"FIREHOUSE DOG"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Josh Hutcherson as SHANE FAHEY Bruce Greenwood as CONNOR FAHEY Bill Nunn as JOE MUSTO Scotch Ellis Loring as LIONEL BRADFORD Mayte Garcia as PEP CLEMENTE Bree Turner as LIZ KNOWLES Dash Mihok as TREY FALCON Rated PG Studio: 20th Century Fox Directed by: Todd Holland Back to DVD Review Home |  |
As corny and cliche as it sounds, when you have children, everything changes. It’s not just the fact that your schedules suddenly have to accommodate things like babysitter visits, playdates and trips to the park. It’s also not just the fact that your living room floor becomes a mine field of toys and everything breakable in your house has to be put on a high shelf.
Your taste in films change as well. And even if there’s a movie that comes around that you’re not completely moved by, you can appreciate it even more through the eyes of your children.
Over the years of being a parent, I have come to appreciate children’s movie possibly even more than I did when I was a kid. It’s not just the high-level kids films like the high-budget Disney movies. I also have grown to like the smaller releases and direct-to-DVD titles.
Earlier this year, Fox released “Firehouse Dog” in the theaters. It didn’t break any records, but it was a nice family film everyone could enjoy in the theatre. At the time, I brought both of my children to see the film, and they liked it. My eldest, who was five at the time, even found himself tearing up at the during a touching scene.
I wasn’t as moved because it was a kids’ film. The storyline was basic and formulaic, but it definitely touched the kids in my life. When the film hit DVD just recently, I watched it quickly become my kids’ favorite film of the summer. (Each year, they seem to pick a film that they watch over and over again, and “Firehouse Dog” earned this honor in the summer of 2007.)
So, while I may find some picky points to dig at as a stuffy film critic, my children – the true target market of the DVD – are the best reviewers of the film because they represent the people this movie was made for.
“Firehouse Dog” tells the story of Rexxx, a movie superstar dog that lives the life of a prima donna. He’s made many blockbuster movies, and now he’s pining over the loss of his love to the acrid Hollywood lifestyle. Rexxx has become a high maintenance mutt... think Lindsay Lohan with fur.
One day, one of Rexxx’s sky-diving stunts on his latest film goes horribly awry, and Rexxx finds himself crash landed in the small town of Dogpatch. He’s on the run, dirty and tired, and no one there recognizes him as the famous mutt. While Hollywood is frantically searching for him, Rexxx befriends a family who works at the local firehouse.
One of Rexxx’s new friends is a young teenager named Shane Fahey (Josh Hutcherson), whose father Connor (Bruce Greenwood) is in charge of the firehouse. The firehouse has seen plenty of tragedy with Connor losing both his wife and his brother, who used to be in charge of the engine. Soon, Rexxx becomes the hero of the firehouse and helps a reluctant Shane to get his spirit back.
“Firehouse Dog” is definitely cute, which can be said for almost any dog movie made for kids. It’s not a horribly complex plot and most adult moviegoers will be able to predict what will happen next. But the lead character focus of a boy and his dog is an unmistakable device that almost always works.
The DVD comes with plenty of cool special features, including a behind-the-scenes look at the dog tricks and how the cast interacted with the dogs. Like the feature itself, the DVD bonus material works for the kids as well as the adults. Ultimately, “Firehouse Dog” is a warm, friendly movie for the kids that the adults can enjoy as well.
