REVIEW: Air Buddies, kids' joyride
What the film is about
Budderball, RoseBud, Bud-Dha, MudBud and B-Dawg are five pups who run away from home in the fear of getting separated. You see, they are about to be adopted and none of them want to go away from their family. But little do they realise that their running away would in fact put their parents Buddy and Molly into deep, deep trouble.
Selkirk (Holmes Osborne) is a scheming human out to get Buddy and sell him to a spoilt, rich kid Bartleby for a heavy price. So, when Buddy and Molly are searching for their little ones, they walk straight into Selkirk's trap. Thus begins the journey of the five pups who set out in the big bad world to get their parents back home.
What we liked about the film
This movie is the sixth in the series of Air Bud movies. And this time around, the little dogs have a voice of their own, literally! Okay, so they aren't as hilarious as that doggie in Dr Dolittle, but they do manage to woof out some funny one-liners. For instance, watch for the part where Budderball gets intoxicated and sings 'Where has my little dog gone?' while chasing his own tail; or that scene where Bud-Dha is performing Yoga. And don't miss the part when Deputy Dog Sniffer regains his sense of smell after a skunk decides to pee on him! "Yuck!" You may say… but guess what? The kids in the theatre simply LOVED it.
What we did not like about the film
Unlike their father Buddy [Tom Everett Scott], who had a very distinct character of his own (tell us another dog character that inspired six movies), none of his five pups can boast of having a (pardon the word) personality of their own. Of course, each of the pups have special abilities and qualities that set them apart from each other, but none of them remains in our memory as Buddy did. And then again…what's with all those fart-jokes? Honestly at some point it got a little too overbearing. Finally, the plot was so predictably boring that it didn't enthuse any kind of excitement.
Verdict
There are some movies that bring out the child in you. And there are others that demand you to be one. Air Buddies falls in the second category. Your kids are bound to love this one. As for the grown-ups, look at it as a K3G with dogs…it's all about loving your family! And as Molly says, "No matter how far we stray; the love we share is here to stay." So, take your family and you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 3/5
