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Normally I try and
stay away from
movies with talking
dogs and talking
animals. Most kids
under 8 love those
movies though, so
when there's
something big on the
market with a
talking dog... I'm
going to get to see
it whether I want to
or not. I didn't
have high
expectations for
Marmaduke,
so I was pleasantly
surprised.
The
long-running comic
strip dog takes his
turn on the big
screen, being voiced
by Owen Wilson no
less. Sadly, the
movie isn't about
his interactions
with his family as
much as it is about
his interactions
with other dogs.
That's a little bit
disappointing, but
more on that a
little later.
Marmaduke and his
family are simple,
Kansas dwelling
folks. Everyone in
the family,
including Marmaduke
and the three kids
are content with
their lives in
Kansas, except for
the father of the
family... Phil
Winslow (Lee Pace.)
He's
an ambitious guy
that wants more
money, a bigger
house, and a bigger
life for his family.
So, Phil takes a
marketing job with a
California-based dog
food company and the
Winslows head west
to embrace the
California
lifestyle.
The
moving plot line is
just the beginning
of the story. It's
just meant to get
things started and
well... get the
family to
California. Once in
California, for some
odd reason Phi’s job
has him working at a
dog park for the day
opposed to an
office.
That
means he's taking
Marmaduke to work
every day. The dog
park is where the
story really exists.
Marmaduke interacts
with all of the
cliques and other
dogs at the dog
park, eventually
becoming the alpha
dog, and then
realizing that
popularity isn't the
important thing in
life. Yes, it's a
kids’ movie.
What's disappointing
in the story is the
dog park plot line.
The jokes throughout
Marmaduke
were funny and even
the writing was
decent. But this
movie would have
been funnier if
there were more
interactions with
the family and fewer
interactions with
dogs. It would have
been better if this
movie was about
Marmaduke and the
family, not a dog's
love life. That's
all I'm saying.
All things
considered, the
movie's not
terrible. There's
some good writing
and even though the
plot line makes a
bad turn halfway
through the movie,
it's still very
watchable. Even the
extras are good on
this Blu-ray with
some extended
surfing by Marmaduke
and the typical
deleted scenes.
Marmaduke
is what it looks
like. It's a family
film that your kids
will love and you
won't mind watching
the first few times.
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