My mother picked out this movie because she liked dogs. I like dogs too, in great films like Up, but not in this. I watched it because she complained I don't watch the shows she likes to watch, and she continually refuses to watch anything with animation: Avatar: The Last Airbender being the most recent example. So I watched it. And this is my honest review.
There were a few moments when this film was actually bearable, but they never amounted to anything. This piece of trash keeps coming up with new ways to insult your intelligence: from repeating the same phrases over and over again, to overacting and having no trust in its audience to understand anything without verbalizing every single action. The annoying voice acting makes the film a drag to listen to, from the dog catcher shrieking every chance he gets to the main trio of a redneck, a valley girl, and a deluded dreamer with an indistinguishable accent, surely watching and/or listening to this film must classify as some form of torture. Throughout this film you'll find everything from terrible budget effects to hordes of plot clichés, farting jokes, and breaking character. Nobody in this film really knows their lines, and all their lines are terrible. Characters are 2-dimensional, from the stereotypes used in the dog characters to the human actors, nobody seems to do anything with any real tangible meaning. So the irony is, not only are the characters devoid of depth, but they also break character and sense very frequently.
After the credits rolled, you'd exhale knowing the film is finally over, only for the actors to come back and continue the torment for another few minutes as they stumble through lines, repeat phrases over and over again, overact, and repeat plot clichés again.
So the good news is, after this fiasco, I now have the upper hand the next time we pick out a movie. And for film buffs everywhere, if you know someone who is theatrically illiterate, hope that they choose to sit through a movie as bad as this one. Even my mother knew this movie was garbage after the first two minutes, and she only watched out of obligation of purchasing it. So, no, this movie is not acceptable for family entertainment, and it's far more annoying and insulting to its viewer than it is entertaining. This is by far the worst movie I have ever seen in my life.
Also, it is sad that legitimately good movies featuring dogs are so few in number. I hope those who make movies featuring dogs are actually making them for dog owners and not just to cash in solely on the appeal of the pets. Same for Christmas movies. This film is a double-whammy of cashing in on dogs and Christmas, with very little reason to do so. Avoid the bottom of the barrel unless you are proving a point to someone else. Maybe if we stop buying movies of such poor quality and cash-in, we'd get movies with dogs during Christmas that aren't so terrible.
