Hotel for Dogs (2009)

Director:

Thor Freudenthal

Writers (WGA):

Jeff Lowell (screenplay) and
Robert Schooley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

No stray gets turned away

Plot:

Two kids secretly take in stray dogs at a vacant hotel.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Foster Home | Abandoned Hotel | Foster Parenting | Foster Daughter

Cast

Emma Roberts	...	Andi
Jake T. Austin	...	Bruce
Don Cheadle	...	Bernie
Johnny Simmons	...	Dave
Kyla Pratt	...	Heather
Troy Gentile	...	Mark
Lisa Kudrow	...	Lois Scudder
Kevin Dillon	...	Carl Scudder
Ajay Naidu	...	ACO Jake
Eric Edelstein	...	ACO Max
Robinne Lee	...	Carol
Yvette Nicole Brown	...	Ms. Camwell
Maximiliano Hernández	...	Officer Mike (as Maximiliano Hernandez)
Andre Ware	...	Officer Jeff
Jonathan Klein	...	Evan

Also Known As:

Das Hundehotel (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild thematic elements, language and some crude humor.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #44727) | UK:U | Ireland:G | Australia:PG | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Finland:S | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG | South Africa:PG | Portugal:M/4 (dubbed version) | Portugal:M/6 (original version) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Sweden:Btl | Netherlands:6 | Peru:PT | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:A

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

When Andi (Emma Roberts) is looking for a dress for the party, she tells her brother Bruce (Jake T. Austin) if he could create her a dress, "then you'd really be a wizard". Jake plays a wizard in the Disney TV series "Wizards of Waverly Place" (2007).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): (At 47:00) Heather is trying to coax the three legged dog onto the ramp, she then praises him saying "good boy". Then at the end (at 1:22:00) Bernie calls her "Chelsea".

Quotes:

Andi: You know, I think we might be in a little over our heads.
Dave: It's four-six; we're out dogged.

Movie Connections:

References Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Say So

It's so bad that I actually apologized to myself afterwards.

Oh, my God. Where do I even begin with this horrid little kids film? The implausible situations? The horrendous dialogue and acting? (Except for Don Cheadle - by the way, what the hell are you doing in this movie?) The ridiculous and over familiar plot and storyline? The God-awful, overwhelming musical score? Hmm...you pick, and we'll start there.

Two kids find an abandoned hotel and use it to house a bunch of stray dogs. That's pretty much it. They could've been innovative and original with this idea, but instead, like always, they screwed it over in favor of recycling ideas.

The one thing that bothered me the most is the music. The music can either make or brake a film. And, sometimes, with less there is more (No Country for Old Men) and with more (Hotel for Dogs) it becomes tiresome and incredibly annoying. That and it wasn't very enjoyable to listen to.

I can't say too much else because I don't want to bore you with complaints, but that's all I can really say about this atrocity of a film. I actually feel sorry for all of those involved with this shite.