So yeah, this movie. I remember watching it on Cartoon Network once back when I was in elementary school and I completely forgot that it existed until a couple months ago when YouTuber Saberspark mentioned that a fan gave him a copy of this movie. I went and found the whole thing on YouTube and its... a lot more odd than I remember.
The film is about 5 dogs and a parrot who live with a rich old lady named Miss Lilly. After her passing she leaves her estate and money to her pets, something that her niece and nephew aren't happy about, and therefore plot to get rid of the animals and claim what they believe is rightfully theirs. Now, I now what you're thinking. This sounds like a ripoff of Disney's The Aristocats. While the premise is similar, it does differ from the Disney movie in a few ways (Minor Spoilers Ahead):
The Owner Dies: While the rich old pet owner in The Aristocats is alive and well throughout the film, Miss Lilly in Millionaire Dogs dies early on in the film. We even see her die on screen.
The Antagonists: Another difference is the antagonists and their relation to the rich old lady. They're relatives of the deceased instead of a servant who worked for the old lady. Plus, Edgar the butler the butler wasn't always after Madame Adelaide's money. He at one time was very loyal and devoted to her and her beloved cats, and it wasn't until after he heard that she was leaving everything to her cats that he became corrupted by greed. Ronnie and Hannie are not only her niece and nephew but have also been after her fortune since the very beginning.
Ticking Clock: The Aristocats has the animals going at a casual pace as they're in no hurry to get home, but that's not exactly the case in Millionaire Dogs. The twins discover an old law stating that if the dogs are off the property for 48 hours, ownership of the property will automatically transfer to them. The dogs have to get home before within 48 hours or else they'll lose their home.
The Setting: The Aristocats took place in Paris in the early 20th century (1910, to be exact), whereas Millionaire Dogs seems to take place in a modern day American city.
The Use of Anthropomorphic Characters: Another difference is that it features anthropomorphic animals that casually co-exist alongside people. One example is Dr. Quack, a goose pet psychiatrist who the twins seek to help get the dogs off the estate. Another is a biker gang that Miss Lilly is friends with, which consists of a chimp, a vulture and a cat. So as nonsensical as a rich woman leaving everything to her pets sounds in real life, it does actually kinda make sense in this movie.
I do have a couple issues such as the the animation in places is strange (especially during that out of nowhere song number at the 14 minute mark), the editing can be a little choppy, Emmo the parent can be a little grating at times and of course there's the creepy character designs for the two main villains. Plus, I kinda wish we got a little more character development for the main characters. But it's not all bad. I found the movie pretty entertaining to watch, the soundtrack had a couple nice pop songs (I have and always will have a soft spot for late 90s music) and I thought the ending was very heartwarming. If you have young kids they might enjoy watching it, and it could probably make great riffing material when watching it with friends. If you get a kick out of watching and making fun of weird animated movies, I'd say give it a watch.
