Firehouse Dog is a live action family film that was released in 2007. It was produced by Regency and stars Josh Hutcherson, Bruce Greenwood, and Bill Nunn.
The movie follows Rexxx, a canine movie star. When a risky airplane stunt goes wrong, he ends up lost in a small town, where he is found by the son of the local fire chief. The two learn to bond with one another, and Rexxx, called Dewey by his new family, finds his place away from the cameras and fans of Hollywood.
This movie contains examples of:
- All-Natural Fire Extinguisher: In one fire, all hands are on deck from the different fire stations to put out a fire on a garbage barge. Dewey finds his own way to help, urinating on a few flaming crates to put them out.
- Attention Whore: As a celebrity, Rexxx loves to have attention on him. He certainly hates when other dog celebrities have time in the spotlight, as early on he is upset at the mention of the Taco Bell Chihuahua
- Comical Nap Drool: At the beginning of the movie, Shane falls asleep before class due to staying up all night playing video games, drooling while his friends scramble to cram for their upcoming pop quiz.
- Cool Board: Shane uses one of these as his main form of transportation. Eventually, Dewey shows off his own skills on it, which starts the process of them bonding with one another.
- Diabolical Dog Catcher: When Rexxx is lost in the city, he runs across a dog catcher, who laughs manically at the prospect of catching another dog.
- Exact Eavesdropping: Shane is able to overhear the exact part of a conversation where Corbin Sellars tells the arsonist to set another fire so that he can build a football stadium, alerting him to the fact that another fire is about to be set.
- Firehouse Dalmatian: Dogpatch’s rival station, Greenhouse, has their own firehouse dog: a dalmatian named Sparky.
- From Stray to Pet: After getting lost, Dewey wanders South Harbor as a stray until he is rescued from a burning building by the town’s fire department. The fire captain, Connor Fahey chooses to take him in until someone calls about their lost dog, but eventually the Faheys bond with Dewey, and keep him as a pet.
- Headgear Headstone: When Rexxx is assumed dead after his disappearance, his toupee is left on his grave, as that’s all his owner had to remember him by.
- Heroic Dog: Dewey runs into a burning building to help Connor Fahey rescue Jesse Presely, who had been buried in debris.
- Howl of Sorrow: Rexxx lets out one of these after seeing that his owner has assumed that he had died.
- It Always Rains at Funerals: Once he’s declared dead, Rexxx’s funeral is a solemn event that takes place in the rain. After it ends, it’s revealed that the rain was faked using sprinklers, as his owner believed that he would have wanted a dramatic funeral.
- Non-Mammalian Hair:
- Rexxx’s ex-girlfriend, Lola, is a dalmatian with a head of braided hair.
- Rexxx himself has his own pompadour, although it’s confirmed to be a toupee when it falls off his head.
- Pet Positive Identification: Dewey is able to pick the scent of his previous owner, Trey Falcon, in a crowd, which Trey uses to prove to the Faheys that Dewey is his dog.
- Product Placement: Several brands and products are brought into focus throughout the movie. The video games that Shane plays are specifically stated to be Microsoft consoles, with special attention brought to his PSP and playstation, and at the end of the movie, the Presleys invite the Faheys out to dinner, specifically Bojangles.
- Riches to Rags: Rexxx begins the movie as a Hollywood star, with all the luxuries of the rich and famous. He ends the movie as Dewey, the pet of a suburban family - but he seems much happier.
- Serial Crime Map: Connor Fahey has a conspiracy board behind his desk, where he marks the location of the different fires that he suspects are connected to a single arsonist. His son, Shane, uses the map to realize that Corbin Sellars is targeting buildings in one specific neighborhood to make room for a football stadium. And the building he’s sitting in is the last one he needs to burn.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: While not unattractive, Pep, the fireshouses mechanic, spends most of the movie with her hair up and in the same uniform as the other firefighters, making it a drastic change when she dresses up for the firefighter’s gala, with her hair down and wearing a floor-length dress.
- Skipping School: Shane skips school in order to get out of taking a pop quiz, something he clearly does often, as he’s chastised by Terrance and Lionel.
- Wrench Wench: Pep is the only woman who works in the Dogpatch unit, and she’s the firehouse’s mechanic. She’s competitive about the speed of their fire truck in comparison to the other units, and she’s the most excited when the firehouse gets a shiny new engine.
