Cats and Dogs Reviewed

ROVIN' AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE

Cats & Dogs

I always expect that a film will give me some insights, some perception of life that I never had before. About the best that Cats and Dogs offers is that (drum roll, please) dogs and cats don’t get along. This isn’t just a back alley, over the fire hydrant kind of thing. This is all out war. Both armies have more hi-tech wizardy than old Jimmy Bond ever could have mustered. Although both sides are equally armed, there are no good kitties in this. Why is it that in animated films, cats are always the bad guys (and, in this film, they are all guys)? From the Disney films through Babe, tuna breath is a dead giveaway for treachery, deception, and plain evil.

Things start out in the household of the Brodys (do you hear Bradys?), genially presided over by nerdy dad (Jeff Goldblum), dedicated to a search for a serum for human allergies to dogs, such as Lou (voiced by Tobey Maguire). Mom (Elizabeth Perkins) and son Scott (Alexander Pollock) complete the household, but nobody, on two legs or four, really stands out as a distinct personality (animal-ity?) that we can care about.

For my kid alert on this one, I suspect that this would have a high squirm factor. James Bond? Mission Impossible? Are these parodies the way to little kids’ hearts? We’ve seen, well, heard, some great vocal work in recent animated films, but frankly, except for Susan Sarandon’s pup, there’s not much to remember here.

In fact, there’s not much to remember here on any level. Shrek still gets my bet for best in show (and if you aren’t familiar with Best in Show from last year, the best you can do is find it on cable or video) for this summer.

Keep your feet dry, your heart full of noble thoughts, not to mention your companion animal of choice on your lap, at your feet, or on your shoulder, and although dogs are few at R&R, you can enjoy rovin’ through the animal kingdom to rave about cats, parrots, and gators without leaving our own little cyber-peanut-patch. And for the politically correct, here is a site that deals with a serious Internet problem.