Review: CATS & DOGS – THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE

The original CATS & DOGS (2001) was a decent kids’ movie, now followed nine years later by a sequel… CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE. It may seem like a long time between films, but the somewhat shocking truth is that it holds up. CATS & DOGS: ROKG is directed by Brad Peyton (first feature) and is actually a lot of fun… in between the scenes when the animals speak.

You mat be asking what the point is then, if I didn’t care much for the scenes featuring talking cats and dogs, in a movie about… talking cats and dogs, but there are some unexpected surprises to be had in this otherwise typical action/comedy for the little movie geeks. So kids, the magic word for today is… parody!

CATS & DOGS: ROKG is all about Diggs — voiced by James Marsden (THE BOX, ENCHANTED) — an enthusiastic, but accident-prone German shepherd, all too eager to be heroic in his job as a K9 unit for the police. When his most recent effort to be hero results in disaster, it becomes the last straw and he’s sent back to the dreaded kennel.

Unsure of his future, but unwilling to give up on being the hero he believes himself to be, Diggs meets an older, scruffy mutt named Butch — voiced by Nick Nolte (no introduction needed) — who recruits Diggs into a secret covert canine force, devoted to protecting humans from the evil endeavors of their feline arch enemies. This time, it turns out the infamous Kitty galore — voiced by Bette Midler — still lives, minus her fur, and is bent on revenge against dogs and humans alike for what has happened to her. Will she succeed in her diabolical plan, or with the pooch patrol prevail?

The parodies begin to surface as Butch, none too impressed with Diggs, is assigned to partner with him… seeing a trend yet? Diggs, a dog cop, rhymes with Riggs, a human cop from LETHAL WEAPON… Diggs is also a loose cannon, partnered with another more seriously seasoned cop, voiced by Nick Nolte, a la 48 HOURS… right. I saw the light bulb go on.

I do need to back up for a moment and spend a bit of time on the opening title sequence. It’s crucial to the gist of what the director is doing here. Perhaps my favorite part of CATS & DOGS: ROKG, the rather lengthy but enjoyable title sequence is a pet-inspired parody of the title sequences from the James Bond films, in fact… nearly all of them, strung together with the music and graphic design elements and everything. It’s quite ingenious really, funny and cute.

So, how does this setup the rest of the film? The James Bond universe is integrated throughout CATS & DOGS: ROKG, from M to Q, incorporating much of the standard 007 flair in humorous ways that will entice the minds of kids and create a reason for accompanying adults to actually have a good time. There’ll be familiar Bond villains, with familiar parodied names, and Kitty Galore’s fiendish plot is classic Bond villain material.

While this is primarily the story of Diggs, the supporting cast of CATS & DOGS: ROKG rounds out robustly with Christina Applegate, Katt Williams (yes, in a kids’ movie), Neil Patrick Harris, Wallace Shawn, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Chris O’Donnell and none other than Roger Moore himself!

Being it’s a movie for minors, CATS & DOGS: ROKG is saturated with CGI, which is both occasionally curious and often distracting. Much of it is necessary, such as the talking animals, but this is just something I’ve never gotten used to. The effect, as used in this movie, just didn’t strike me as being of the same quality as preceding films. In all honesty, I think I would have rather them not made the animals’ mouths move when they spoke, leaving it to my imagination. Then again, CATS & DOGS: ROKG wasn’t made for me and my 30-something crowd… it was made for the single-digit midgets, overflowing with imagination.

With that said, CATS & DOGS: ROKG succeeds at being a movie not equal to, but nearly compared to the visually-engaging, fun-filled thrill ride that is Robert Rodriguez’s SPY KIDS franchise. Parents can rest assured the film is firmly fixed in the family-friendly arena, their little ones will have a blast and the parents are likely to leave the theater not feeling ripped off to bad either.

Overall Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars