Wesley Eure is young inventor Brian Foster, who's invented a new crime busting security device in the form of a robot dog, the titular "C.H.O.M.P.S." (It stands for Canine HOMe Protection System). C.H.O.M.P.S., who's been modeled after Brian's real dog Rascal, can do just about anything; he's got enhanced speed, strength, X-ray vision, and the like. It's just the thing to save his boss Ralph Norton's (Conrad Bain) security company. Naturally, a slimy competitor, Gibbs (Jim Backus) wants the edge so he tries to get his hands on the secret.

This is the kind of thing that's just too hard to resist. It's got plenty of slapstick (Chuck McCann and Red Buttons play a great pair of bumbling idiots), an upbeat attitude, an engaging cast, and enough good laughs to keep one entertained. The energetic disco-style music gets repetitive but is undeniably catchy; the story is straightforward, and the dogs themselves are absolutely adorable. In one thoroughly odd but side-splitting touch, there's another dog in the film (named "Monster") whose thoughts we actually get to hear; both his dialog and the performer doing the voice are priceless. In fact, he even utilizes some mild profanity and his last words end the film on a positively gut busting final note.

Eure and the cute Valerie Bertinelli are very likable young leads, and their veteran supporting cast plays the material with all the gusto they can muster. Larry Bishop, Hermione Baddeley, Robert Q. Lewis, and Regis Toomey also co-star.

A rare theatrical live-action venture for the cartoon-creating team of Hanna & Barbera ('The Flintstones', 'Scooby-Doo', 'The Smurfs', and so on), "C.H.O.M.P.S." is agreeably silly stuff. I know it left me with a smile on my face.

7/10