Daniel And The Superdogs (2004)

a hodgepodge

The screenplay for this movie (assuming there was one) is a mess. There is no particular story to speak of, but sometimes a problem arises, then later, a sit-down talk resolves it. Events and incidents appear with no particular relation to each other except that they all involve Daniel. Sometimes it's the "same" incident: the boys play another stupid prank. Is this an improvement over computer games or surfing the web?

This movie gives the impression of a movie designed by a committee, and a rather large and contentious committee at that. One character asked, "What happened to Daniel's mother?" (We saw her drop dead one day.) Yes, I would like to know what happened to her too. When are we going to find out, in the sequel?! There is some good material and some characters with possibilities, but none of it goes anywhere.

Also, the casting. Except for Daniel and Claire Bloom, the cast seems to have been chosen for its potential for producing aversion reactions on the part of the audience.

Bottom line: there are so many fair, good, or excellent family movies available, don't waste your time or your money on this one.
May 27, 2006

WHAAT?

this movie was so bad! i mean, i dont really understand the movie. the boys hanging up the skeleton on he old veteran's jeep was useless. the old veteran guy himself is useless. MOST of the movie was useless. the kissing part was shocking. i mean, 11 year old kids kissing?! what did the director even think about assigning two kids to kiss? the dogs were hardly mentioned in the entire movie. why did they even make the title daniel and the superdogs? they should have named it daniel and the dumb movie. this movie was useless, dumb, and terrible February 8, 2006

HEARTWARMING FAMILY TALE

The title is kind of misleading on this one. Most of the action does not take place with the Superdogs, a real life troupe of Canadian canines. Although the Superdogs aspect is somewhat pivotal to the plot, this well executed family drama focuses on loss, grief and moving on in life. Matthew Harbour does a fine job as the title character, Daniel, a young lad who has recently lost his mother and his desire to train their wolfhound, Wolf. His father (well played by Patrick Coyette) is also having a difficult time adjusting and his relationship with Daniel is suffering as well. The story focuses on Daniel's involvement with an elderly lady (the remarkable Claire Bloom), her daughters and granddaughter, and his two mischievous friends. The film is unabashedly sentimental but refreshing in showing three boys doing something besides playing video games or hanging out at the mall. Even though its fairly predictable and manipulative, the movie has a warmth and is so well done it's a charming family film for all to enjoy, but it does have its tragic moments. November 30, 2005

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