Viewed in
2008
Premise
An action movie star dog breaks free into the real world.
Who should watch
Those who like cuddly computer animated creatures running amok, especially in 3-d.
Thoughts
Cute!
It was like a non-creepy cross of 'Truman Show', 'Last Action Hero', 'Cars' and (insert kid-loses-pet-who-wanders-home movie here). Speaking of 'Cars', the opening short was awesome and hilarious, and in 3-d. It might have been too topical, once the Tokyo drift-racing is no longer in fashion.
If I could get past the cuddly and energetic animation, there probably was not much of a story underneath. But somehow I found the whole thing irresistible. Most of the characters were likable and/or super cute. I loved the hilarious fan boy hamster. Kudos for trying to stay away from the 'Goodfeathers' from 'Animaniacs' with the New York pigeon characters.
Like a bouncing puppy, this was cute, fluffy and mostly harmless entertainment for the family. I especially recommend it in 3-d.
What I would change
Eliminated the extra Hollywood-ish subplots, such as the agent and network executive. The story was simple enough to get it rolling without those boring characters who might confuse younger audiences.
