January 21, 2009

Cuddly ‘Hotel for Dogs’ a wholesome, comic adventure

By John Mulderig

NEW YORK (CNS)—A spirit of compassion and a strong sense of family characterize the wholesomely enjoyable canine caper “Hotel for Dogs” (Dreamworks/Nickelodeon).
This comic adventure tale follows orphaned brother and sister Bruce (Jake T. Austin) and Andi (Emma Roberts) who struggle to care for—and conceal—Friday, the dog they’ve owned since before their parents’ death. The deception is necessary because their current foster parents, Lois (Lisa Kudrow) and Carl (Kevin Dillon), are comically self-absorbed would-be rock musicians who barely provide care for the two of them.

When the kids stumble on an abandoned hotel that’s home to a couple of strays, they decide to shelter Friday there. But they soon find themselves tending a motley and growing collection of neglected quadrupeds, avoiding disaster only with Bruce’s gift for inventing eccentric machines (e.g., feeding, fetching) to keep the animals happy.
All of this causes complications for their genuinely caring social worker, Bernie (Don Cheadle).

Director Thor Freudenthal’s cuddly feature debut sees the affectionate siblings working together and with friends to care for their expanding pack and improvising a part-human, part-animal surrogate family. The film is adapted from the 1971 children’s book by Lois Duncan, the 2009 winner of the Catholic Library Association’s St. Katharine Drexel Award.

The film contains a couple of crass words. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I—general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG—parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.