C.H.O.M.P.S.
C.H.O.M.P.S. is a 1979 American comic science fiction film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and directed by Don Chaffey. It is one of Hanna-Barbera’s live-action productions, despite their being primarily known as an animation studio.
Plot
Brian Foster, a young inventor, creates a robotic dog for use as part of a home protection system. C.H.O.M.P.S. is an acronym for "Canine HOMe Protection System". Ralph Norton is his boss, with whom he constantly argues. Foster develops a relationship with Norton's daughter, Casey. A rival company wants the dog and sends a few petty criminals to kidnap "C.H.O.M.P.S."Cast
- Wesley Eure as Brian Foster
- Valerie Bertinelli as Casey Norton
- Conrad Bain as Ralph Norton
- Chuck McCann as Brooks
- Red Buttons as Bracken
- Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Flower
- Jim Backus as Mr. Gibbs
- James Reynolds as Reporter
Production
Barbera recalled that Arkoff's son Louis suggested that rather than a Doberman, the dog should be a non-threatening dog in the Benji mold. Barbera attributes this change in focus in the story to the film's lackluster performance at the box office. In his autobiography, Barbera wrote that the film "did okay... but it never made the splash it should have." Because of this, the future film deals between Hanna-Barbera and AIP were canceled.
Burt Topper worked on the movie as producer with Barbera, with Arkoff as executive producer.
Release
A PG-rated version of C.H.O.M.P.S. was shown for a short time during the summer of 1979. The stricter rating was due to some language employed by a dog—not the title character. It was edited, with the canine profanity overdubbed, in order to receive a G rating and released during the Christmas season. This version was released in Los Angeles on December 21, 1979.Critical reception
On the film's release, Variety wrote, "although it features a cute canine hero, a pair of do-gooding young people and a bevy of silly-minded adults, pic has little of the action or charm that lure audiences". The review noted that director Don Chaffey "has done what he can to keep the pic moving given what he has to work with". Of the performers, Variety judged, "Actors are uniformly okay but there's really only one star in this picture, 'Chomps.' Benji he's not."Judging the film to be "unpretentious but slightly dismal in its execution", the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The premise is engaging enough to entertain dog lovers and kids for awhile, but the screenplay... is mediocre television sitcom fare and too thin to sustain an entire movie."