The last movie I reviewed dealt with 18th century French adventurers who also happened to be experts in Kung Fu chasing after a werewolf like creature in the middle of the French countryside (see Brotherhood of the Wolf) so to continue the bizarre theme how about some Ninja expert international spies who also happen to be domestic pets!
CATS AND DOGS
For centuries our loveable pets have been engaged in bid for world domination. Humans of course know nothing about this. The Cats (the baddies) have hatched a fiendish plan to tip the balance in their favour, to make all humans allergic to dogs! The Dogs of course are out to stop them.
Jeff Goldblum plays Professor Brody a scientist who is on the verge of discovering a cure to dog allergies, the Cats plan to use this and alter it so that all humans will become allergic to dogs. The evil force behind this plan is Mr Tinkles an innocuous looking Persian cat who is also the leader of the feline forces of evil. To oppose them we have Butch an experienced ‘agency’ dog and new recruit Lou a beagle puppy who has been adopted by Mrs Brody the Professors wife, as a pet for her son Scott.
We are soon treated to a variety of James Bond like gadgets, some Ninja Siamese cats and a lot of technically astounding but essentially slapstick humour.
CAST, PERFORMANCES AND SPECIAL EFFECTS
Jeff Goldblum .... Professor Dad Brody Elizabeth Perkins .... Mrs. Mom Brody Alexander Pollock .... Scotty Brody Miriam Margolyes .... Sophie the Maid Tobey Maguire .... Lou the Beagle (voice) Alec Baldwin .... Butch, the Chief Agency Dog (voice) Sean Hayes .... Mr. Tinkles, the Evil Chief Cat (voice) Susan Sarandon .... Ivy, the Female Alley Dog (voice) Joe Pantoliano .... Peek (voice) Michael Clarke Duncan .... Sam the Sheepdog (voice) Jon Lovitz .... Calico (voice) Victor Wilson .... Doberman Drill Sergeant Salome Jens .... Collie at HQ (voice) Charlton Heston .... The Mastiff (voice) Glenn Ficarra .... Russian Blue (voice) Danny Mann .... Ninja Cat (voice) Billy West .... Ninja Cat (voice) Paul Pape .... Wolf Blitzer (voice)
Considering this is essentially a slapstick romp for kids it can boast quite a heavyweight cast. Jeff Goldblum has made a career of playing the eccentric scientist (Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Fly) and so he tends to be on autopilot for this role. Elizabeth Perkins is fine as the loving wife and Miriam Margolyes is hardly tested as the maid. However in a film such as this the human characters are merely the supporting roles, it is the mixture of computer-enhanced images and live animals along with the perfectly cast actors that provide their voices that really are the stars of the show.
Toby Maguire (now famous for being Spiderman) is just about right as the voice of Lou the hero of the story Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, and surprisingly Charlton Heston all excel as the doggy voices. I especially liked Joe Pantoliano as the voice of the doggy electronics expert, but the undisputed star of the film is Mr Tickles the evil mastermind leading the Cats. Making him a longhaired Persian is an obvious reference to Blowfeld’s cat in the early Bond movies and is a nice touch. The film tends to play of most peoples belief that dogs are more loyal and loveable than cats (sorry cat lovers) and thus it seems obvious to cast the dogs in the role of good guys while the cats are seen as both scheming and selfish, I don’t think it would have worked as well the other way round. The Siamese cats are obviously seen as oriental in nature and thus logically they become the ninja warriors. The film itself is a simple slapstick comedy for kids with some effective special effects to make the more entrancing. Judging by the reaction of my kids while watching it (aged 3 to 9) the filmmakers got it just about right. There are lots of subtle jokes in it too that maybe the youngest children will not get but it is nowhere near as good viewing for adults as say Toy Story was. Again just as in Toy Story the total ignorance of the humans about what is really going on also serves as a source of humour.
The special effects I would say were impressive but not outstanding, on a par with many other films. The talking animals were believable, within the context of the story and the action sequences were nicely set up and choreographed although it all get a little too frenetic in the final sequences. If anything, considering it was a movie populated by cute cuddly animals it lacked a little charm and you never felt totally won over by the animal characters, this is not wholly a bad thing as such films can descend into an all too sickly ‘sweet and cute’ Disney like mush.
The soundtrack was fine utilising some easily recognisable James Bond/Mission Impossible espionage generic rhythms that nicely matched the spy spoof nature of the film. Overall I would say the soundtrack was adequate but not all that memorable.
THE DVD
The visuals on the film itself are superb, the picture quality, brightness of the colours, sharpness of the images are excellent, apparently due to the digitally enhanced wide screen format. This is a bonus in films using digitally generated images spliced with live images as the picture quality of the live images is such that they cannot be told apart format he computer ones the tow cannot be told apart. The sound 5.1 Dolby stereo is also of high quality and crystal clear throughout.
*Special Features*
The DVD is quite clever in separating the special features menu into either cat features or Dog features. Choosing the Cat side first we find an interesting documentary of the making of the film crammed full of behind the scenes look at the setting up of the special effects including the methods used to create the CGI. This is presented by Sean Hayes (voice of Mr Tinkles) and includes interviews with all the main stars cut with many actual scenes from the film. The director and crew are also featured and give their viewpoint of the film including little insights into how specific scenes were created. The account of how the computer wizardry was put together is clearly presented and I found fascinating. A part of this documentary is also devoted to the training and handling of the real animals used in the film; we mustn’t forget that not just CGI was used. This part is also interesting and you get the impression that getting that calibre of performance out of the real animal was just as technically complex as making the digital images. The other interesting aspect of the film is when the real life action meets the special effects in the form of the animatronics, mechanical mimicry of part of the animal’s bodies. This aspect is also covered and once again you can’t fail to marvel at the ingenuity of those responsible.
On the Dog side we find a short documentary showing how the computer images were combined with the live action. We also have a selection of ‘concept drawings’ in a gallery presentation, from the film showing the original idea of what the animal characters would be doing in the film including all the gadgets they get to use.
On both sides you will also find a commentary version of the film with the voices of the film director, Lawrence Guterman, Producer Chris Defaria, Production designer James Bissel and Sean Hayes. This is interesting if you want to find out more about the thinking that went into behind certain of the scenes. I did find that I was not engaged enough by the film to really get much form this although it maybe different for other people.
More interesting is the storyboard comparison, which allows you to follow the storyboard sketches of the Siamese Ninja scene with the finished action from the film. This is the first time I have seen this done and it is certainly worth watching.
Standard features such as scene access, language selection (subtitles) and the film trailer complete the DVD package.
Also included on the disc are some enhanced features for your PC including the director’s alternative ending, wallpaper, gallery and screen savers as well a silly interactive game to create a secret identity for your own pets. Overall not a bad bundle of special features, some thought has gone into the presentation and the whole package is better than the average you get from most DVD’s.
OVERALL
This in the end is a very well produced technically impressive fun film for all the family. It is not a classic and unlike some of the better examples in this genre (e.g. Toy Story or Monster Inc.) it does not have enough adult appeal to really make it a 'must see' movie. Having said this young kids will love it, although it has to be remembered that it caries a PG certificate.
If I were reviewing the film on its own I might have given this op a lower rating but this is a review of the DVD package and this is were the product scores highly. The special features on this DVD have been thought out and put together very well, the behind the scenes documentaries are interesting and informative and a worth watching on their own merit, the basic features you’d expect on all DVD’s these days are all there and in addition the quality of both picture and sound is excellent. It is due to these aspects that made me give it a higher rating. This is a DVD that is well worth owning especially if you have younger children.
Production Year: 1993 - Family - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Michael Caine, The Muppets, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, David Rudman, Steve Whitmire
Sounds like this DVD has some great extras on it, but I'm still not convinced I'd ever get the urge to go out and buy it! Well balanced review nontheless! Rach x x
RayMan_UK 29.11.2002 20:39
I enjoyed this film too. It is mainly for kids, but what a good excuse to watch it. I agree that it doesn't quite equal some of the other films for adult appeal, but the special effects do. It is funnier than I expected it to be.
Thanks for sharing :-) Ray.
KarenUK 29.11.2002 18:57
I love this film, it's so cute, I love the evil cats!!
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Nov 27th, 2002
(Nov 28th, 2002)
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