Dogs rule roost in latest Nick film
Hotel for Dogs starring Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin and Don
Cheadle
When it comes to movies that the whole family can enjoy,
Nickelodeon Films has an edge above the rest. Nickelodeon proved it
could make a lasting impression in 1996 when they released a film
version of
”
Harriet the Spy.
”
The movie starred a young Michelle Trachtenberg, one of the
young actors who had a recurring role on a Nick TV series
called
”
The Adventures of Pete
&
amp; Pete,
”
as the lead. Like many Nick shows
– a network whose tagline is the kid’s entertainment network –
the movie created a world where kids rule. It offered plenty of
laughs and a real plot as Harriet tries to come to terms with how
her spying ways might be hurting her friends.
The latest film from the studio,
”
Hotel for Dogs,
”
has a very similar feel to it. The movie is about the kids and
the adults are inconsequential except that they cause most of the
conflict in the movie.
Dogs rule roost in latest Nick film
Hotel for Dogs starring Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin and Don Cheadle
When it comes to movies that the whole family can enjoy, Nickelodeon Films has an edge above the rest. Nickelodeon proved it could make a lasting impression in 1996 when they released a film version of “Harriet the Spy.” The movie starred a young Michelle Trachtenberg, one of the young actors who had a recurring role on a Nick TV series called “The Adventures of Pete & Pete,” as the lead. Like many Nick shows – a network whose tagline is the kid’s entertainment network – the movie created a world where kids rule. It offered plenty of laughs and a real plot as Harriet tries to come to terms with how her spying ways might be hurting her friends.
The latest film from the studio, “Hotel for Dogs,” has a very similar feel to it. The movie is about the kids and the adults are inconsequential except that they cause most of the conflict in the movie.
Like “Harriet the Spy” the movie is based on a young adult book, this one by Lois Duncan. In it, Andi (Emma Roberts) and Bruce (Jake T. Austin) have found themselves in their fifth foster home in the three years since their parents died. Their lives are complicated by their attempt to keep their little dog Friday with them, a wire-haried Jack Russell that lives his life looking for snacks. Since their foster parents never know about the dog, they have to keep him hidden at all times and find food for him.
The kids have been conning a local pawnshop owner in order to get money to keep Friday fed. Their social worker Bernie (Don Cheadle) tries to get the kids to stay out of trouble so they can remain at their foster home, though the kids hate it. They live with Lois Scudder (Lisa Kudrow) and Carl Scudder (Kevin Dillon), two wannabe rockers who are stuck in the ’80s and don’t really like children all that much.
The kids promise to give it another try, but everything changes when their little dog is picked up by animal control officers. Andi tries to convince her brother that maybe it would be better to find a real home for Friday. Bruce can’t let the little dog go, however.
The kids stumble upon an abandoned hotel in their neighborhood one night and find two stray dogs living in it. They decide it would be the perfect place to keep Friday while they are staying with the Scudders. Soon the kids have enlisted other teens to help out, including two who work at a neighborhood pet store and use their employee discount to buy food. With all the space in the hotel, they figure they can start rescuing even more dogs. With each dog they collect, Bruce logs it into a dusty, old guestbook they found in the hotel.
Writers Jeff Lowell, Robert Schooley, Mark McCorkle and director Thor Freudenthal go above and beyond in trying to capture the essence of the story. It calls for some very elaborate scenes as the young Bruce begins to invent different machinery to help with the care of the dogs. It also required working with lots and lots of dogs. While most of the scenes are limited to Friday and a couple of his canine pals, there are scenes that have upwards of 100 dogs.
The funniest part of the movie, of course, is that as the number of dogs grows so does the amount of work. Any pet owner would understand the issues of keeping dozens of dogs clean, exercised, fed and most importantly, not ending up with poop all over the place. The film, however, doesn’t just have funny poop jokes in it but it has a real plot as Andi and Bruce struggle with their commitment to the dogs versus a chance at a real home for themselves. There are some bittersweet moments, but there are plenty of laughs as well.
