This is your typical lazy kiddie fare that puts a bunch of animals on screen and makes them do people stuff. That's really not enough by itself to make something funny. This goes beyond being forgettable by further assuming you can engage in rampant stereotyping simply by making the characters dogs. I don't enjoy this depiction of Mexican culture, created by white people for a white audience. It's really on the nose that the fancy lady chihuahua is a white chihuahua. The movie makes it like Papi is some kind of hero for booking a mariachi band, instead of a DJ or a reggaeton act. But it's just him doing another Mexican thing in a Mexican way, and it all gets very tiresome. Meanwhile, the human Hispanic man has this pointless subplot about trying to impress the big boss with his landscaping and his hard work ethic. Sigh.
Another criticism is that it depicts Papi as the only character whose decisions carry consequences. He gets to be the big hero. He dotes on but also dictates to his daughter. Somehow this incredibly retrograde view of fatherhood gets a pass because, again, the characters are dogs.
The problem I see with these huge stereotypes is that it's aimed at kids, who in turn will back up problematic racial and gender stereotypes. The only character I found really amusing was the pug, who despite still being rather stereotypical himself, at least had some charm and talked in a vaguely sensible way about things that were going on. He was an oasis of wit and sense in a movie fully of corny lines and nonsense.
It's not completely without redeeming features. The plot, tired as it is, is probably enough for young viewers, resolves efficiently. The comedy-of-errors side plots similarly get us from point A to point B without much fuss.
My kids watch this movie over and over again. I guess it's fairly entertaining for them. But as a parent I strongly dislike it. It's empty candy that leans on creaky old stereotypes for humor value. Don't let your kids watch this. Please, just don't.
