Review of the Show Dogs Movie from a parent’s point of view

A good few days ago, I took my toddler to see an advance preview of the Show Dogs Movie in central London and we had an amazing time. I think I enjoyed it more though. As the 25th of May is the official release date in the UK, I thought I should share a review of the Show Dogs Movie from a parent’s point of view. Maybe it may inspire you to go watch it with your child(ren) for some essential bonding time.

About Show Dogs Movie

SHOW DOGS

Release Date (UK): 25th May 2018

CERT: PG

RUNTIME: 90 minutes

STARRING

Will Arnett, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Natasha Lyonne, Jordin Sparks

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Shaquille O’Neal, Alan Cumming, and Stanley Tucci

 

Max, a gruff NYPD K9 unit Rottweiler, inadvertently blows Federal Agent Frank Mosley’s cover in an operation to catch the smugglers of a baby panda known as Ling-Li.  

However, Max manages to corner one of the henchmen who tell of his ring-leader’s plan to sell the panda at the Canini Invitational event in Las Vegas.  This prestigious dog show attracts the richest people in the animal world and the “Best In Show” is worth millions.

Frank takes the assignment but in order to gain access to the coveted event, he must pose as a contestant with a dog.  Max, who happens to be a purebred Rottweiler, jumps at the opportunity to take down the evil gang.

Trouble is- Frank is convinced Max has anger issues, Max thinks Frank is stupid and both are entirely clueless about the glamorous world of show dogs.

On arrival in Vegas, Frank makes contact with the FBI’s special canine consultant Mattie Smith, a professional dog handler and groomer.   Meanwhile, Max tracks down and enlists the help of an old French Papillion by the name of Philippe, once a celebrated show champion. Philippe agrees to tutor Max and vows to turn this smelly street dog into a “Best In Show” contestant.

First stop is the dazzling Canini Invitational opening party, where Max meets and gets the low down from the other dogs in the show including Daisy, a beautiful Australian Shepherd handled by Mattie; Sprinkles, an excitable chubby pug; Karma, a zen Komondor and Dante, a fancy Yorkshire terrier.

The following day, training begins and Max, the alpha male, has to endure a full body foil wrap, seaweed mud mask, bubble bath and even a bikini wax.  If they fail to be accepted into the competition, Frank and Max will be sent back to New York and Ling-Li will be lost forever.

Respect and trust in one another grows when Frank and Max make it through and proceed to use any and all means necessary to win their way up the ranks.  However, as the final round approaches they realize that whoever wins will become the most valuable canine in the world. The smugglers plan to steal the prize dog so they can sell it along with Ling-Li and a host of other valuable creatures that have mysteriously gone missing.

With a little help from their new friends, Frank and Max embark on a mission to out-smart the greedy traffickers, track down Ling-Li and rescue the other kidnapped animals, including the new champion of the Annual Canini Invitational.

 

My review of Show Dogs Movie

Plus: My daughter was captivated from the very first moment the movie started. Anything that can get my daughter to sit still for a good few minutes at a time gets a 5-star rating from me. As the parent accompanying my daughter, it was great that I found the movie really enjoyable too. It wasn’t too long and it wasn’t too short either. There were lots of funny moments that a lot of the parents burst out laughing. To be honest, I think of this movie as a treat for parents. Somewhere you can take your kids to and actually enjoy yourself. Afterwards, I tried to talk about the movie with my daughter and found that she remembered some of the characters and what went on in general. Considering that most cartoons that my 3yo watches tend to have a short duration, I was really pleased to see that she could follow what went on in the movie to an extent.

Negative: The only negative is that things were in implied in some scenes that I felt were not appropriate for young children. However, most of it was lost on my 3-year-old.

Would I recommend the movie: Most definitely! Obviously, each parent has to make their own decision as to whether or not they should take their children to see it. It has a PG rating for a reason.

Here’s the trailer to the movie. Play it for your little one and ask them if they would like to see it

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What do you think of the Show Dogs Movie? Please leave a comment below