Monday, October 3, 2016

Cats & Dogs Review












Cats & Dogs


Release Date:
20th September 2001 - Australia


Production Companies
NPV Entertainment (in association with)
Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
Mad Chance
BenderSpink
Zide/Perry Productions
Village Roadshow Pictures (in association with)

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 87 minutes


Budget: $60,000,000

Box Office Gross: $200,687,492 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Since the beginning of time, cats and dogs were not only known as cuddly pets and man's best friends, but they have often engaged in a fierce battle with each other. Due to the rivalry between the two species. Little did the humans know that a top-secret war of espionage between the two species in their neighbourhoods and homes becomes an eternal struggle for world domination. It quickly peaks when a scientist
named Professor Brody is
about to create a serum that
will cure all dog allergies.

However, the megalomaniacal white-haired Persian cat, Mr. Tinkles, will not let that happen as he plans to exploit his research and use it against dogkind. While the unsuspecting humans go on with their daily lives, the cats make several attempts to get the formula as their canine foes try tirelessly to stop them. A Beagle pup named Lou gets caught in a crossfire when
adopted by the Brody family
and has no experience of
being a spy whatsoever.
With the other dog agents
from the neighbourhood,
including Butch, Lou must
hinder the efforts of Mr.
Tinkles and his ferocious
feline army in a plot to
take over the world.


Cast
Jeff Goldblum - Professor Brody
Elizabeth Perkins - Mrs. Brody
Alexander Pollock - Scott Brody
Miriam Margoyles - Sophie the Castle Maid
Myron Natwick - Mr. Mason
Doris Chillcott - Mrs. Calvert
Lauren K. Robek - Pie Mom
Frank C. Turner - The Farmer
Mar Andersons - Guard at Gate
Gillian Barber - Factory Receptionist

Voice Cast
Tobey Maguire - Lou the Beagle
Sean Hayes - Mr. Tinkles
Alec Baldwin - Butch
Susan Sarandon - Ivy
Charlton Heston - The Mastiff
Jon Lovitz - Calico
Joe Pantoliano - Peek
Michael Clarke Duncan - Sam
Glenn Ficarra - Russian Kitty
Victor Wilson - Doberman Sargaent
Salome Jens - Collie at HQ
Danny Mann - Ninja Cat
Billy West - Ninja Cat
Paul Pape - Wolf Blitzer

Crew
Director - Lawrence Guterman
Writers/Co-Producers - John Requa
and Glenn Ficarra
Associate Producer/Visual Effects Supervisor -
Ed Jones
Executive Producers - Chris Bender,
Bruce Berman and J.C. Spink
Producers - Christopher DeFaria,
Andrew Lazar, Craig Perry and Warren Zide
Casting Director - Marci Liroff
Production Designer - Jim Bissell
Art Directors - Sandi Tanaka and
Nancy Ford (Uncredited)
Set Decorator - Lin MacDonald
Property Master - Dan Sissons
Costume Designer - Tish Monaghan
Director of Photography - Julio Macat
Location Manager - Ann Goobie
First Assistant Director - Patrice Leung
First Assistant Director: Second Unit -
Nico Sachse
Trainee Assistant Director - Misha Bukowski
Second Unit Director - Charles Gibson
Stunt Coordinators/Stunts - Jim Dunn
and Ken Kirzinger
Stunt Coordinator - J.J. Makaro
Stunt Coordinator/Animal Action - Boone Narr
Animal Trainers - Mark Harden
David Allsberry, Kim Bonham, Ursula Brauner,
James Dew, William Grisco, Genny Kerns,
Ginger Holman, Cathy McCallum, Scott Rowe,
Carrie Anne Simpson, Steve Solomon
Joe Suffredini, Brian Turi and Nancy Withrow
Special Effects - Peter Chesney and Rory Cutler
Animatronic Effects Supervisor - David Alan Barclay
Visual Effects Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues -
Bill Westenhofer
Visual Effects Supervisor: Matte World
Digital - Craig Barron
Visual Effects Supervisors: Tippett Studio -
Blair Clark and Scott Souter
Visual Effects Producer: Rhythm & Hues -
Eileen Moran
Visual Effects Co-Producer: Rhythm & Hues -
Victoria Alonso
Visual Effects Producer: Tippett Studio -
Alonzo Ruvalcaba
Visual Effects Producer: Gray Matter FX
Les G. Jones
Senior Animation Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues -
Bill Kroyer
Animation Supervisor - Richard Baneham
Animation Supervisors: Rhythm & Hues -
Erik De Boer, Keith Roberts and Glenn Ramos
CG Supervisor: Mill Film - David Lomax
Face Replacement Lighting Supervisor:
Rhythm & Hues - Betsy Asher Hall
Lighting Supervisor: Mill Film - Andy Kind
Digital Matte Supervisor: Digital Firepower -
Charles Darby (Uncredited)
Compositing Supervisor: Tippett Studio -
Colin Epstein
Compositing Supervisor: Mill Film -
Simon Stanley-Clamp
Film Editors - Rick Finney and
Michael A. Stevenson
Associate Editor - John Coniglio
Supervising Sound Editors - Richard L. Anderson
and Elliott Koretz
Sound Effects Editors - Jeff Kushner,
Eric Lindeman and Jim Christopher
Supervising Dialogue Editor - Mark A. Mangini
Re-Recording Mixers - Michael Herbick,
Daniel J. Leahy and Steve Pederson
Foley Artists - Alyson Dee Moore
and John Roesch
Music/Score Co-Producer - John Debney
Music Scoring Mixer - Shawn Murphy


Review
CATS & DOGS had a great concept of making fun of the arch-rivalry of the two sides of mammals, but the live-action format did not work anyway. It came from the same man who went to direct the laughably puerile Son of the Mask, and it falls flat when the feature should have gotten animated in complete CGI and hand-drawnIt's bad enough a sequel came out over nine years after the original, and to their disappointment, the less said, the better.

The feature's got pawprints all over it, and even the live-acting needed better directing, no offence to actors Jeff Goldblum and Elizabeth Perkins. The young child who played Scott needed some coached acting skills. The voices are no different from the real-life actors. Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes, and Susan Sarandon lend their remarkable voice performances to the animals. It achieved one of the actors in creating the film's only memorable character who is purr-fectly funny to be the main arch-feline Mr. Tinkles, who is enjoyable to watch in a family feature like CATS & DOGS.

CATS & DOGS is a surprisingly average kiddie flick that may feel cartoonish or childish, but it did have some comical laughs that adults might find funny at their amusement. There's little to recommend to adults. It's mainly aimed at youngsters.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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