Red Dog

Maybe I was just in the right mood, but this was far better than I expected.

Limp, anemic Aussie comedy means to be an affectionate spoof of small-town Australia (ala THE DISH) but has a screenplay bereft of sophistication, and performers who (for the most part) deliver their lines in a very condescending fashion. It may have helped to show the dog's adventures without the cliched narration, though the dog itself is a good performer, and the widescreen photography at least makes it an attractive mess. LASSIE COME HOME it aint!

This movie starts out kind of mediocre, but especially when it moves past half of the runtime, you suddenly realize that you actually care about these characters and especially the dog. My only gripes are the cheesy FX shots that I really could have done without, as they took me away from the story and they were more cartoony and less funny than I assume they were supposed to be. Such a good boy, though.

Too calculated and risk-free for my taste. Also the whole inspiration for the movie could've been given more than 5 minutes of screen time.

A fairly average family drama with a couple of tender moments but nothing to make it stand out. I think that by being so heavily narrated, the story missed a chance to use the power of the visual image to bring the dog's story to life. As a result the dog's personality did not really seem larger than life. I would rather see an artistic attempt to tug at my heartstrings, than a middle-of-the-road risk-free mode of storytelling rooted in wacky cartoonish human characters.

Taken from a true story in Australia and told in a fun way.

Cliche film that tries to tug at your heart strings instead of being original or good

was pleasantly surprised going in knowing nothing

A bit sappy but I found it charming.