- Joined
- Apr 11, 2002
- Messages
- 8,251
- Reaction score
- 3,401
Jim Henson Pictures feature film "Good Boy!" debuts today nationwide. Let us know what you think about this release, especially if you see it in the theaters. Keep in mind, if this film does well it will benefit the Jim Henson Company as a whole.
http://www.goodboy.com
You can also send us your review of "Good Boy!" to archive on Muppet Central. Let fans around the world know what you think of this movie.
You can submit your review here...
http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/submit.shtml
Below are links to a variety of reviews that you might find interesting...
Reviews from rottentomatoes.com
"An affecting, hot-buttered slice of toasted E.T. with a smidgen of Benji thrown in just because."
-Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE
"A mix of E.T. and Cats & Dogs, it is a wonderfully sweet family film for all ages."
- Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS
Reviews from metacritic.com
Chicago Tribune / Ellen Fox:
A tearily adorable canine valentine.
Entertainment Weekly / Scott Brown:
Little is asked of talking-animal movies, save charm, heart, and at least one scene where said animal wears a lampshade. Good Boy! has all those things, plus a winning story line.
LA Weekly / Ella Taylor:
This latest offering from the Jim Henson stable puts a cheerfully broad new spin on the boy-and-his-dog franchise.
Washington Post / Michael O'Sullivan:
When it comes right down to it, the talking animal thing is sort of secondary to what is, at heart, just a simple but perfectly satisfying little story about a boy who wants to keep his dog.
Associated Press
** out of four stars
At least "Good Boy!" doesn't leave a mess on the floor that you have to mop up with extra-absorbent paper towels. But you still want to roll up a newspaper and lay a bonk to the nose on everyone involved with this dog of a family flick.
Talking dogs should have more heart and humor than they do in this lame comedy from the Jim Henson "Muppets" factory.
It's not for lack of talent, story or cuddly canines that "Good Boy!" lacks bark or bite. The idea that dogs came from outer space to colonize Earth is cute enough, the canines are even cuter and the movie's voice cast -- including Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Delta Burke and Brittany Murphy -- is solid.
But like a collie scratching endlessly at the same flea scabs, "Good Boy!" claws monotonously at a few dumb gags, with the script by first-time director John Hoffman barren of wit.
"Good Boy!" stars Liam Aiken as 12-year-old Owen Baker, a misfit with a part-time job walking neighborhood dogs. Owen's a sad kid who has trouble making friends, until he gets a stray mutt, a terrier named Hubble (voiced by Broderick).
Turns out Hubble's a scout from the Dog Star, Sirius, dispatched to Earth to find out how canines sent there thousands of years earlier have fared on their mission to take over the planet.
A fluke accident with Hubble's radio equipment allows Owen to understand dog-speak. Suddenly, the boy can communicate not only with Hubble, but also with his dog-walking charges.
The movie's heart is in the right place, but "Good Boy!" plays out with a stilted bag of tricks, relying far too heavily on gags about dog poo and flatulence.
The digital effects used to make the dogs look as if they're talking are almost too understated, making their speeches appear lifeless when they needed a bit of that floppy flamboyance the Muppets are famous for.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1553/4143094.html
Herald Movie Critic
** out of four stars
Dogs are from outer space. This is the first startling revelation in "Good Boy!" but by no means the most alarming one.
Dogs are also intent on dominating Earth. That was the original idea, anyway, when dogs first came here thousands of years ago. As the preponderance of leash laws suggests, things haven't worked out as planned.
The extra-terrestrial nature of canines is discovered by 12-year-old Owen (Liam Aiken), a kid who adopts an ordinary-looking mutt from the pound. His new dog Hubble is actually an emissary from Sirius (yes, the Dog Star), newly arrived on this planet to prepare the way for the mightiest dog of all, the Greater Dane.
Hubble bestows upon Owen the ability to hear dogs talk. Hubble, for instance, speaks in the voice of Matthew Broderick.
Owen must help Hubble prepare the neighborhood dogs for the Greater Dane's visit. If they can't pretend that man's best friend actually dominates humankind, the Greater Dane will withdraw every dog from the planet.
Granted, there is not much suspense in this plot. If this movie ended with every dog on earth being removed from their owners, you could forget about "Gigli": "Good Boy!" would be the most hated film in the history of cinema.
If there is any movie law that has stood the test of time, it's that dogs must not be messed with on screen. Blow up as many people as you want, and audiences will happily keep sucking down the sodas and Junior Mints. Hurt a dog and you've got a riot on your hands.
"Good Boy!" breezes along in a cheerful manner. This movie is quite content to construct entire sequences around the joys of chasing a ball.
The talking dogs are given rowdy life by voices belonging to Carl Reiner, Brittany Murphy and Vanessa Redgrave, among others. Yes, Vanessa Redgrave is in a movie about talking dogs from space.
Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon, two "Saturday Night Live" alums, are Owen's parents. But don't look for much grown-up humor; this is a kiddie film all the way. One dog's take on the human-pet power balance is about as sophisticated as it gets: "You don't see us picking up their poop."
It's a modest winner. Jim Henson's production company is behind this one, and although there isn't a Muppet in sight, it has the same good-natured spirit. With no bite.
http://www.heraldnet.com/ae/story.cfm?file=03101017592488.cfm
http://www.goodboy.com
You can also send us your review of "Good Boy!" to archive on Muppet Central. Let fans around the world know what you think of this movie.
You can submit your review here...
http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/submit.shtml
Below are links to a variety of reviews that you might find interesting...
Reviews from rottentomatoes.com
"An affecting, hot-buttered slice of toasted E.T. with a smidgen of Benji thrown in just because."
-Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE
"A mix of E.T. and Cats & Dogs, it is a wonderfully sweet family film for all ages."
- Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS
Reviews from metacritic.com
Chicago Tribune / Ellen Fox:
A tearily adorable canine valentine.
Entertainment Weekly / Scott Brown:
Little is asked of talking-animal movies, save charm, heart, and at least one scene where said animal wears a lampshade. Good Boy! has all those things, plus a winning story line.
LA Weekly / Ella Taylor:
This latest offering from the Jim Henson stable puts a cheerfully broad new spin on the boy-and-his-dog franchise.
Washington Post / Michael O'Sullivan:
When it comes right down to it, the talking animal thing is sort of secondary to what is, at heart, just a simple but perfectly satisfying little story about a boy who wants to keep his dog.
Associated Press
** out of four stars
At least "Good Boy!" doesn't leave a mess on the floor that you have to mop up with extra-absorbent paper towels. But you still want to roll up a newspaper and lay a bonk to the nose on everyone involved with this dog of a family flick.
Talking dogs should have more heart and humor than they do in this lame comedy from the Jim Henson "Muppets" factory.
It's not for lack of talent, story or cuddly canines that "Good Boy!" lacks bark or bite. The idea that dogs came from outer space to colonize Earth is cute enough, the canines are even cuter and the movie's voice cast -- including Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Delta Burke and Brittany Murphy -- is solid.
But like a collie scratching endlessly at the same flea scabs, "Good Boy!" claws monotonously at a few dumb gags, with the script by first-time director John Hoffman barren of wit.
"Good Boy!" stars Liam Aiken as 12-year-old Owen Baker, a misfit with a part-time job walking neighborhood dogs. Owen's a sad kid who has trouble making friends, until he gets a stray mutt, a terrier named Hubble (voiced by Broderick).
Turns out Hubble's a scout from the Dog Star, Sirius, dispatched to Earth to find out how canines sent there thousands of years earlier have fared on their mission to take over the planet.
A fluke accident with Hubble's radio equipment allows Owen to understand dog-speak. Suddenly, the boy can communicate not only with Hubble, but also with his dog-walking charges.
The movie's heart is in the right place, but "Good Boy!" plays out with a stilted bag of tricks, relying far too heavily on gags about dog poo and flatulence.
The digital effects used to make the dogs look as if they're talking are almost too understated, making their speeches appear lifeless when they needed a bit of that floppy flamboyance the Muppets are famous for.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1553/4143094.html
Herald Movie Critic
** out of four stars
Dogs are from outer space. This is the first startling revelation in "Good Boy!" but by no means the most alarming one.
Dogs are also intent on dominating Earth. That was the original idea, anyway, when dogs first came here thousands of years ago. As the preponderance of leash laws suggests, things haven't worked out as planned.
The extra-terrestrial nature of canines is discovered by 12-year-old Owen (Liam Aiken), a kid who adopts an ordinary-looking mutt from the pound. His new dog Hubble is actually an emissary from Sirius (yes, the Dog Star), newly arrived on this planet to prepare the way for the mightiest dog of all, the Greater Dane.
Hubble bestows upon Owen the ability to hear dogs talk. Hubble, for instance, speaks in the voice of Matthew Broderick.
Owen must help Hubble prepare the neighborhood dogs for the Greater Dane's visit. If they can't pretend that man's best friend actually dominates humankind, the Greater Dane will withdraw every dog from the planet.
Granted, there is not much suspense in this plot. If this movie ended with every dog on earth being removed from their owners, you could forget about "Gigli": "Good Boy!" would be the most hated film in the history of cinema.
If there is any movie law that has stood the test of time, it's that dogs must not be messed with on screen. Blow up as many people as you want, and audiences will happily keep sucking down the sodas and Junior Mints. Hurt a dog and you've got a riot on your hands.
"Good Boy!" breezes along in a cheerful manner. This movie is quite content to construct entire sequences around the joys of chasing a ball.
The talking dogs are given rowdy life by voices belonging to Carl Reiner, Brittany Murphy and Vanessa Redgrave, among others. Yes, Vanessa Redgrave is in a movie about talking dogs from space.
Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon, two "Saturday Night Live" alums, are Owen's parents. But don't look for much grown-up humor; this is a kiddie film all the way. One dog's take on the human-pet power balance is about as sophisticated as it gets: "You don't see us picking up their poop."
It's a modest winner. Jim Henson's production company is behind this one, and although there isn't a Muppet in sight, it has the same good-natured spirit. With no bite.
http://www.heraldnet.com/ae/story.cfm?file=03101017592488.cfm