Charlie Schlatter Movies

All of the "pets" in this half hour cartoon series (two short segments per episode) were space aliens who had escaped the "boredom" of their own world in favor of new adventures on earth. The animalistic extraterrestrials all landed in the backyard of taffy-eatin 12 year old Tommy Cadle, who lived in DeSpray Bay. Headquartering themselves in an old lighthouse tower, Tommy's new friends dedicated themselves to solving all of the boy's problems, but generally ended up making a mess of things. The alien aggreagation included Dinko, the leader; Gumpers, a slobbering, lazy, lovable monstrosity; wacky, hyper-active Flip, who evidently spoke in tongues; the obnoxious, spoiled Swanky; and the loyal, doglike Scruffy. Pet Aliens was first seen January 23, 2005 over the Cartoon Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The weekly, half-hour animated Loonatics Unleashed was basically a Teen Titans-style makeover of such familiar Warner Bros. cartoon characters as Bugs and Babs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote and the Tasmanian Devil. The action was set in the year 2772, when the descendants of the famous Warner Bros. "toons" were living in Acmetropolis, a city-state where the paranormal was normal. When a meteor knocked the earth off its axis, the protagonists were exposed to cosmic dust, whereupon they re-emerged as superheroes with new names and talents: Ace and Lexi Bunny, Danger Duck, Rev Runner, Tech E. Coyote and Slam Tasmanian. Following the orders of Acmetropolis' self-appointed ruler Zadavia, the "Loonatics" used their remarkable powers to save the rest of the world from such villains as Professor Zane, Dr. Dare and Black Velvet. Although the series provoked controversy with its radical new character designs, the Loonatics were at heart the same characters we'd grown to know and love from their theatrical-cartoon adventures, and of course were beset by the same slapstick calamities. Loonatics Unleashed (a title that was attacked by certain special-interest groups because it allegedly "stigmatized" people with mental illness!) made its WB network Saturday-morning bow on September 17, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this frantic satiric comedy, Maximus Powers (Eric Roberts) and Mike Saunders (Charlie Schlatter) are a pair of airline pilots who are flying a chartered jet to Japan, booked for the contestants in the Miss Galaxy Beauty Pageant. Bad luck is following them and the pilots crash-land on a deserted island, where they struggle to find a way to ferry themselves and the glamour girls back to civilization. However, things on the island are hardly as quiet as they might imagine, as they soon discover its home to a gigantic half-pig, half-dinosaur; a tribe of intelligent ape people; and the remnants of Noah's Ark. As Powers and Saunders plot their next moves, they are recruited for an unusual mission by Special Agent MJ (Michael Jackson), who appears as a giant light in the sky. By the way, that really is Michael Jackson the pop singer appearing in a cameo role; other guest stars include Stuart Pankin, Evan Marriott, and Colleen Shannon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This two-hour TV-movie spinoff of the long-running mystery series Diagnosis Murder is reminiscent of the classic "Dr. Christian" B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Dick Van Dyke is back as Dr. Mark Sloan, still combining his regular medical duties with sleuthing, this time for humanitarian purposes. Sloan and his colleagues are determined to stem a deadly epidemic that started in a migrant worker's camp and threatens to spread throughout Los Angeles. This requires the good doctor to journey all the way to Mexico to determine the source of the disease--and hopefully, to find an antidote. In the course of his investigation, Sloan comes to the horrifying conclusion that the epidemic is the result of a bioterrorist plot. . .and, of course, there is a murder involved. Diagnosis Murder: Without Warning made its CBS debut on April 26, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Granted one hour by Andrew (John Dye) to set his affairs in order before his death, wealthy old Edward Greeley (John McMartin) uses the time he has left to straighten out his spoiled-rotten son Kevin (Charlie Schlatter). After Edward shuffles off his mortal coil, Kevin is shocked to learn that his dad has cut him out of his will. Enter angelic caseworker Tess (Della Reese) in the guise of a lawyer, informing Kevin that he must embark upon a cross-country odyssey in search of one Joseph Wells (whom he's never even heard of!) to claim his inheritance. Along the way, Kevin learns a few sobering life lessons from a philosophical dishwasher who looks a lot like Tess' supervisor Sam (Paul Winfield), and from no less than the Angel of Music, played by singer Keb' Mo'. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a major stumbling block toward better international relations, America's most laughable police officers are sent to Russia to fight crime in this comedy. In Moscow, master criminal Konali (Ron Perlman) has marketed a new computer game that has an unusual hidden feature -- it allows him to bring down any security system controlled by a PC on which the game has been played, with a string of major robberies as the result. Russian Police Commandant Rakov (Christopher Lee) is at his wit's end about how to deal with the crisis, so he asks for help from the U.S. law enforcement community. However, Rakov's American allies turn out to be Lassard (George Gaynes), Harris (G.W. Bailey), and the rest of the crew from the Police Academy (among them Michael Winslow, David Graf, and Leslie Easterbrook). Claire Forlani also appears in a small role as a Russian beauty. This was the seventh and last film in the Police Academy series, following the departure of franchise loyalist Bubba Smith. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this exciting and violent crime drama, a drug dealer turned photojournalist returns to his old stomping grounds in L.A. and ends up entangled in a new drug scheme by his former pal. After stealing a fortune in drugs from a ruthless crime lord, the photographer must flee for his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The time is the mid-1950s; the place is a small, conservative town in Australia. Brownie (Charlie Schlatter) and Lola (Kylie Minoque), both well under the age of consent, fall in love. Their parents are dead set against this relationship, and do everything in their power to break it up. Because no one will leave them alone, Brownie and Lola rebel against their elders and embark upon a life of petty crime. Delinquents is based on a novel by Criena Rohan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny Wolfe (Charlie Schlatter) is an Ohio teen whose alcoholic mother Marie (Tuesday Weld) has been a huge Elvis Presley fan since the 1950s. To cheer her up on her birthday, Johnny kidnaps the king of rock & roll (David Keith) after a 1972 concert. Elvis settles in to the Wolfe's den by decorating the house to his flamboyant tastes and helping Marie and her daughter Pam (Angela Goethals) through some difficult times. After Johnny convinces Elvis to perform with him at a high-school talent competition, he also lectures Elvis that he has lost touch with his roots and urges him do drop his schmaltzy Las Vegas image. This implausible but entertaining feature was given the go-ahead by the Presley estate and contains none of the legendary excesses that led to the king's death in 1977. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide