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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
----------------- Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted! ------------------
------------- Sidebar :: ------------- Letters; we get letters! As we get letters about a review, we like to link to some of them. Here is the top of the e-mailbag for this review: How low can you go...? Sure, cat lovers HATED (and I do mean hated) this cats-are-all-evil movie. However, in their quest to make cats the "good guys," could their reviews have been a little more...fair? The biggest saucer of milk award of cattiness must go to A.O. Scott, whose New York Times review claimed that the film is "...a work ...in which those slobbery, servile Frisbee catchers are idealized as noble and selfless champions of all that is decent, while the proud tribe of the tiger is slandered as a gang of duplicitous would-be dictators...." Oh, brother.
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Cats and Dogs
Click picture to order the DVD, Widescreen version. To order DVD, Fullscreen version, and VHS version, see links after review. A Techtite ReviewThe Film: Forget the rivalry between "cats and dogs." Forget the war between man's best friend and...well, cats. This film brought to light an even bigger than civil war, between cat lovers and dog lovers, who respectively either hated or loved this film. To give you some idea of how polarized the reviews of Cats & Dogs actually was: the movie review consensus site, Rotten Tomatoes.com, shows this movie with a 54% approval rating; practically right down the middle. This is because of one tiny detail; in this film, dogs are all the good guys, while cats are all evil villains. I may be a dog lover for saying this, but...isn't that pretty obvious? Sure, there have been animal movies before, with talking animals' mouths in sync with the voice acting. In fact, Dr. Dolittle 2 opened just two weekends earlier to this film's mid-week, July 4th release. However, sometimes a film's premise seems so obvious, it will leave you wondering why someone didn't think of it years ago; the war between cats and dogs, escalating into high-tech gadgetry. Sure, that's pretty much the whole story, though the perks are in the hilarious visuals. Any fan of Tom & Jerry cartoons (with frequent canine guest character, Spike) will have a hard time not laughing at scenes that include parachuting ninja cats...complete with with night vision goggles. Some of the amusements here will probably go right over some kids' heads, which is nice because that means parents who go with them will have laughs all their own. I don't think it's any accident that the leader of the feline forces, Mr. Tinkles, has an uncanny resemblance to the pet of the nefarious Blofeld in the original James Bond films. You almost get the feeling that Mr. Tinkles has taken up villainy where his late master left off. However, if just to "water down" the dark imagery in a family-oriented tale such as this, Mr. Tinkles' biggest problem is being seen as a fluffy, harmless, cuddly pussycat by the maid that takes care of him. She even puts him in little fluffy, pink bonnets. How embarrassing, for a "criminal mastermind"! As for Tinkles' latest nefarious plan, it's as simple as it is inspired. You see, Lou's new owner, Professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum), just might have found a way to eliminate allergies to dogs forever. Cats think this is a no-win scenario for them, and decide to escalate an even bigger plan, to make all humans allergic to all dogs. Then cats can take over the world, as the pet of choice in every home. Sometimes, it's the simplest plotlines that equally seem, in a way, the most inspired. Sure, I rated this film equal to A.I., which has the hype of being a Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg collaboration. Regardless, that's the way I see it. A.I., while it was an epic picture --impressive visuals at every turn-- was equally a mere retread of the robot-wanting-humanity story that has been done over and over. I suppose that film has Spielberg and Kubrick as a curse as well as a blessing; quite simply, I expected something more. Comparatively, Cats & Dogs was a film that appeared as if it would be cliché, yet exceeded those low expectations. Furthermore, at a mere 89 minutes, Cats & Dogs is a film that knows when to end. Not one single critic will say that A.I. didn't overstay its 145 minute welcome. The biggest problem with this picture will inevitably be the hissing from the cat lovers in the audience. However, don't be so quick to think that all cat lovers will hate this picture's polarity in the cat-dog wars. Typically, modern kids seem to wear a dark, Darth Maul T-shirt far more frequently than a Luke Skywalker T-shirt. That said, yes, this film may lead to kids wanting a cat as much as a dog. Don't be too surprised. After all, they're the ones with those cool, parachuting ninjas. The DVD : Who listens to an audio commentary, for a film intended (on the most part) for kids? That's probably the question asked, when it was decided to make the audio commentary of this DVD into its own joke. You can decide to listen to commentary from dogs, or commentary from cats. Again, I'm left musing how the simplest ideas often seem the most inspired...and funny! This is all part of the fun, on a disc that lets you view the menus in either "dog mode" or "cat mode." Either results in the same visuals (except hidden features; see below), though you'll particularly want to play the interactive trivia game on both. Answer the questions right, and you're sent right to doggie or kitty Headquarters. Get them wrong, and...well, just make sure not to get them wrong! There is also the HBO "First Look" special, preserved on the disc, as well as storyboard comparisons. This is in addition to an amusing added feature titled, "Teaching a new dog new tricks." There are also some added "dog and cat treats," which are actually all "easter eggs" and hidden features that probably would've been best left as part of the bonus materials menu (see gray "sidebar" notes, at upper right, for more detail of these hidden features). Some of these hidden items are the best reasons for the disc; and many might never know they're there! I'll try to list them all (all the ones I found, anyway), next: First, choose the dogs menu (as anyone would do first ;-) ). On the Special Features Menu, go down the screen until a doggie messenger tube is highlighted. Press Enter, and see some concept art. Next, click to the second page (screen) of Special Features, and highlight the dog HQ logo at the bottom. This shows highlights from the movie, dog style. As for the cat menu, again go to the special features, and go to the bottom of the screen, which in this case has the spiked ball from the "Russian" cat. This will show Mr. Tinkles in some amusing video clips. Last, go to the cat menu's special features, second page/screen, and click on the Cat HQ at bottom. This shows highlights from the movie, cat-style. The end result is a film that is more than enjoyable for families. As for everyone else, well, I hope you like dogs. Cat lovers apparently coughed up quite a furball when seeing this flick. Regardless, I have to be fair and impartial, when giving this film a mere marginal-thumbs-up. Regardless, as a dog-lover, this is perhaps the best family film offered in all of 2001.
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