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| Napoleon | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mario Andreacchio |
| Written by | Michael Bourchier Mario Andreacchio Mark Saltzman |
| Produced by | Michael Bourchier Mario Andreacchio |
| Starring | See voice cast |
| Cinematography | Roger Dowling |
| Edited by | Edward McQueen-Mason |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
Production companies | Blink Films Adelaide Motion Picture Company Australian Film Finance Corporation Nippon-Herald Films Pony Canyon |
| Distributed by | Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Approximately $4.3 million[2] |
Napoleon is a 1995 Australian family adventure film directed byMario Andreacchio, and written by Michael Bourchier, Mario Andreacchio, andMark Saltzman about aGolden retriever puppy who runs away from his city home to be a wild dog.
InSydney, Australia, a puppy named Muffin is living with a human family and his own mother. He, calling himself "Napoleon" and pretending to be tough, wishes that he could live with the wild dogs, so that he can hear howling in the distance. The family has a birthday party and one of the decorations is a basket with balloons strapped to it. Out of curiosity, "Napoleon" hops inside it, inadvertently pulling the ropes loose from its tether, causing the basket to float away.
"Napoleon" flies high above Sydney and heads out to the sea. Agalah named Birdo drops down on the side of his basket and offers to help him get down. Birdo's idea of help is to pop the balloons suspending the basket, causing "Napoleon" to land unharmed on a beachhead. He thinks he can finally seek out the wild dogs and heads into a nearby forest, ignoring Birdo's suggestion to return home.
At night, "Napoleon" starts to fear being alone. Atawny frogmouth in the forest warns him of terrible things that can happen to pets in the wild, but he ignores him as well and continues on his way, briefly getting caught in the web of aspider. He discovers a large tree which is home to a psychoticcat. She spots "Napoleon" and, thinking he is a mouse, chases him. He escapes when the tawny frogmouth pushes the cat into a pond. The tawny frogmouth then warns him that she will not rest until he is dead. As he runs off, she pulls herself from the pond angrily swearing revenge.
The next morning, following an encounter with a flock of annoyingrainbow lorikeets and then a rudekoala, "Napoleon" once again meets with Birdo, asking him to teach him how to live in the wild, also revealing his real name is Muffin. He is then taunted for his name by both a deep-voicedgreen tree frog and the lorikeets from earlier, despite Birdo's attempts to stop them, and thereafter gets stranded on a floating log. Birdo agrees at last to teach "Napoleon" how to live in the wild, beginning by teaching him how to swim back to shore in a lake, pushing him off a floating log.
"Napoleon" learns about hunting by practicing on a group ofrabbits, but fails to catch one and ends up eating moss instead. Birdo's next lessons about friendly and dangerous animals with awombat and some heavily injuredquokkas, having suffered a brutal attack by the cat, and then snowy weather are ignored. "Napoleon" narrowly avoids a herd of stampedingbrumbies during the latter lesson, which Birdo mistakes for "blinding snow and freezing fog", which causes him to abandon Birdo in frustration. He follows the smell of what he believes to be sweets to asugarcane field, though Birdo, fearing how dry it is, tries to stop him from going in it but to no avail. He briefly encounters asnake warning him of danger just before abushfire breaks out, escaping with Birdo's help. The cat returns and attempts to attack Birdo, but fails. He reunites with his lost flock but she has found them too; "Napoleon" saves them with a warning of her. They come to a road where they witness afrill-necked lizard hiding on a road stripe survive a passing truck, as it angrily bullies "Napoleon" away when he tries to see if it's okay. He and Birdo then part ways as he wants to seek the wild dogs and Birdo wants to rejoin his flock.
"Napoleon" then helps anechidna find water and seeks out shade. While resting, he is heartbroken when he realises that the howling he has been hearing was just aperentie lizard wandering the desert and imitating various animals, and begins lamenting running away from home. A torrential rainstorm arrives as the area begins to flood, and "Napoleon" runs for shelter and discovers twodingo puppies named Sid and Nancy inside a damp cave, assuming they are lost like him. The water floods the cave and sweeps Nancy away. "Napoleon" dives in and rescues her. The pups' mother returns and "Napoleon" realises that he has found the wild dogs. She agrees to let him live with her for the time-being, Sid, and Nancy. While out together, she asks why he wanted to be with the wild dogs. He explains that he always wanted to feel brave by living in the wild, but confesses to being disappointed with the lifestyle. She comforts him by reminding him that it was his courage that led him out here and helped him save Sid and Nancy, which represents the true spirit of the wild dogs.
Wanting to go home, "Napoleon" takes a trip across the landscape in akangaroo's pouch. He reaches the shore and discovers that his basket is inhabited by a feistypenguin named Pengi who calls himself "Conan", wanting to be a wild and brave creature, mirroring how "Napoleon" was when he first arrived. He learns however that "Conan"'s real name is Pengi when his raucous family arrives. That night, "Napoleon"'s plan to sail back to Sydney with the basket is interrupted by the cat's return. A fight erupts and he tries multiple times to stop her. Before she can kill him, she becomes distracted by "Conan", who taunts her. "Napoleon" then knocks her off the cliff and into the basket, which sails away. On a cliff side, "Napoleon" sees an image of a wild dog howling, symbolizing that he understands his bravery of being one inside.
Birdo reappears with asea turtle who takes "Napoleon" back to Sydney. He returns home to his mother, who consents to calling him "Napoleon" instead of Muffin. The cat, having been carried to Sydney by the ocean currents, reappears one last time. She finally realises that "Napoleon" is not a mouse, but a dog instead. Regardless, she still vows to get him any way.
| Character | Australian version | American version |
|---|---|---|
| Napoleon | Jamie Croft | Adam Wylie |
| Birdo | Philip Quast | Bronson Pinchot |
| Penny | Susan Lyons | Wendy Makkena |
| Cat | Carole Skinner | Debra Mooney |
| Koala | Frank Whitten | David Ogden Stiers |
| Conan | Casey Siemaszko | |
| Nancy | Mignon Kent | Olivia Hack |
| Sid | Michael Wilkop | Ashley Malinger |
| Mother Dingo | Fiona Press | Blythe Danner |
| Kangaroo | Barry Humphries | |
| Spider | Anne Lambert | Carol Kane |
| Frog | Brenton Whittle | Reg E. Cathey |
| Echidna | Edward McQueen-Mason | Wallace Shawn |
| Mother Penguin | Joan Rivers | |
| Father Penguin | Stuart Pankin | |
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The film was the most expensive independent production to be made inSouth Australia at the time of production.[2] DirectorMario Andreacchio was inspired to make it after watchingThe Adventures of Milo and Otis with his children.[2] During the shoot, 64 different dogs played the title role.[3]
Original songs performed in the film include:
| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "How Far I'll Fly" | Jamie Croft | |
| 2. | "Muffin" | Brenton Whittle & Chorus | |
| 3. | "Wild Dog" | Philip Quast & Chorus | |
| 4. | "My Hills to Climb" | Jamie Croft &Philip Quast | |
| 5. | "Kangaroo La Roo" | Dame Edna Everage | |
| 6. | "How Far I'll Fly (Reprise)" | Timothy B. Schmit |
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2011) |
The film grossed 2,051,855 Australian Dollars at the box office in Australia[4] during 1995. In Japan, it opened on 87 screens during late February under the nameKulta, Finnish for "gold".[2] According to Andreacchio, the Japanese public mistook the original English title for a kind ofbrandy.[2]
The film was released on VHS in the United States, with a different dub, on August 11, 1998 byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[5]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2011) |
In the US, the film received no advance screenings for critics.[6] It however received three stars out of four from theNew York Daily News.[6]
