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| SPACE BUDDIES |
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| Featuring: Bill Fagerbakke, Kevin Weisman, Lochlyn Munro, Ali Hillis, Pat Finn, Nolan Gould |
| Director: Robert Vince |
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Distributor: Walt Disney Video |
| DVD release: 03 February 2009 |
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Runtime: 84 min.
(1 disc) |
| Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen |
| DVD features: Aspect ration 1.78:1, Audio tracks (English - Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround), Subtitles (English, French, Spanish), Buddy Bloopers, "Dancing in the Moonlight" music video by Alyson Stoner, DisneyPedia: The Buddies Guide To Space Travel, Buddy Facts |
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The latest addition to the "Buddies" series is set in space. After last year's highly successful Snow Buddies , the puppies have returned for another adventure. This straight-to-DVD offering will be likely greatly enjoyed by the younger crowd-my eight-year-old daughter really enjoyed it-but it won't appeal much to adults and older children/teens.
The general story is about five Golden Retriever puppies. The dogs can talk to each other, but not to humans. The puppies accompany their corresponding children on a field trip to view a new spacecraft, and somehow, the dogs get on board and end up flying to the moon. They meet a Russian "dogonaut" bull terrier and have to join together to save the world (or at least the space program).
Overall, other than entertaining the very young folk, there's not much I can say about this movie. It's attempting to drag a tired series out too far, and the target audience who loved Air Buddies and Snow Buddies is getting a bit old to enjoy the franchise any more. The CGI effects, especially when dealing with the moon walk, are laughably bad for this day and age.
The storylines about love and friendship are timeless, and although there are some requisite jokes about the dogs passing gas and other gross things, it's a tame Disney offering and there's nothing offensive. Unfortunately, the plot of Space Buddies is so similar to the recently released Fly Me to the Moon (about fly children going into space) that I began to get the two plots mixed up in my head.
Bottom line-if you have very young children, Space Buddies might be a decent rental. But for adults and anyone over the age of eight, pass it up for something a bit more original and intelligent.
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