Marmaduke, the live-action one about the cartoon Great Dane, opens tomorrow, the latest casualty of an epidemic gripping Hollywood: The Talking-Dog Movie. The best that can be said about it is that the voice of the overeager canine is supplied by Owen Wilson, who sounds like John Wayne on laughing gas. (Similarly, Drew Barrymore and George Lopez supplied terrific voice work for Beverly Hills Chihuahua, similarly an Alpo ad posing as a feature film.)
There are a handful of talking-dog films worth talking seriously. Up (2009, that's Dug, in his cone of shame, pictured), The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1989), a Japanese nature movie reinvented by Dudley Moore's invention of dialogue for the canine and feline costars) and Baxter (1991), an eerie French film about a reflective dog whose boy is a Fascist-in-training.
Do you nominate any others? Here's Vadim Rizov on the talking-dog phenom. Your thoughts?
Comment removed.
The word "terrific" should not be used anywhere close to the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Talking animals are freakish and disturbing in any setting other than an animated movie. The live action trend is only going to get worse, I fear.— Fascism Rules- On second thought, I'd add "Lady and the Tramp" to my doggie bag.— carrierickey
- How could anyone forget the sarcastic commentary from the mangy dog watching the action of the robotic crime-fighting dog in the 1970s' C.H.O.M.P.S. But surely I jest.— edwardcopeland
- The only talking dog entertainment I can ever recall enjoying is the 1950s tv series, The People's Choice, featuring Jackie Cooper and Cleo, the talking bassett hound. Cleo was marvelous. Otherwise, I think the entertainment industry has failed in the talking dog category.— ccjroberts
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