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I'm only remotely
familiar with the "Air Bud" series
of films, mainly from having only seen the
first one. It was one of the cute family
movies, in this case starring a Golden Retriever
who could play basketball. I remember enjoying
it quite a bit, though admittedly it was
a little silly. But after all, it was meant
for kids. It offered good clean fun and
little that could be complained about by
the jobless wonders out there constantly
in search of a litigant Golden Goose.
"Air Bud" spawned several sequels,
the last few being of the 'direct-to-video'
type. I cannot make any claims about their
quality, but have heard that they were not
quite as good as the first (when are they?).
Each film had 'Buddy' tackling new sport,
like football, soccer, baseball, etc…
So it was no surprise to me when I learned
the newest addition to the legacy would
involve Buddy's puppies. After all, I'm
not sure anyone would have bought Buddy
mastering Texas Hold 'Em.
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The new film, "Air Buddies" stars five
rambunctious Golden Retriever Pups named Budderball,
Rosebud, Bud-dha, B-Dawg and MudBud as the offspring
of the affable pooch.
This time around, Buddy is targeted by an evil
animal poacher whose newest client is a rich kid
bent on owning the dog. But when our villain learns
that Buddy has puppies, he recognizes the potential
for profit. So he sends his bumbling (aren't they
always bumbling?) assistants out to capture the
valuable pups. About the same time, Buddy's owners
realize that it is time for the puppies to leave
their nest and be adopted out to new families
all their own. When the puppies learn this, they
decide to run away before they can be split up.
Oh, and did I mention this time the dogs can talk?
That's right, taking a nudge from "Look Who's
Talking", all of our animal friends speak,
with a little CGI help.
"Air Buddies" is not meant to be an
award winning film, full of messages or top notch
performances. It is supposed to be a family friendly,
silly, over the top comedy for kids. Watching
it with our three year old, there was no doubt
that the groaner jokes were lost on her, but she
enjoyed the cuteness of the puppies (who are beyond
cute) and the ridiculous antics by the wacky adults.
She laughed, applauded and begged to watch it
again… so what else can I say? In her eyes
it was a success.
Disney is releasing the DVD with a number of special
features, including a music video for the song
"We Are Family", performed by Jordan
Pruitt (who?). There's also a short promotional
behind the scenes featurette, profiles on the
puppies and a little piece on how to train your
dog to do a couple of the tricks in the film.
"Air Buddies" is what it is, a cute
film for kids. Parents might cringe at some of
the humor, but the look on your little one's face
is worth sitting through it.
Directed by: Robert Vince
Starring: Patrick Cranshaw, Richard Karn, Cynthia
Stevenson
Extras: Train Your Dog to be a Star, Hollywood
Backstage Pass with Air Buddies, Puppy Profiles,
Music Video performed by Jordan Pruitt
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Disney
Release Date: 12/12/2006
Region: 1
MPAA Rating: G
Website
We'll give Air Buddies a C+.
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