I'm back and this time I will be writing some new reviews as well as making some long-overdue update...
I'm back and this time I will be writing some new reviews as well as making some long-overdue updates on my older work.
Member since:11.07.2000
Reviews:82
Members who trust:43
Since the beginning of time a war has been waging – unfortunately man has never noticed. Beneath our noses the conflict between the competing master species has continued from generation to generation – cat against dog. This is the background to this comic tale of conflict, world domination… and talking animals.
I should say that I don’t often venture into the cinema but on this occasion I watched the film with my wife in a late evening viewing, so not as many kiddies as might be usual.
This is a comedy action feature from Warner Brothers released in time for the summer break when all sensible parents are looking for easy solutions to the demand for entertainment. It is promoted as a family film and is rated in the UK as certificate PG, although I couldn’t see which of the scenes might be considered unsuitable for children.
The Story ~~~~~~
Over many centuries cats and dogs have struggled for control. Although dogs
have normally held the upper hand there were periods (for example, during Pharonic Egypt) when cats were in control and enslaved mankind for their own purposes. Unknown to man both cats and dogs talk and have developed their own international organisations for defence and co-operation.
The story revolves around the Brody family. The father, played by Jeff Goldblum, is a scientist working on a cure for allergy to dogs (although quite why his lab is in the cellar of the family home is never explained) – this is obviously not in the cats’ interest. The dogs have an agent placed in the household to protect the research, unfortunately he is kidnapped at the beginning of the film. The story centres on the efforts of the replacement dog to defeat the evil intent of the feline agents.
The cats are lead by the inappropriately named Mr Tinkles, a white Persian megalomaniac with new plans for world domination. The dogs, perhaps in deference to their pack mentality (or maybe it was just poor scripting) don’t have such dominant personalities and are more team players (for which you may read ‘dull’).
The Characters ~~~~~~~~~
The characters fall into two groups, human and animal. It is a reflection on the script rather than the performance to say that the animals have the better-developed personalities. The human family around whom the action rotates is a sad bunch of stereotypes with whom it is difficult to feel any empathy. The animals are rather more entertaining. As mentioned above, the cats’ leader, Mr Tinkles, is an evil mastermind in the body of a fluffy white Persian. The various dogs, while less striking, still manage to display a greater depth of emotion and character than any of the humans.
I wouldn’t imagine the Jeff Goldblum saw this as a vehicle to advance his career and I think that if there are queues of Goldblum fans waiting to see their hero in action they will be sadly disappointed.
The Effects ~~~~~~~
The animals are portrayed by using a combination of live action, animatronics (robotic puppets) and computer animation. Overall this is handled very well and the joins are not too obvious (apart from the terrible stuffed paw coming in to screen to operate equipment in close up – this is too reminiscent of the days of ‘Thunderbirds’ where a human hand suddenly appear to flick a switch). The climatic scenes are satisfyingly destructive and on the whole the special effects manage to stay in the background supporting the narrative rather than dominating it.
For some reason I found the talking cats to be more convincing than the dogs. Whether that’s because cats have better shaped faces for this animation or if it’s merely my predisposition to see cats as more intelligent is a moot point.
The soundtrack is adequate rather than inspiring, but it does the job.
Overall Critique ~~~~~~~~~
While the film has it’s flaws (the family…) and could never match the hype I found it a very funny and entertaining film. The animation effects are well handled and Mr Tinkles is a star! Funniest part for me was the briefing of the unlikely allies – ‘Turn to page 5 of your booklets…’. I saw it in an almost entirely adult audience and there was plenty of laughter, I’d imagine on a matinee performance full of kids it would have been even livelier!
If you want to check out the official hype see - www.catsanddogsmovie.co.uk
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1993 - Family - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Michael Caine, The Muppets, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, David Rudman, Steve Whitmire
Family - Director: Sarah Ball - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Neil Morrissey, Noddy Holder, Alison Steadman, Stephen Tompkinson, Chris Evans, Elton John, Bob The Builder
Paul, as you know this is my favourite film at the moment. When are you taking me to see it again? Lusia.
hip_chick 05.10.2001 17:18
Cool op.
arcadionseyes 21.09.2001 14:55
A top opinion, I knew I had to see this as soon as I heard the name of the villain - Mr. Tinkles. Now I just need to find some willing cohorts to accompany to the cinema...cheers!
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![Cats And Dogs [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78521214.jpg "Cats And Dogs [DVD]")
![Cats And Dogs [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78545313.jpg "Cats And Dogs [DVD] [2001]")
Sep 14th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
