Movie Review: Cats and Dogs

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun, original tale that should entertain the entire family

Cons: At times a little childish

The Bottom Line:

Great cinema?  No

But it is very funny

Perfect for the kids

Fun, Clever Family Movie

Unknown to humans, cats and dogs have been waging a very real war over our fate for years. The latest battle is over Professor Brody's (Jeff Goldblum) discovery that would cure all humans of their allergies to dogs. Naturally, the cats can't have this. Lead by the diabolical Mr. Tinkles (voiced by Sean Hayes), they plot to stop Professor Brody at all costs. Standing in his way is Lou (voiced by Tobey Maguire), an untrained puppy, who is struggling with his love for his new family and his completely unexpected duty to help the dogs. Can Lou save the Brody's and prevent Mr. Tinkles' plan to take over the world?

I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. The story is original and clever. The humans are a bit two dimensional, but since the animals are the stars, this really doesn't matter and it's still easy to get caught up in the fun. The special effects are very well done, with one or two exceptions. They quite obviously are first steps toward such movies as the recent Narnia film. Mr. Tinkles gets some of the best lines, but the movie provides many laughs from the situations with a minimum of bathroom humor. I went to see this in the theater with two friends and all three of us were captivated and laughing during the entire movie.

Cats & Dogs is definitely worth a look. Gather the whole family together and enjoy this easily diverting movie.