Brian (Wesley Eure) will lose his job if the new security system he’s been developing isn’t earth shattering enough to overshadow his previous failure. Luckily, Brian’s built a robot dog modeled on his own pet Rascal, so he’s pretty confident he’ll get to stay employed AND stay engaged to the bosses daughter Casey (Valerie Bertinelli). But there are saboteurs and doubters afoot, so the Canine HOMe Protection System (C.H.O.M.P.S.) has his wacky work cutout for him!

This movie had the opportunity to be cute or funny or so corny it was entertaining. Instead, it’s a rather boring mish-mash that pulls off none of those things. It’s obvious they had a premise and struggled to fill out an hour and a half with it, mostly by having C.H.O.M.P.S. chase things while making "fumy" noises dogs don‘t make. (That‘s one of his features. He can sound like a cop siren, or gunfire or other things that would strike fear in the hearts of criminals, like, say, a train.) It’s as if someone had a well-trained dog and a sound effects tape they weren’t doing anything else with, so they decided to make a movie. Sadly, they also decided to drag comedy legend Red Buttons down with them, casting him as one of two bumbling criminals hired to capture C.H.O.M.P.S.

The most confusing and compelling part of the story is Monster, a neighbourhood dog who bullies Rascal. Monster’s the only dog in the movie that talks (and swears!), commenting on the action to himself. Since we don’t hear Rascal’s internal monologue, one gets the impression there’s been an undiscovered genius dog living across the street from Brian all this time. No wonder Monster’s so grumpy - he’s just not being challenged.

For special features there’s only the theatrical trailer and a scene selection menu. The trailer is useful only because it gives you a good idea of what’s to follow and because it does succeed in being so corny it’s sort of amusing.

With an image and sound quality that are as middling as everything else, this DVD is only a good bet for those who already have a fondness for the film from seeing it as a child or who think sound effects can make anything funny. Otherwise, steer clear, watch one of the far better dog movies out there, or just take a live dog out for a walk.