C.H.O.M.P.S.

Story

In response to a rise in criminal activity in his hometown, security systems engineer Brian (Wesley Eure) is determined to create a state-of-the-art security system for Norton Security. Unfortunately, his current design doesn’t work, and he’s fired by his boss Mr Norton (Conrad Bain).

Unbeknown to Mr Norton, Brian has been secretly developing a new, revolutionary system in the form of a crime-fighting robot dog called the ‘canine home protection system’, or C.H.O.M.P.S. for short. Brian hopes that C.H.O.M.P.S. is his key to winning back the approval of Mr Norton so that he can save Norton Security from bankruptcy and ask for Mr Norton’s blessing to marry his daughter Casey (Valerie Bertinelli).

However, when Norton Security competitor Mr Gibbs (Jim Backus) catches wind of C.H.O.M.P.S., he decides to steal the robotic dog, causing chaos for Brian and his furry friend.

Themes

Anti-corporation; criminal activity; technological advancement

Violence

C.H.O.M.P.S. has some violence. For example:

lots of slapstick violence with no injuries, including falling out of windows, getting chased, and characters falling over.
Mr Norton yells at and degrades Brian’s work, firing him.
A character falls off a ladder into a large box.
C.H.O.M.P.S. jumps over a car, causing a multiple-car accident, but no injuries.
C.H.O.M.P.S. blasts through a brick wall, knocking a man over and covering him in paint.
Using a forklift, C.H.O.M.P.S. crushes a car, trapping the characters inside and detaining them for the police.
C.H.O.M.P.S. knocks over a van of burglars.

Sexual references

C.H.O.M.P.S. has some sexual references. For example:

A couple kiss multiple times.
A male character forcefully kisses his girlfriend to stop her talking. This is made to seem romantic.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

C.H.O.M.P.S. has some substance use – for example, a character is shown smoking a cigar in multiple scenes.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in C.H.O.M.P.S..

Product placement

C.H.O.M.P.S. has some product placement. For example:

Several characters are shown driving Ford trucks.
Characters are shown eating at Burger King.
Science Diet dog food is shown on a billboard.
Casey is shown carrying around and placing on a table an unopened can of Wilson tennis balls.
C.H.O.M.P.S. is shown operating a Yale branded forklift.
A Coca-Cola vending machine is shown.

Coarse language

C.H.O.M.P.S. has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

C.H.O.M.P.S. is a slapstick comedy filled with somewhat repetitive, cheesy sound effects and high-speed chases. It’s a fun, nostalgic movie that’s likely to appeal to older children, But criminal behaviour, mild coarse language and occasional scary scenes make it unsuitable for children under 6 years, and parental guidance is recommended for viewers aged 6-11 years.

These are the main messages from C.H.O.M.P.S.:

If you keep trying in the face of adversity, your hard work will pay off.
Being good is better than a life of crime.

Values in C.H.O.M.P.S. that you could reinforce with your children include perseverance, teamwork, and self-worth.

C.H.O.M.P.S. could also give you the chance to talk with your children about things like:

Changes in attitudes and behaviour over time – for example, when Brian kisses Casey to make her stop talking.
Large corporations being seen as villains.
Using robots to help us in everyday life.
The ethical implications of programming a robot to be an animal.