2001, Warner Brothers
Live action
Rating: PG
Approx. 88 mins.
THE STORY:
While we humans go about our self-important lives, an entirely different society exists unbeknownst to us right under our noses: that of dogs and cats. The latter, are represented by Mr Tinkles (Sean Hayes), a crazy, evil feline out to take over the world. The dogs are organized into a sophisticated spy network with the goals of protecting themselves against ninja cats, and protecting Professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum), an inventor trying to create a cure for dog allergies in his basement lab.
When the agent disguised as the family pooch is kidnapped from the Brody home, a replacement is brought in. An unfortunate mix-up, however, results in Lou (Tobey Maguire), a 'civilian' beagle puppy, filling the vacancy. The local senior agent, Butch (Alec Baldwin), helps guide Lou hone his espionage techniques in the hope that he can keep the Brody lab safe from feline interference.
A happy accident results in Lou and his 'boy', Scotty (Alexander Pollock), finding the winning allergy-preventing formula. Mr. Tinkles undertakes a plan, however, to steal the formula and reverse it such that all humans will develop an allergy to dogs. Lou, with some help from his agent friends, rescues his family and the formula from the warped cat and saves the day.
When the agent disguised as the family pooch is kidnapped from the Brody home, a replacement is brought in. An unfortunate mix-up, however, results in Lou (Tobey Maguire), a 'civilian' beagle puppy, filling the vacancy. The local senior agent, Butch (Alec Baldwin), helps guide Lou hone his espionage techniques in the hope that he can keep the Brody lab safe from feline interference.
A happy accident results in Lou and his 'boy', Scotty (Alexander Pollock), finding the winning allergy-preventing formula. Mr. Tinkles undertakes a plan, however, to steal the formula and reverse it such that all humans will develop an allergy to dogs. Lou, with some help from his agent friends, rescues his family and the formula from the warped cat and saves the day.
QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:
- stupid
- shut up
- imbecile
- idiot
VIOLENCE:
- some pretty violent acts-- shooting, bombs, throwing stars, hand to hand combat, explosions, etc.
TEACHING POINTS:
- heavy message for parents about prioritizing family over work, and the importance of communication
- ask for help when you need it: we can't do everything by ourselves
THE UPSHOT:
This movie is definitely the work of 'dog people', so there is a huge bias against cats. It's all in good fun, though, and just plays on deeply entrenched stereotypes of the 2 species, so probably all but the most die-hard crazy cat la... people will be able to see the humour in the scenario.
My only real issue is with the violence. Especially because it is live action rather than animation, all the shooting and other potentially life-threatening action is a bit intense. The 5 year-old in the room was OK with it, of course, but the adults in the room did a bit of wincing.
I like the originality of the concept and the execution is solid: good voice work, impressive special effects mingled with kitschily bad effects, decent pacing, good script. Worth a watch.
My only real issue is with the violence. Especially because it is live action rather than animation, all the shooting and other potentially life-threatening action is a bit intense. The 5 year-old in the room was OK with it, of course, but the adults in the room did a bit of wincing.
I like the originality of the concept and the execution is solid: good voice work, impressive special effects mingled with kitschily bad effects, decent pacing, good script. Worth a watch.
4/5
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