Marmaduke

The inexplicable popularity of the talking-animal genre has led to numerous crimes against cinema, especially since the advent of lip-sync CGI. But few have been as egregious as this adaptation of cosy comic strip ‘Marmaduke’, first sketched by Brad Anderson in 1954, which is a fair indication of how old the jokes are.

The screenwriters attempt to update the timeworn concept of a loveable great dane causing havoc for his all-American family by moving the entire enterprise to Orange County. Cue the theme to ‘The OC’, a show cancelled three years ago but which the writers have bizarrely opted to use as a template, transforming ‘Marmaduke’ from a cutesy family comedy into a berserk all-canine high-school acceptance drama, complete with mean jock dogs, outsider nerd dogs, dumb cheerleader dogs, keg parties under the pier and surfing competitions. For dogs. This idea is almost weird enough to work, but it’s let down by the feeble characterisation, sickening special effects, an obnoxious human cast, an overall sense of smugness and a complete absence of good jokes.