Disney Junior has done very well at not only giving younger Disney fans some familiar faces such as Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy but also bringing some new characters to the small screen. Doc McStuffins might be the first huge success story from the network and she was followed up by the likes of Sofia the First which introduced a Disney princess who wasn’t connected to a fairy tale and Elena, the first Latina princess in the ranks of Disney. Just like with their films however, Disney isn’t forgetting our animal friends.
Puppy Dog Pals is one of the latest animated sensations to hit the Disney Junior airwaves. The series centers around two pug brothers, Rolly and Bingo. The pair are owned by Bob, an inventor who always seems to have a new creation waiting in the wings. The dogs are also joined by Hissy, a housecat with an occasional sarcastic attitude, as well as a mechanical canine known as A.R.F which is short for Automatic Doggy Robotic Friend. In each episode the brothers embark on a new adventure, or missions as they have deemed them. Sometimes this keeps them in their own backyard, or at least very close, while other times they find themselves making a trip halfway around the world and typically their mission involves something connected with Bob.
I’ve noticed with most of the Disney Junior series that generally they have some type of lesson of values buried cleverly beneath each and every episode that youngsters are unwittingly learning something. Doc McStuffins in particular I feel is outstanding are presenting this and children are taught some very important information about general health care as well as gaining and understanding that a visit with the doctor or dentist really doesn’t have to be a frightening experience. Puppy Dog Pals however doesn’t really seem to have that same type of message buried at its core. While it could be argued that in fact the series wants to teach children the importance of helping out as this is generally what motivates Rolly and Bingo, it certainly isn’t such a pronounced.
This doesn’t mean that Puppy Dog Pals is a bad series and in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Disney Junior has generally added some quality programming into their network that helps to fuel children’s imaginations and even with my own daughter getting closer to the point where she doesn’t necessarily fit into the target audience, she still finds plenty of things that she’s interested in. While Sofia and Doc were once a huge part of her viewing habits, they were replaced in recent years but the likes of PJ Masks and Puppy Dog Pals. I think I’ve heard her laugh more with this series than some of the others on Disney Junior.
Puppy Dog Pals gets its first home video release as a collection of episodes, six in total, and like most of the others series on Disney Junior, they there isn’t an ongoing story that interconnects each episodes like you might find with Star Wars: Rebels but instead each has two mini-episodes that are independent of each other. As far as their missions, they do find themselves making their way outside of their backyard and to other locations such as France in search of French toast, Antarctica where they try and locate ice for Bob’s ice tea as well as Egypt. But how exactly do a pair of dogs make international travel arrangements? It just so happens that each and every instance of needing to journey aboard, the pugs just happen to be in the right place at the right time with a flight leaving to that exact locations. It’s an animated series though so this is to be expected as well as their ability to travel to any of these locations and back again in a relatively short period of time. Outside of their international adventures, Bingo and Rolly find themselves on missions where they try and replace one of Bob’s childhood toys after they accidentally ruin it by chewing it. They are introduced to Bob’s invention, ARF, they hunt down a missing baseball trophy, and they even try to help Hissy out at one point.
One of my big complaints however with many Disney’s home video releases comes in several ways. The first is that for most of the series aimed for young children, we get a handful of episodes, never a complete series. Disney also tends to only release these on DVD and overlooks blu-ray even though all of the Disney networks are broadcast in HD. This might not seem important but I believe that it is and sadly there are many networks who seem to feel that this is acceptable but the consumers often feel completely the opposite. Disney has also been very behind the digital surge in home video but with these, you get the episodes, you get your code for points, but no episodes available on Movies Anywhere or Vudu. The DVD also doesn’t include any special features but I suppose that for young fans, they aren’t going to be the slightest bit interested.
Puppy Dog Pals though seems poised to be another hit with young Disney fans although only time will tell. I originally thought perhaps Miles from Tomorrowland was going to be huge especially with the merchandizing push Disney was doing and my daughter was infatuated with it when it started but that quickly wore off. Right now however the talking pugs seem to have won over many young viewers and certainly are going to be a collection that becomes one of those well-worn DVD’s that your young Disney fanatic will keep going back to again and again.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.