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Father of the Pride was a short-lived CGI Animated Sitcom. It was the first television production produced by Dreamworks Animation as well as the first show to use theater quality CGI. It aired on NBC in 2004.

Set in Las Vegas, the show depicts the secret lives of the animals who live there. The main characters are the family of white lions (father Larry, mother Kate, teenage daughter Sierra, son Hunter, and father-in-law Sarmoti) that form part of Siegfried and Roy's act. All the other animals in the Secret Garden (S&R's private zoo) basically act as sitcom neighbors.

The show was heavily hyped during the Olympics before it premiered, and featured loads of celebrities in regular and cameo roles. Dreamworks had high hopes for it, but before the premiere, Roy was attacked by one of his tigers, putting a pall on the proceedings. The duo insisted that The Show Must Go On.

But the show was a flop anyway, for several reasons. People were already sick of it by the time it premiered, thanks to all the promotion. It was very uncomfortable to watch the show with Roy's recent mauling in mind. And the show itself suffered from the notion, popular in the years post-South Park, that anything is funny as long as it is coming out of the mouth of a cute cartoon creature. Barring the Animation Age Ghetto issue, one must admit that seeing a cute lion character mime using her tail for...something else is a bit much for anyone.

The show has been released on DVD, but good luck finding a copy. Pride is mainly remembered now for being one of the most colossal flops in the history of prime-time animation, though Dreamworks has had more success with animated series since then.

Tropes used in Father of the Pride include:
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  Larry: (on a diet) "I can't eat like this! I'm a mighty predator, not Lara Flynn Boyle!... In fact I could go for a Lara Flynn Boyle right about now..."

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    • One episode has the female panther's' visible reaction when a virile male jaguar drops his towel... never mind that the animals otherwise never wear clothes.
  • Gilligan Cut: Combined with Flashback Twist on one occasion.
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  Larry: (one year ago) "I promise I'll never forget our wedding anniversary again!"

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  • Granola Girl: Sierra.
  • High on Catnip: An entire episode centers around Larry and Kate's assumptions that their daughter is smoking catnip. They end up accidentally ingesting it themselves, and rather... pot-like effects take hold.
  • Homage: to the classic family sitcom format, from All In The Family to The Simpsons.
  • Masquerade: Think about it. Larry and the rest of the Talking Animals usually walk upright but tend to drop on all fours in the presence of humans...
  • Meaningful Name: Sarmoti stands for Segfried and Roy: Masters of The Impossible.
  • Missing Episode: some broadcasts omit the "Panda episode", where Kate tries to matchmake her panda friend Lucy to a male panda, who falls for Kate instead. No actual cheating happens at all, though.
  • Multi Boobage: The female pig in the "Donkey" episode has eight nipples.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Averted. While Siegfried and Roy are voiced by impersonators, the real Siegfried and Roy are credited as exec producers, making the whole project legitimately sanctioned.
    • But otherwise played straight - one episode has Dick Cheney and Barbra Streisand.
  • Nobody Poops: Averted.
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 Sarmoti: ...now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna hit the litter box...hard!

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 Hunter: What's happening now?

Sierra: Oh, Simba was sad, and then Darth Vader said some made up African crap.

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 "Larry, I want you to know that even if you were my real son, I'd be pretty disappointed - but I'd make do."

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  • Yes-Man: Sarmoti's personal assistant.
  • You All Look Familiar: Weekly viewers would notice the same 'extras' filling out crowd scenes episode to episode.