Poochini: Coffee Dog (2002)

Netflix finally delivered this disc into my hands after more than 8 years. (It was a Save title until a year or two ago, then a Very Long Wait title until my queue juggling paid off.) Like Dorf on Golf, I had no good reason to see it beyond a guilty pleasure -- I just liked the idea of a dog named Poochini with a jonesing for java. The disc contains the title cartoon plus 3 "bonus" cartoons, each running 9.5 minutes for a total of 38 minutes. (They actually come from Episodes 1abc and 14b of Poochini's Yard, a 26-episode cartoon series.) The intro is a bit like The Nanny, if drawn by the Tex Avery studios -- intentionally dorky, occasionally grotesque. (Half of the son's nose is nostril holes, but I like the biker/ZZ-Topp neighbors, and the homeless guy seems to have a Yale accent.) Poochini going ape over coffee is the entire premise of the title 'toon. I enjoyed it -- but I have a weakness for physical comedy. In the other 'toons, Poochini's manic joi de vivre is toned down a bit when he goes jumping into leaf piles, when he is shoved down a giant mole tunnel to stop the destruction of the father's perfect lawn, and when he gets conked on the noggin and tries to remember what a "dog" is. Poochini's voice (Billy West) has a distinctly Latino accent, almost reminiscent of Fairly Odd Parents' Juandissimo (Carlos Alazraqui). If you are so inclined to such cartoon silliness, enjoy! 3 stars. (8-23-2016)