Dogs rule, cats drool - and parents nod off
I know there was a previous "Cats & Dogs" movie made in 2001, but for the life of me, I can’t remember a single, solitary moment from that film — and that’s even after I looked it up on imdb.com. So you can imagine my excitement to catch the sequel to that original epic. Fortunately, THIS one does not rely on the OTHER (at least I don’t think so). However, if you go, don’t be late, because a new Roadrunner vs. Wile E. Coyote 3-D cartoon kicks things off. Clever. Plus, the opening-credit James Bond homage is the most creative thing about this new film — as I was soon to discover. The war between cats and dogs continues behind the backs of unsuspecting humans, but in this case, a rogue agent from MEOWS who calls herself Kitty Galore (voiced by Bette Midler) is out to take down both sides in her bid for world and human domination. Her minions have quietly been stealing technology from around the globe in the hopes of building a super-secret weapon. The dogs catch a sniff of her evil plans and team up old Butch (Nick Nolte) and a new mutt, Diggs (James Marsden), to stop her. Diggs is a maverick German shepherd who has lots of raw talent, but lacks the discipline to keep a job. Time after time, he finds himself back in the dog house after his screwups with the police force. He means well, but even his devoted human partner, Shane (Chris O’Donnell), can’t keep him from being sent back to the dreaded cages. (A parental note here: A little girl behind me started sobbing uncontrollably at this point, so you might want to stick around for moral support — the poor little darling.) Yes, the doggie is going to be all right. In fact, the floor opens up and out pops Butch with a new job offer for Diggs to join his elite team. The twist this time around (I’m assuming) is that the dog and cat agencies have to work together against this common "Kitty" enemy. More specifically, MEOWS agent Catherine (Christina Applegate) will be forced to work with Butch and Diggs, along with a wisecracking bird named Seamus (Katt Williams), who is an informant or more appropriately, a bona fide stool pigeon. There’s another evil cat called Mr. Tinkles (Sean Hayes), which I vaguely remember from the first film. He’s in an isolated prison cell, a la Hannibal Lecter, wearing the same patented leather face mask and accompanied by his notable stinging insight. It’s kind of funny, but little kids won’t get it unless they’ve seen "Silence of the Lambs." And if they have, nice parenting. Other than that, this film has enough wit and whimsy to keep the kiddies entertained, although you might want to slip out after that doggie kennel moment for a quick shopping spree. I know, that’s not the best parenting advice, either, but mommy and daddy can only take so much, and "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" is pretty close to "so much."
