Daily Reel - Hotel for Dogs (2009)

Modern CGI merges with magical sets and wonderfully trained canine performers to make Hotel for Dogs an enjoyable experience for families and dog lovers.

Loosely based on the children’s book by Lois Duncan, the story follows a brother and sister as they struggle to keep their dog safe and hidden from their foster parents. With their own home and future uncertain, Andi (Emma Roberts) and Bruce (Jake Austin) find refuge for Friday, their Parson Russell Terrier, in an old, abandoned hotel. They discover their troubles have only begun when they start uncovering more dogs in need of shelter and food. And more. And a few more.

Hotel for Dogs was released with a marketing campaign partly sponsored by Pedigree (dog food) and their Pedigree Adoption Drive. (There is a great deal of Pedigree product placement.) The film juxtapositions homeless dogs with homeless children and brings attention to considering adopting either with themes of family, commitment, and taking responsibility.

A whimsical and entertaining movie with tragic undertones and a diverse canine cast from Birds and Animals Unlimited, Hotel for Dogs will be most enjoyable to those who can suspend disbelief enough to embrace the idea that a few children can build fantastic machines and take care of dozens of hidden dogs by themselves.

Produced by DreamWorks, Nickelodeon Movies

Beauceron Blockbusters

The Beauceron, an old and rare breed originating in France and just recognized by the AKC in 2007, has starred in two major dog films in the past few years.

Never portrayed as the good guy, the handsome Beauceron, "Henry," was at least not completely on the dark side in Hotel for Dogs (2008). In possibly the largest film role the breed has ever had, he was 100% bad dog as "Bosco" in Marmaduke (2010). The latter was played by a Beauceron named Axel.

You can also catch Beaucerons in Moonraker (1979) (see freeze-frames #9 below), The Bear (1988), Le pacte des loups a.k.a. Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), and, if you look very closely,

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).