficulty distinguishing one character from another, and also recognizing the different locales (with a little parental prodding). There is occasional aliasing in minute parts of the frame, but it's fleeting and may not even catch the eye of most viewers. Banding can also be observed from time to time, but it too passes quickly. The film is short enough, and the extras sparse enough, that compression artifacts are not an issue with a BD-25.

Jock the Hero Dog Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jock's DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is full of entertaining effects, including birds (and, in one scene, bats) swooping, crocodiles chomping, a thunderous dog/warthog race and assorted barks, roars, growls and other animal noises. The musical numbers have been expertly mixed to take full advantage of the surrounds so that, e.g., chanting choruses echo from the back of the surround array and the entire ensemble of orchestra and vocalists opens out into the room with wider and deeper presence than the regular dialogue passages. Bryan Adams supplied several songs, as did Tim Rice, working with various composers. The instrumental score was provided by Klaus Badelt (Seven Days in Utopia) with Ian Honeyman.

Jock the Hero Dog Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Way-Oh" Music Video with Bryan Adams (HD, 1080p; 1.78:1; 2:51): The song occurs early in the film, as Jock becomes acquainted with life outside his familiar surroundings. Much of the same footage comprises the video.



• Trailer (HD, 1080p; 1.78:1; 1:46)



• Additional Trailers: At startup the disc plays trailers (in 1080p) for Animals United and Cinnamon. These can be skipped with the chapter forward button and are not otherwise available once the disc loads.

Jock the Hero Dog Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A second review at Amazon complained that Jock the Hero Dog isn't a family film, because the reviewer's three-year-old son began crying during it. (One hates to think how the kid will react to Bambi.) "I do not want my young son being exposed to people drowning dogs at gun point nor animals being injured or dying due to stage[d] animal fights", complained the reviewer. Well, Jock survives the attempt to drown him, and the incident is an essential element of his story, which could not have been omitted without betraying the source. (It would be the equivalent of telling the story of Abraham Lincoln without the log cabin.) As for the staged animal fights, no one is injured and no one dies. Jock ends them. We see him tear off first his restraining collar and then his opponent's. Isn't that a message worth celebrating? Recommended.