Space Dogs

Suitable for kids? I guess so. But the movie is pretty unconventional.

It tries to capture and deliver the long-forgotten atmosphere of soviet childhood with many of its supporting characters based on nearly iconic characters of old Soviet cartoons and children's stories. The setting - Moscow of the 60-s. This contributes to the overall spirit of nostalgia, It's like if the authors take their old toys from an attic and start telling their stories.

The story is little sad, and the characters always have to keep struggling, while their fate doesn't even belong to them. This spirit is probably created intentionally to make the viewers experience what it was like to be a Soviet man. There's nothing propagandistic about this film, and, as I said, It feels very authentic.

The original Russian voice acting plays an important role in delivering the spirit, which is often even more important than animation itself. I do suspect the dubbing doesn't contribute to correct perception of this piece.

Overall, this is not exactly similar to Pixar movies and it's not about a positive message, fun or enthusiasm. But it enables viewers to experience, like, an ancient civilization that no longer exists.

What it reminds me is "LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE". However, "Space Dogs" does seem to be acceptable for little kids and has some humanistic messages to deliver. Only that it's not about walking around and making the world a better place. It's more about facing things that are not in one's power to change at all.

That said, the pace is quick and action-packed, so it's hard to get bored. Overall, a good first step towards Pixar standards.

The quality of CG is not exactly up to modern standards, but it's advantage is about delivering the spirit of Soviet puppet-animated films. So I say it's good, as I doubt anyone else could do it.

So, why is this worth watching for a non-Russian-speaker? I guess it's like anime - another world, another life philosophy. It's also educational.

It's not very good for those who: a) expect a charge of purely positive energy and uplifting messages b) have a particularly strong bias against USSR

This is a great movie, but misunderstood due to cultural references. It wasn't mean to be another Pixar movie. It is however a great movie about the first ever dogs that went up into space and came back alive. In Russia that is a well know pair of dogs and doesn't need much explanation. Perhaps it could have used some more details in the translated version. The jokes in the movie are more funny to those who grew up in Russia and understand what life used to be like there. Watched this movie with my husband and son, and Canadian born husband really didn't like it till I explain the context to him. Not surpassingly , he loves the movie now. It tells a great story about a piece of history.

I would never recommend this movie to anyone age groups. It's long, boring and incoherent. It contains some abstract goals and dreams, and different environments that expose the cute little dogs for a little of everything. And have a very strange start. The film could not produce smiles or laughs. The only good thing was the dogs' relationship to each other. Bad for children and for adults. If one were to make a movie about space dogs, then it should rather be on the dog's wild adventures in space that could pique the imagination a bit. Instead they had to run around on the ground. It was as if they were trying to get everything in the movie, surroundings, environment, emotions, relationships, development, 3d, society and space. The result was a too superficial movie.

The animated movie voluntarily provides a direct reflection towards the soviet style, and to honor the dogs which were first sent unto the space in around the 1960s.

The animation is unvivid, it does have some glitches however, it is still bearable to watch.

The story struggles at first and I only enjoyed the last few possible minutes more because that is precisely where the innocent fun naturally began and the movie gained its cheerful soul.

The dialogues are sometimes humorous and clumsy at the same time, and I do appreciate the voice-over though it isn't the best but they did give out their best.

It should not be compared to Pixar's or any big production house, though, it is mediocre at its best.

The kids can discover a bit about the Ancient Soviet times and Sputnik space program.

The movie points out positive message like friendship, family and loyalty.

With family it is ostensibly a popcorn worthy one-time watch.

I took the time to write a brief review because I feel that the other reviewers definitely missed the point. Space dogs doesn't have the best state of the art animation technology, but the characters are really nice and lovable and we must give a chance to other productions to develop, not only Disney/Pixar. After all, many people still enjoy the old Bety Boop cartoons from the 20's, so the technique is not really the most important in a story. That said, I wouldn't call the animation "crude". It's not Mamoru Oshii, but it's acceptable.

I admit, the story has a bit of nostalgia for the old soviet times, which on the other side is a legitime feeling for many people in that side of the world. But I wouldn't call that "Propaganda", unless we agree to also call propaganda to 90% of the American animation. The most important thing about it: It's fun to watch, my 3 and 4 year old kids enjoyed a lot, and we have had a really good time together.