Movie Review Hotel for Dogs

Hotel for Dogs (2009) 

Directed by Thor Freudenthal 

Written by Jeff Lowell, Mark McCorkle, Bob Schooley

Starring Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, Don Cheadle

Release Date January 16th, 2009 

Published January 19th, 2009 

Is there any hotter movie star in the world right now than the pooch? Dogs are a big box office hit these days. From the Beverly Hills Chihuahua to the animated Bolt to the box office king Marley, the dog is boffo box office. The latest example of doggie dominance, Hotel For Dogs, hasn't lit up the box office quite as well as its predecessors but it's coming around, hence why I have gone back to actually complete this review.

Hotel For Dogs tells the story of an orphan brother and sister, Bruce (Jake T. Austin) and Andi (Emma Roberts). They are a pair of troublemakers who make trouble to get out of bad foster homes. The latest one has them living with a pair of wannabe rock stars, (Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon) who refuse to feed them anything but scraps and cereal.

They are scheming a way out until their kind, caring social worker  Bernie (Don Cheadle) tells them they will be separated if they can't make this home work. The biggest obstacle for Bruce and Andi is hiding their beloved pup Friday, a gift from their late parents.

One day, when Friday runs away, Bruce and Andi track him down in a rundown hotel where several other dogs are hiding out from the no good dog catchers. Bruce and Andi decide that all the dogs need to be cared for and using his wizard-like skill with gadgets, Bruce begins building ways for the dogs to get help when they can't be there.

Meanwhile, Andi befriends Dave (Johnny Simmons), a boy who works in a local pet store. He and his friend Heather (Kyla Pratt) agree to help out and provide the puppy chow and all four agree that there are other stray dogs out there that need their help and a caring roof over their heads. The Hotel For Dogs is born.

Are there any cheaper ways to achieve sentimentality than orphans and puppies? Really? Director Thor Freudenthal and crew have built a gadget of a movie meant to play on any and all sympathies. Surprise, surprise, it works. Sure, it's cheap, tacky and sentimental but Hotel For Dogs is also undeniably sweet, cute and fun.

Emma Roberts is a winning little star with a big bright smile and energy to burn. She is the perfect heroine for a movie like this, combining the innocence and gumption needed to keep the movie from becoming treacly. Jake T. Austin is also perfect casting. The star of Disney's Wizards Waverly Place could play this role with his eyes closed; everything about Hotel For Dogs matches the modern Disney model of pre-teen live action TV shows like Wizards, I-Carly or Hannah Montana.

Sweet without being cloying and sentimental without being pushy, Hotel For Dogs is great family entertainment built to make dog owners cry and everyone else just say awww.