'Doug's 1st Movie' Is First-Rate By Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, March 26, 1999

At the big dance, Doug, right, competes with Guy Graham for the heart of Patti Mayonnaise. (Buena Vista) Director: Sam Raimi Cast: Thomas McHugh; Fred Newman; Constance Shulman; Chris Phillips; Eddie Korbich Running Time: 1 hour, 19 minutes Contains nothing offensive

The 12½-year-old volunteers to help with the dishes, without nagging. He says sensible things like "Violence is only for those who have run out of good ideas." He wears his bike helmet, even when he's not riding his bike.

In short, he's too good to be true.

Doug, as any real-life kid will tell you, is a cartoon, the title character in the eponymous Saturday morning ABC-TV show, and now the star of a charming animated feature.

I don't know why I like this spiky-haired, pencil-necked, jug-eared freak so much. But then again, what's not to like? He's cute without being obnoxious. He means well, though he often screws up. He's a bit of a nerd, to tell you the truth, but never, ever, a loser.

God bless Doug.

As "Doug's 1st Movie" opens, we find our young hero (the voice of Thomas McHugh) and his best friend Mosquito "Skeeter" Valentine (Fred Newman) trying to prove the existence of a monster who lives in Lucky Duck Lake, hoping that his discovery and subsequent expose» of the lake's polluters will impress the lovely Patti Mayonnaise (Constance Shulman) enough to make her go to the big dance with him. He's also constantly trying to avoid getting beaten up by school bully Roger Klotz (Chris Phillips).

In other words, I am Doug, Doug is you, Doug is America.

While not as subversive as "The Rugrats Movie" or even as laugh-out-loud funny as "Antz," "Doug" is nevertheless the kind of movie that slaps a big smile on your face and leaves it there.

I love the fact that the lake monster is drawn like a cross between the creature from the black lagoon and Barney. I love the fact that Doug and Skeeter name him Her- man Melville when he tries to eat a copy of "Moby Dick." I love the fact that Patti – a sexless sex symbol, as she should be – talks like a kazoo on helium and that an evil robot is given the voice of Julia Child (Eddie Korbich).

I love Doug's superhero alter ego, Quailman, and the fact that he wears his underwear on the outside of his pants. I love Doug's color-blind hometown of Bluffington – Skeeter is blue, Roger a minty green – and I'm tickled pink by the pure silliness of the town mayor, who has the utterly undignified name of Tippi Dink.

"Doug's 1st Movie" aims for a young audience that is notoriously under-served and hits it in the head, heart and funny bone. It's the old-fashioned kind of movie that can get away with a stupid line like "I think we all learned something here" and manage to be neither snide nor sickeningly sweet.