Hotel for Dogs

I am a firm believer in the notion that a movie about dogs should genuinely be a movie about dogs. I accept the inevitability of a plotline partially navigated by humans and the presence of a few people who must communicate the ups and downs of the story by switching between shedding a tear and tearing out their hair at the appropriate times. After all, dog movies have a mandatory amount of sweet and sour moments that are caused by both the tender qualities and rambunctious, chaotic abilities of a canine companion. Each of these moments touching on the good and the bad need to be properly translated from a bark and a whimper into terms that us humans can more clearly understand.

But outside of the human necessities, I expect that a movie about dogs will deliver the doggie goods. In that sense, I must declare my sugary surprise upon viewing the cutesy confectionary titled Hotel for Dogs, which manages to be a very enjoyable kid's movie in spite of its heavy dose of saccharine sweetness. And why does the movie work as a piece of fluffy entertainment? Because it wisely focuses its attention on the dogs, the real stars of the movie, who instantly steal the show from the humans once they show up early in the story.

Based on a 1971 novel by Lois Duncan, this Disney production is concerned with two orphan teenagers named Andi and Bruce, who decide to turn an abandoned hotel in New York City into a safe haven for multiple stray dogs. The movie takes its time setting up the basic premise, ensuring that we understand the siblings' situation and accept their dependence on their one and only friend Friday, who happens to be a scruffy little Terrier with a sense of adventure.

Early on, we learn that Andi and Bruce have been on a whirlwind trip from foster home to foster home, now finding themselves trapped in the home of two rocker wannabes (played by Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon, performing their parts like expository filler). This is their fifth foster home to date and their stern-but-friendly social worker Bernie (talented actor Don Cheadle, in what has to be one of his least demanding roles to date) warns the siblings that they have to make this one work or risk being split up.

It's a basic Disney movie setup, with the orphan children working against all odds to make a difference, but credit must go to screenwriters Jeff Lowell, Bob Schooley, and Mark McCorkle and director Thor Freudenthal for steering the narrative away from an abundance of heartstring-tugging sentimentality. The children's orphan status is used as more of a driving narrative force, rather than an excuse to cue weepy piano music as the kids longingly stare at photographs of their absent parents. Ultimately, the decision to focus on the main story and not bog the movie down with flashbacks helps fortify the narrative's emotional impact.

Hotel for Dogs is also helped by its two human stars, Emma Roberts (niece of megastar Julia) and Jake T. Austin, both of whom make Andi and Bruce feel like real kids and not cardboard cut-outs. But it is the dogs that make this movie such a tasty treat, since the many canines are given tons of room to breathe and have fun and light up the celluloid. Once the hotel plan is under way, all sorts of different dogs, big and small, scruffy and smooth, are invited to parade around on the large set in an engaging bid for our attention.

Bruce puts his considerable talents to good use, creating a whole collection of imaginative canine entertainment, as well as more practical machines that perform important tasks such as regular dog feedings. The fun inventions include a doggie simulator ride that allows the dogs to stick their heads out of detached car door windows and watch footage that simulates a fast drive down a deserted road and a pair of doors that keep the dogs busy barking by imitating knocks and doorbell rings.

The inventions are quirky and fun to watch, but they do require a significant suspension of disbelief. Early in the movie, there is a scene where Andi and Bruce struggle to quiet a howling dog in the hotel in fears that the noise will attract unwanted attention. But later on, the inventions create all sorts of noise that never seems to be a problem at all. These little gaps of logic routinely pop up, but luckily, they are never so distracting as to take away from the movie's bubbly sense of fun.

Hotel for Dogs is by no means a family-friendly masterpiece. It's simple, light, and stuffed with the usual predictable plot threads and resolutions that this kind of movie relies on. A romantic subplot between Andi and a pet store worker who joins their cause is really just shoe-horned into the movie in order to satisfy a need for an airy love story. Kudrow and Dillon are supposed to act as some sort of comic relief, but their scenes are more awkward than funny.

Clearly, Hotel for Dogs has its fair share of problems, but the movie locates the right tone early on and makes the most of the dog-loving concept. Freudenthal understands that the dogs need to be front and centre for this movie to work and he executes the canine component of the story with focus and heart. Hotel for Dogs is another glossy Disney flick where kids are heroes and adults have (mostly) lost their sense of fun, but it employs the familiar formula with a comfortable smile and a lot of playful pooch expressions. One thing is for certain: this movie has gone to the dogs and it's all the better for it.