This week, with all of the media hype surrounding the recent release of 'Finding Nemo', my daughter seemed in need of a change, so we decided to hunt out our well played copy of this film. Being the cat owners (in my case), cat lovers (in my wife and daughter's case) we are, this film was always going to be a favourite in our house, but I have to admit that the first time we watched it, I was convinced I would hate this. I still do not know why I thought this way as I had heard very little about the film so had nothing to base my doubts on, but I think maybe at the time, it was just one of many films of this genre that were released, and not all of them were that great, however before I even review the film, I admit I stand corrected.
So what's it all about? Well I don't want to give too much away, as this is definitely one of those films that will be spoiled if you know most of the action. Jeff Goldblum plays the eccentric Professor Brody who has a severe allergy to dogs and spends most of his days locked away in his basement/lab trying to invent a cure for people who have the same allergy. Now should this happen, it would be a momentus occasion in
more than one sense, as if people can cure their allergy to dogs, then their already huge popularity as household pets is likely to increase, which put the cats under threat, and the canines will be the rulers in the pet world, an outcome which would clearly be a disaster for the pussy cats!
Now, you would think the simplest thing for someone with an allergy to dogs would be to keep away from dogs...well not here...otherwise the film would be pretty pointless to be honest! One day, Brody's son Scott's (Alexander Pollock) dog goes missing (although we the viewer know it is not this straightforward), so his wife (Elizabeth Perkins) replaces said dog with a new puppy, called Lou (voice provided by Spiderman star Tobey Macguire) who is initially shunned by the son, so much so he even saddles him with the infortunate nickname of Lou The Loser. However, we soon discover that not only are the animals in this film intelligent, they can converse with each other, and when the cats hear that they might be under threat, they decide to close ranks and fight back under the rule of dictator puss, moody Persian Mr Tinkle. It is an excellent idea for a plot, and it is handled well, with just the right amount of humour, and this prevents it from being a bit farcical.
Lou is recruited by the dogs in the neighbourhood, lead by Butch the alsation, in order to fight of the threat of Mr Tinkle and his gang from their HQ, which is actually a kennel that they have customised. They think that Lou has been specially chosen for this mission, but they soon realise their error when it is clear Lou is not up to the job. Lou wants to be a loyal pet to Scott, but then he feels he has a duty to fight alongside his fellow canines, whilst protecting the Brody's from the evil cats who want to try and steal the potion that Professor Brody is developing. This is also probably a subliminal message from a dog lover to show us how loyal dogs are, whereas those evil cats will become turncoats at the hint of an opportunity to reign proudly!
This is a film with all round family appeal, and when the cats were being household pets, my daughter thought they were gorgeous, but there is no getting away from their more sinister side! We are told in this film that cats are evil, cunning creatures, who will let nothing and noone get in their way in their quest to be the dominant species, and dogs are the cute ones who only want fair play and a chance to live harmoniously with their feline enemies. We even get a bit of a history lesson which explains why the two have a grudge against each other, which goes right back to Ancient Egypt. The computer animation element of the film is tremendous, and the expressions the cats appear with are part of the reason the film is such a resounding success, and director Lawrence Guterman seems to have the perfect camera shot in each scene in order to capture the most magic, and fool most viewers into forgetting that so much technical wizardry is needed to get the cats and dogs to do what they do. There are some classic scenes, especially when a Russian cat gets into the Brody's house, and the dogs try to protect them from the might of the Samurai sword throwing cat......I promise it is much funnier than it sounds.
The pace of the film makes it very enjoyable, as there are few moments when there is not some gripping on screen action, especially for the younger viewers. At first, I thought that the vioence in the film really would not be suitable for a three year old to watch, but it is handled so brilliantly, that after the first half an hour, I barely gave this matter a second thought, and my daughter was not affected by it at all. The voice overs are provided by some very well known stars. In addition to Macguire, there are vocal appearances from Alec Baldwin, Jon Lovitz, Susan Sarandon, Michael Clarke Duncan and Charlton Heston, so it is clear that this was no low budget production, but that said, the money was not spent on developing the plot, so please do not watch this and expect to have to think your way through the film, as you will end up sorely disappointed. This is pure and simple, a sit back, relax, watch and enjoy type of film, which I highly recommend, even to those of you without children.
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
When I first saw this advertised I really wanted to see it.However when I actually did see it I thought it was really silly.Definately not a film I'd watch again!
Aimee xxx
PS-Good op :)
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Nov 13th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
