Marmaduke

Directed by: Tom Dey

Movie Review by Bill Gibron

There is only one truly great animal movie -- 1995's brilliant, Oscar-nominated Babe. Everything else, past and present, is just fodder for families with nothing better to do than sit their impressionable ones down in front of the home video unit for 80 to 90 minutes of indirect "quality" time. Sadly, the latest entry into the genre, Marmaduke, won't be altering that perception. It's yet another cutesy, cloying endeavor where humans are dullards, creatures are cool, and the latter speak in voices often cribbed from current popular culture crazes. On the plus side, Owen Wilson's work as the title character, plus an overall genial atmosphere of fun and adventure, make for one of the more enjoyable kid vid films in recent memory.

Based on the long running newspaper comic strip, we catch up with the Winslows -- dad Phil (Lee Pace), mom Debbie (Judy Greer), requisite offspring Brian (Finley Jacobsen), Barbara (Caroline Sunshine), and Sarah (twins Milana and Mandy Haines), and of course, additional "family" members Marmaduke (Wilson), a goofy Great Dane and his "brother", Balinese cat Carlos (George Lopez) -- as they are preparing to leave their Kansas home and make the big move to sunny California. Organic pet food magnet Don Twombly (William H. Macy) has just hired Mr. Winslow to front his big push for Petco recognition, and the rest of the clan is coming along for the locational upgrade.

Immediately upon arriving in the OC, everyone is miserable. Marmaduke, desperate to fit in, falls in with the "mutt" squad, unpopular pups at the local dog park. They include tomboy Mazie (Emma Stone), stuffy intellectual Raisin (Steve Coogan), and hyper-hypochondriac Giuseppe (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). When he makes a move on the haughty collie girlfriend (Fergie) of local alpha male Bosco (Kiefer Sutherland), he must face the wrath of said pure breeds, as well as embarrassing his new buddies with his hopeless behavior. Things reach fever pitch when Phil must come up with a winning campaign for Twombly's latest product pitch while Marmaduke consistently ruins his chances at finding success both at work and at home.

Breezy, playful, and more than a little warm and fuzzy, Marmaduke is not going to win over any cynical converts to the by now established "family films suck" brigade. It knows the demographic it's aiming for (read: anyone 10 and under), gives them just what they want (dog farts and lots of four-footed hi-jinx), and then simply repeats this mostly entertaining formula. Sure, whenever the story shifts to the bipeds bellyaching around the huge SoCal house, our level of enjoyment decreases exponentially. After all, if you've seen one angry teenage girl mouth off about having to leave her friends, parents who don't understand her, and missed opportunities with hunky surfer boys, you've seen...well, just about every adolescent on the planet.

Luckily, director Tom Dey gives us just enough forced domestic drama to remind us how amusing it is to see adorable animals talking like movie stars. Wilson is indeed excellent, selling every stupid one liner and canine pun with grace and goodwill. He is matched equally well by Lopez (who does not overstay -- or overplay -- his Latino hipster swagger), Stone, Coogan, and Mintz-Plasse. On the opposite end of endearing is Sutherland and the rest of the cool clique. They are beyond generic -- especially Ms. Lady Lumps who is completely forgettable. Kudos also go to the F/X team. Unlike other dog and pony shows where the CGI is obvious, the various beasties here appear to speak flawlessly.

As long as it stays away from the people who populate its outer edges, Marmaduke maintains its sense of fun. It's no Babe, but it's no bomb either.