Hotel for Dogs (2009)

Director:

Thor Freudenthal

Writers (WGA):

Jeff Lowell (screenplay) and
Robert Schooley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

No stray gets turned away

Plot:

Two kids secretly take in stray dogs at a vacant hotel.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Abandoned Hotel | Foster Home | Poodle Dog | Fat Kid

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 21	7:45 AM	HBO
Sat. Nov. 21	4:15 PM	HBO

Cast

Emma Roberts	...	Andi
Jake T. Austin	...	Bruce
Don Cheadle	...	Bernie
Johnny Simmons	...	Dave
Kyla Pratt	...	Heather
Troy Gentile	...	Mark
Lisa Kudrow	...	Lois Scudder
Kevin Dillon	...	Carl Scudder
Ajay Naidu	...	ACO Jake
Eric Edelstein	...	ACO Max
Robinne Lee	...	Carol
Yvette Nicole Brown	...	Ms. Camwell
Maximiliano Hernández	...	Officer Mike (as Maximiliano Hernandez)
Andre Ware	...	Officer Jeff
Jonathan Klein	...	Evan

Also Known As:

Das Hundehotel (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild thematic elements, language and some crude humor.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #44727) | UK:U | Ireland:G | Australia:PG | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Finland:S | Singapore:PG | South Africa:PG | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/4 (dubbed version) | Portugal:M/6 (original version) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Sweden:Btl | Netherlands:6 | Peru:PT | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:A

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

At the nearly end of the movie when the "twin dogs" appear, Andi tells the people that they're names are Sebastian and Viola, after characters in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The bathroom at the beginning of the movie where Bruce is sealing the rock in the box is the same bathroom used later on in the hotel. The first bathroom was supposed to be at the school.

Quotes:

Andi: You know, I think we might be in a little over our heads.
Dave: It's four-six; we're out dogged.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Home for Everyone: The Making of 'Hotel for Dogs' (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

Get Lucky

The dogs were amusing, the people less so

I saw a preview of this film with kids 6, 7 and 12. We are a dog-loving family, so perhaps we were biased to enjoy the film. That said, we were split on our review. The adults and 12 year old were bored; the two youngsters were thrilled! Hence the score of 6.

Overall, this was a harmless movie featuring a few humans and many trained dogs. It was sugary and nice - there was no real threat anywhere in the film of something bad happening (thus it is kid-safe for very young kids). And they've reduced the idea of foster homes down to a concocted McNugget of a concept. My younger kids didn't even follow that theme at all.

What they did follow, and what I found most redeeming, were the numerous cutesy dog tricks and toys. The creators of the film did a nice job inventing clever ways to mechanize the caring for dogs (think the breakfast scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). That was fun. And the dogs were cute.

For me the drawbacks were these: Slow start, unfunny 'comic' characters - like the foster parents and dog catchers, and a lame plot.

But ultimately - we had a nice outing, and you will too. And you will emerge from the film MORE likely to go get a dog of your own.