Cats & Dogs

In this CGI-enhanced live-action kiddie adventure, an underground band of espionage agent doggies recruit a Beagle pup named Lou (voice of Tobey Maguire) to help stop a fluffy, white, power-mad Persian kitty named Mr. Tinkles (voice of Will & Grace's Sean Hayes) from taking over the world by making all humans allergic to dogs. Lou's still wet behind the ears, but he's the dogs' only hope, so a top agent German Shepherd named Butch (Alec Baldwin) takes the kid under his wing and introduces him to the clandestine, gizmo-filled, high-tech world of canine counterintelligence. Cats & Dogs milks this wacky spy-critter concept for some pretty good laughs early on, but the movie's set-ups are its best payoffs, and the closer the plot gets to resolution, the more the laughs dwindle and the story reveals its unoriginal underbelly of stock children's flick conventions. Still, it's decent kiddie fare, with a solid cast--including Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, and Miriam Margolyes, and the voices of Susan Sarandon, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Lovitz and Charlton Heston. Given the sell-through price, this sure-to-be-popular family flick is recommended, overall. (R. Blackwelder)