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Created for Character Design class at College of the Canyons, Night Guard is a short traditionally-animated film featuring a fight between the huge guard dog Col. Bow Wow and klutzy villain Willie Swipe. The film dates from June 2012.

Plot Summary[]

2016-11-16 17-38-56

"Stop it! Stop it! You're ruining everything!"
-Theodore Taylor, Mustache Maniacs Film Co. is Coming to LEGO Dimensions!
Spoiler warning! This section contains details that reveal crucial plot points. If you do not want to find out what happens, skip to the next section.

One night at Dr. Leinad Laboratories, Col. Bow Wow is sitting in front of the lab's secret specimen vault when he notices a commotion outside the window. He gets up to investigate the disturbance and calls out, "Who goes there?," only to find the window unlatched. Col. Bow Wow then imagines what he is going to do to the intruder.

From behind a table, Willie Swipe pokes up his head and creeps to the vault. He dashes to another wall, assuming Col. Bow Wow hasn't seen him. Picking up a discarded baseball bat, Willie gets ready to swing the bat. However, when he does, he hits himself in the head, knocking himself out. This pleases Col. Bow Wow, amused that such a sneaky burglar could be so clumsy.

Production History[]

The film was created around the character design of Col. Bow Wow, instead of typical productions, which usually operate the other way around. Using wires and globs of paint, a few characters were created. One of them was a French Madame, which would have appeared in a cancelled animated version of Com 50. There were some other characters, too, including Col. Bow Wow, the one who made it into this film.

Willie Swipe was created later on, after production had started. There were several variations of the chracter created, but the one that was selected read best because of his bulbous, VeggieTales-style eyes. His form also had sharp edges, which contrasted with Col. Bow Wow's round contours.

The film was announced on February 29, 2012, as part of "A Whole Extra Day of Announcements" on the Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Press Room. At this point, production started and ran smoothly through the end of May. The plan was to release the film on June 1, but because of technical issues, it had to be pushed back to June 14.

Audience Reception[]

Not many people have seen Night Guard, but those that have said that the film was very funny, especially the character of Col. Bow Wow. Despite the positive feedback and a version on Vimeo, the film has not done well, receiving only a few hundred views.

Mistakes[]

  • Continuity Error: After Willie Swipe pokes his head up from behind the lab table, he creeps towards camera left. In the next shot, he is still facing camera left, but is now hiding behind the opposite side of the same table.

Characters[]

Locations[]

Credits[]

  • Andrew Bermudez - Creator, Animator, Voice Actor, Concept Artist
  • Masha Vasilkovsky - Adviser, Teacher (MEA 232), Editor

Tropes[]

2016-11-16 17-38-56

"Stop it! Stop it! You're ruining everything!"
-Theodore Taylor, Mustache Maniacs Film Co. is Coming to LEGO Dimensions!
Spoiler warning! This section contains details that reveal crucial plot points. If you do not want to find out what happens, skip to the next section.

Night Guard contains examples of the following tropes.

  • All There in the Manual: It's not mentioned anywhere in the film itself, but Col. Bow Wow was created by Dr. Wallace Bishop to be the perfect guard dog. It...sort of worked.
  • Amusing Injuries: Willie Swipe defeats himself by hitting himself on the head.
  • Angry Guard Dog: Col. Bow Wow is very much not going to let anyone get near the secret specimen vault.
  • Continuity Nod: Sitting on one of the lab tables in the lab is a bag from Dan K. Donuts, the doughnut shop that Ralph Vagabond robs in Seeing Eye Robber.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Willie Swipe is defeated by hitting himself in the head with the baseball bat that he is about to use to attack Col. Bow Wow.
  • Imagine Spot: When Col. Bow Wow turns his attention to the window that he has just heard swing open, he briefly imagines what he plans to do to the intruder.
  • Incompetent Guard Animal: For all of his dedication to protecting Dr. Leinad Laboratories, Col. Bow Wow is too fat to actually be truly effective.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: Canonically, Col. Bow Wow is a hybrid of a dog and a buffalo.
  • Stupid Crooks: The character of Willie Swipe.

Trivia[]

  • The Leinad in Dr. Leinad Laboratories is the name Daniel, voice actor for Johnny Thunder, spelled backwards.
  • Col. Bow Wow is a dog, but his anatomy is modeled after a buffalo.
  • Originally, Willie Swipe was going to fight Col. Bow Wow, but this had to be cut out due to time constraints.
  • The film was originally titled Guard Dog.

Gallery[]

External Links[]

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