Cats and Dogs (2001)

"Exuberant fun to delight children.  A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"Consistently amusing and sometimes hilarious.  Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press
"Two Thumbs Up!  Ebert & Roeper at the Movies
"Surprisingly witty and sophisticated...  Jane Horowitz, Washington Post
"Undeniably charming, and kids will certainly enjoy it.  Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

Editor's Note In the outrageous comedy CATS & DOGS, Professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum) is on the verge of discovering a chemical formula that would give humans immunity to dog allergies, making dogs the clear favorite of humans over cats, their age-old enemies. When a power-mad white Persian cat named Mr. Tinkles (voiced by Sean Hayes) decides to kidnap the professor and his family and attempt to reverse the formula, making all humans allergic to dogs, canine operative Butch (voiced by Alec Baldwin) and young, hapless recruit Lou (voiced by Tobey Maguire) must stop Mr. Tinkles's nefarious plans. Blending live action with realistic puppetry and seamless computer animation, CATS & DOGS reveals an amusingly secretive world of talking felines and canines where cats parachute out of stealth planes in night-vision goggles and dogs operate hi-tech computer equipment. And in one of the film's most stunning sequences, a Russian mercenary kitten attacks the Brody household with an arsenal of weapons including plastic explosives and bladed boomerangs. Entertaining for both children and adults, the film also features Elizabeth Perkins and the vocal talents of Susan Sarandon, Jon Lovitz, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Joe Pantoliano.

	Elizabeth Perkins
	Jeff Goldblum
	Alec Baldwin - Voice Of
	Andrew Lazar - Producer
	Charlton Heston - Voice Of
	Chris Bender - Executive Producer
	Glenn Ficarra - Writer
	John Debney, et. al. - Original Music By
	John Requa - Writer
	Jon Lovitz - Voice Of
	Julio Macat - Cinematographer
	Lawrence Guterman - Director
	Michael A. Stevenson - Editor
	Rick Finney - Editor
	Sean Hayes - Voice Of
	Susan Sarandon - Voice Of
	Tobey Maguire - Voice Of

New York Times
"...[A] clever piece of summer entertainment....[With] exuberant fun to delight children without driving their parents completely crazy..." 07/04/2001 p.E4

Entertainment Weekly
"...Impressive technical work....[The actors] throw themselves into their work with suitable fervor..." 07/13/2001 p.56

Variety
"...To be sure, there is a great deal of technical know-how at work in this picture..." 07/09/2001 p.20-4

Sight and Sound
"...There are some funny, well-executed gags studded throughout..." 09/01/2001 p.38-9

Total Film
"...Animals who think they're people. As hard as you try, you just can't deny their appeal..." 09/01/2001 p.90

Premiere
"A cute movie for animal lovers, specifically dog owners..." 07/19/2010

ReelViews 6 of 10
For his feature debut, director Lawrence Guterman has attempted to fuse Babe (cute talking animal trying to navigate his way through a world of humans and other talking animals) with Spy Kids (family-friendly espionage story). In a strange way, he has succeeded - Cats and Dogs takes the worst elements of both movies and pulls them together to create an end-product so juvenile and tedious that only a child could possibly appreciate what it has to offer. Cats and Dogs isn't just a miscalculation - it's a wholesale blunder...The commercials for Cats and Dogs set this up as the latest chapter in a longstanding rivalry. In reality, however, there's a clear anti-feline bias. Not that it matters much, but cat people surely will not be pleased (if they can stay awake and muster enough energy to care). At its best, Cats and Dogs is a series of missed opportunities that represents adequate entertainment for the age 5-9 crowd. - James Berardinelli

Salon.com 9 of 10
For anyone who has ever dressed a cat in doll clothes -- and here I raise my hand sheepishly, but I swear it was a long time ago -- "Cats & Dogs" is an hour and a half of giddy, ridiculous fun...The more ridiculous "Cats & Dogs" gets, the more fun it is. The animals, made to look as if they're talking and moving in most un-animal-like ways with the help of puppets and computer graphics, engage in all kinds of shenanigans. Sometimes they're funniest not when they're talking, but when they're simply responding: There are some early moments when a devious cat teases a bloodhound with his best, most blase "You've got to be kidding!" look, and the expression is all animal...Lou is amusing enough when he's gabbling about saving his family or fending off stealthy ninja cats, but he's most wonderful when he's just being what he is naturally, a beagle puppy. - Stephanie Zacharek