Pets to the Rescue

I'm rating this movie four stars, but if I could rate it in half stars I'd give it three and a half.

The cinematography and music are professional, and George Hamilton acts very well here. These elements help keep the movie from being completely bad.

The main culprits in Pets to the Rescue are the story and the production value. The plot basically throws logic in the trash bin, from a security unit being defeated via laughing gas to a young boy building a working tank out of scrap metal in minutes. The filmmakers try to be clever to no avail, from having all the gold in the movie have the word "GOLD" branded on them to dressing about twenty mannequins up as soldiers for one scene (seriously). The animatronic animals are quite ugly and fake-looking. The movie tries to get political at one point ("That's what guns do! They hurt people!"), but of course flubs that one too. Et cetera, et cetera...

I gotta say, though, Pets to the Rescue is quite an entertaining movie. Families are sure to hoot and holler with laughter at nearly every scene. However, they'll probably be laughing for the wrong reasons.

The main writer of this kiddie flick is none other than Christopher Atkins. Yup...the one from "The Blue Lagoon". His screenplay is harmless enough but it probably won't stimulate anyone over the age of 12 or so.

Some incompetent thieves (are there any other kind these days?) get away with an armored truck carrying a bunch of gold. They end up driving the truck into a pond or river or some kind of body of water and the truck gets stuck. Nearby, there are a couple of kids home alone on a farm while their parents are away running some errands.

The thieves tie up the kids and it is up to a few of the animals on the farm to save the day. It's all cute enough but there are several problems. One is that the crooks are so annoying. I don't think I can handle watching any more bad guys who are bumbling idiots. Watching them act dumb and be the victims of slapstick violence gets dull awfully fast.

Another distraction includes animatronic animals that make the animals at Chuck E. Cheese look positively lifelike by comparison. Also, the little boy in the movie, maybe 7 years old or so, actually builds a tank (complete with a working turret!) using power tools. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough for that one.

Overall, it had some cute moments but nothing of any real interest or importance ever happens. George Hamilton, Emma Samms and Greg Evigan all have roles but none of them have too much actual screen time. Kids who are easily entertained and like animals will probably enjoy this, but all others should skip it. 3/10

This is a lovely family movie that made my kids scream with laughter. The pets are adorable and the message is worthwhile too. My kids are 5 and 9 and really enjoyed the movie very much. At that age, children don't expect Oscar ripe performances of the actors. It's all about the fun and a different movie than what you normally see on TV. I'm glad for those smaller movies that offer me and my kids a bit of a variety to the big blockbuster movies. You've seen them in the cinema, then on the tube and then again and again the same movies. I rather prefer new stories and my kids too. All in all i full heartedly recommend this movie to other families with young children.

I have just finished watching this movie for the first time in years.

Bearing in mind I'm now in my mid twenties and I last saw the film when I was about ten.

I will admit it's a terrible film but it's brilliant.

Cheesy and predictable but with enough slapstick humour and naughty jokes to keep me entertained.

So bad that's it's good.

It took me years to get hold of the film but it was well worth the wait. I had it on video but my tape broke and I was unable to find the Dvd until now.

Will be watching it again and again for years to come.