Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageHotel for Dogs (2009)
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Movie review
From Time Out London
Strictly half-term fodder it may be, but this amiable kiddie flick delivers on its promises: you get lots of dogs doing cute stuff. The set-up has a brother and sister (Emma Roberts, Jake T Austin, Identi-Kit moppets) struggling to keep their pet Jack Russell terrier a secret from their pernickety foster parent (Lisa Kudrow, a game meanie). An abandoned downtown hotel provides an ideal bolt-hole and, they begin to plot, could offer kinder accommodation for the city’s unwanted canines than the municipal pound. With a couple of pet shop assistants facilitating transport and product-placement doggie treats, the dream becomes reality, thanks muchly to little bro’s Heath Robinson-esque contraptions keeping massed pooches fed and watered while the authorities try to work out where all the strays are.True, there’s only the merest suggestion of an education system for these juveniles, but credibility’s secondary when you’ve got lots of dogs doing cute stuff. There’s a treadmill for automated walkies, a canine-operated ball thrower, while bodily functions are catered for by production-line poop-scooping. A whole spectrum of breeds, shapes and sizes supply the aww-factor (pugs with aerobics headbands), but there’s some welcome emotional underpinning too, since the foster kids need a good home as much as their four-legged friends. Enter Don Cheadle as a kindly social services officer: when they start giving actors awards for films they’d rather leave off their CVs, he’ll be up there on the podium.
Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London Issue 2008, 12 -18 February, 2008
User reviews of this film
-
- phoebe said...
- Posted on Aug 02 2009 18:46 i cant wait to see it on my birth day!!!!!!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- rebecca rudge said...
- Posted on Jul 08 2009 16:22 everybody says its a great movie cant wait to see it
- Report as inappropriate
-
- sugar plum fairyyyyyyyyyy said...
-
Posted on Apr 18 2009 17:32
fab Movie i loved it
although i cried at some parts
and i love all the cute dogs especially romeo and Juliett - Report as inappropriate
-
- gill said...
- Posted on Apr 17 2009 13:51 Took my 6 year old to see it and she loved it, a great morning's entertainment for the kids.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Critic said...
- Posted on Apr 14 2009 17:06 Well, what can i say about this? Was it a film? What a waste of my time. Dont bother seeing it unless u dont have a life!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- sannah said...
- Posted on Apr 07 2009 17:05 Great Movie!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- grant stacey said...
- Posted on Apr 07 2009 12:02 this film is really good its quite sad in some parts but its realy funny in others and i think it teaches kids the cruelty of animas and also i recommend it to anyone
- Report as inappropriate
-
- meemoo said...
-
Posted on Apr 01 2009 07:46
well im 20 and im gonna see it wit my mum, lol, well i got orange weds so its 2-4-1, and its the only film on at the right time, and i go to uni so dont spend much time wit her
but intereswntinly the film and posters contain, a breed of dog that the movie producer has owned several of, and is a devout luver of this breed, so much he insisted the film have some, guessed the breed yet?
No?
the answer is
PIT BULL(S) yes folks you read that correctly
people say pit bulls are only good for fighting, and are only owned by criminals - Report as inappropriate
-
- meemoo said...
-
Posted on Apr 01 2009 07:37
LOL im 20 and im gonna see this with my mum, mind u i got oragne wendays so its 2-4-1, and this film is about the only one on at the time we both want, and its nice to spend some time, as im not here to often uni n all. but i luv animals, so i thing a mite like this film :D
interestinly some of the dogs fetured on the film and its poster are pit bulls, and the movie producer was insistant on the film having pit bulls in it, as he was a devout pit bull lover
and people say that pit bulls are only good for fighting and only owned by low lifes. - Report as inappropriate
-
- hannah said...
- Posted on Mar 26 2009 19:06 This film is great go and watch it it is great it fab lolxx
- Report as inappropriate
-
- the truth said...
- Posted on Mar 26 2009 19:01 i dont usually agree with kids reviews on this website as the reviewers are adults personally i love the film
- Report as inappropriate
-
- olivia said...
- Posted on Mar 23 2009 18:52 i like dogs so i must like holt for dogs
- Report as inappropriate
-
- rtyujk said...
- Posted on Mar 23 2009 18:50 wefrtgyuiop[']
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Cristina said...
- Posted on Mar 22 2009 20:45 This film is crap it bored me it mite aswell be a hotel 4 cats or horses that would have been better i for shanshan i think your wrong u must be a baby if u cried all round it was amazing 5 stars
- Report as inappropriate
-
- shanshan said...
- Posted on Mar 17 2009 19:34 it was the best film ever luved it soooo much bit were sad but bits were funny lol it a fabbbbbbbb film u should watch it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!xxxxxxxx
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Cast: Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Don Cheadle, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, Johnny Simmons, Kyla Pratt, Troy Gentile full cast
Genre(s): Children's
Rated: U
Duration: 100 mins
UK Release: Feb 13 2009
US Release: Jan 16 2009
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now