Hotel for Dogs (2009)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

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 | Foster Home | Abandoned Hotel | Orphanage | Orphan Girl

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10	9:00 PM	HBO
Sun. Nov. 15	10:30 AM	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 Geneva) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | 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:

Nearly 70 dogs were used for the making of this motion picture, many of which were actually rescued from the pound. Several of them were adopted by crew members after filming wrapped.

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 Hotel for Dogs: K-9 Casting (2009) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Murder

A good laugh for the kids

A brother and sister live with their umpteenth set of foster parents. They hide their pet - a small dog - because the foster parents don't want to know about it. When the dog runs away they follow it and find their way into an old abandoned building. To their surprise it is not completely abandoned but actually lived in by a number of dogs. Soon after that an idea comes to life.

And from there the story rolls on in a typical Disney style children's film where evil is evil and good is good and anything else is easily forgotten. As as adult I wasn't overly impressed with the film but the kid I took to see it loved it - and that's good. The target audience for the film must be kids in the age range 6 to 12 or so. The things that happen are fun to watch (at least the very most of the time) and although the acting capabilities of the younger players leaves something to be desired it is not bad enough to turn the film into a complete waste of tape.

All in all, it features a good number of laughs, a few tear drops and surely a lot of hard work - and a cast that is clearly liking to play the roles they were cast for.

5 out of 10 dogs barking in the night