In 1997 movie fans were introduced to a character that would prove to be so popular, he would spawn four sequels and a spin-off franchise that consisted of an additional four separate films. These nine movies would cement this character’s place in film history — for better or worse.
I, of course, am talking about Air Bud, the dog who plays sports better then most humans live their lives.
While Air Bud has long since been retired (probably enjoying his twilight years as a sports commentator on ESPN 2), his children have carried on his legacy with the Air Buddies series of films.
While Air Bud was the jack-of-all-trades when it came to sports, his children, it seems, were given the short straw when it came to the sports gene. Instead of being able to play any sport with equal talent, the pups are each assigned a particular sport (and personality) to conform to during the films.
B-Dawg, a hip-hop centric pup, plays basketball. Budderball, a dog with a constant appetite for treats, plays football. Rosebud, the only female in the group (who of course, like all girls, is obsessed with fashion), plays soccer. Bud-dha plays baseball and is obsessed with meditation and spiritual oneness. Finally, Mudball, a laid-back slacker with a penchant for getting dirty, plays volleyball.
By bringing together a collection of stereotypes, clichés and cliques, the films are essentially The Breakfast Club of sports dog movies.
In Santa Buddies, the latest film staring America’s most-tolerated talking dogs, the pups must team up with Puppy Paws, the son of Santa’s partner in Christmas, Santa Paws.
Yes, it seams that Christmas is too big of a task for a simple human to pull off so he must team yearly with a talking dog in order to deliver presents to all the good boys, girls and puppies. Kittens are screwed.
When Puppy Paws decides he no longer wants any part of the Christmas racket and only wants to be a normal puppy, he escapes from the North Pole to find the Air Buddies, a group of dogs he feels to be the epitome of good ol’ fashioned puppy Americana.
Unfortunately, with Puppy Paws gone, the North Pole’s magic reserve is in danger of running out of juice. Can the Air Buddies convince Puppy Paws of his place in the world and take him back home before Christmas is ruined for everybody?
It’s a Disney movie — what do you think?
The film ultimately suffers from lack of anything remotely resembling excitement. For talking animals that are also walking clichés, the dogs in the movies are completely devoid of character. Sure, the dogs each have their own unique personality, but almost 80 percent of the film is spent on static camera shots of the dogs sitting perfectly still as their mouths are moved via computer effects and dubbed children’s voices say inane drivel about the meaning of Christmas and holiday magic.
With an emphasis on puppies standing still as they talk instead of footage of puppies doing cute and rambunctious things (like, oh I don’t know, playing sports), the film is actually kind of reminiscent of an Art House picture. Not really.
The few human actors brought in for the movie are wasted as they are used as pure window dressing for the dogs’ antics (or lack thereof). George Wendt spends the majority of his time playing Santa Claus staring blankly at a dog while it sits perfectly still and pretends to speak. Christopher Lloyd is a grinchy old dogcatcher who has forgotten the spirit of Christmas.
On a side note — why is the dogcatcher always portrayed as the villain? He’s just doing his job.
Sure his job is to catch puppies, put them into a cage and, if nobody wants them, eventually kill the puppies — but how would you like it if dogs overran your neighborhood?
Santa Buddies is a bad movie — but it is essentially harmless. There is no innuendo or double entendre that might inadvertently warp the minds of young kids and the message it tries to deliver is solid. What kid couldn’t use a crash course in the true meaning of Christmas?
While the film may be boring beyond belief for adults, it’s an acceptable distraction for tiny toddlers who go gaga for talking dogs (regardless of how stupid what they are saying really is).
The movie does look pretty good on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, the only extras are a music video and sing-along karaoke videos that manage to be even more bland and uninviting then the movie itself.
Would I recommend watching the film? Only if you are younger then three or have just received a lobotomy. Otherwise, why not check out some of these puppy power movies instead:
Cujo — 1983
What it’s about: Based on an early Stephen King novel, Cujo is the story of Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace-Stone), an unfaithful wife, and her son (Danny Pintauro), who find themselves besieged with car trouble.
Forced to take the car to a mechanic on the outskirts of a small Maine town, Donna finds the garage seemingly deserted. It’s too bad for her that the sole occupant of the compound is Cujo, a slobbering, beady-eyed Saint Bernard who has contracted rabies.
Stuck in a vehicle that won’t start, Donna has to fight for her and her son’s lives as the killer canine wages a war in the search of fresh meat.
Lesson it teaches kids: Dogs can sense fear. If you find yourself trapped in a small vehicle as a massive mound of fur and teeth hurdles itself at the car’s window, you should remember to stay calm and collected. Practice some meditative breathing as said canine savagely mauls the cop who came to rescue you, thereby eating your one chance at freedom. Under no circumstance should you panic if your toddler son begins to undergo the initial stages of dehydration after being trapped in the vehicle during the hottest time of the day without a drop of water to drink. Life could be worse, your husband could have just found out that you’re having an affair and be severely pissed off at you. In that case, you should probably panic.
Fluke — 1995
What it’s about: Based on a novel by Frank Herbert (Dune), the movie is about a man who dies in a car accident and is reincarnated into the body of a newborn puppy, Fluke. Thomas (played by Matthew Modine) begins to relearn all of life’s basic lessons, but this time through the eyes of a dog.
But soon Fluke begins to have dreams of another life with a wife and children. Under the watchful eye of Rumbo (voiced by Samuel Jackson), Fluke begins a quest to reclaim some aspect of his former life.
I love how the trailer completely misleads audiences into believing what type of movie Fluke really is. Movie marketing at its finest!
Lesson it teaches kids: While it may seem neat to be reincarnated into a new body and still retain all prior life knowledge — using your last life’s lessons as a road map to making a better future for yourself — Fluke proves that sometimes remembering isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. After living a full and somewhat rewarding life as a man, Thomas finds he can’t settle for his new life as Fluke. After finding his old family, he begins to insert himself into his old life in any way he can — to disastrous results. There’s a reason ignorance is bliss.
Robert Saucedo is actually the reincarnation of Benji. Visit him on the web at www.robsaucedo.com.
