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"GOOD BOY!"
(2003) (Liam Aiken, voice of Matthew Broderick) (PG)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Minor Mild Moderate *Mild None
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Minor None Minor
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Minor None Minor Moderate Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: After accidentally receiving the power to understand dogs, a boy discovers that his newly adopted pooch is really an interplanetary scout who's been sent to Earth to see why dogs here have yet to take over.
PLOT:
With his parents (MOLLY SHANNON & (KEVIN NEALON) perpetually buying, renovating and then selling house after house, young Owen (LIAM AIKEN) has little time to make lasting friends. Having run a successful dog-walking business for the neighbors, he's raised enough money to get his own dog that he hopes truly will be man's, or at least his best friend.

He goes to the pound, picks up a mutt with a bad attitude, and names him Hubble (voice of MATTHEW BRODERICK). The pooch doesn't seem to want to do what Owen wants and the boy soon learns why. It turns out that Hubble is really Candid 3942 who's been sent by The Greater Dane (voice of VANESSA REDGRAVE) of the planet Sirious to discover why after thousands of years, dogs still have not taken over the planet.

To his shock, Hubble discovers that dogs are the human's pets. To make matters worse, Owen is accidentally endowed with the ability to understand him and the rest of the dogs. They include the pampered poodle Barbara Ann (voice of DELTA BURKE), cool boxer Wilson (voice of DONALD FAISON), nervous Italian greyhound Nellie (voice of BRITTANY MURPHY) and gassy Bernese mountain dog Shep (voice of CARL REINER).

Things get worse when Hubble learns that the Greater Dane is headed for Earth to do her own inspection. Knowing that if things don't look right all dogs on Earth will be recalled to Sirius, he and Owen then set out to whip the other dogs into shape so that they can pass muster.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
It's a good bet many younger kids will want to see it, especially if they're fond of dogs.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG
For some mild crude humor.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • LIAM AIKEN plays a lonely boy who discovers that his pet dog is really an interplanetary traveler sent to Earth to inspect how dogs are doing in their mission to take over Earth. When he learns that all pooches might be recalled to their home planet, he helps Hubble whip them into shape.
  • MOLLY SHANNON and KEVIN NEALON play his parents who are constantly busy renovating and selling their homes.
  • HUBBLE is the scout dog sent to Earth to check up on how all canines are doing. He's all business but eventually befriends Owen and tries to loosen up a bit.
  • BARBARA ANN is the pampered poodle that Owen walks on a daily basis.
  • WILSON is the cool boxer who talks a mile a minute.
  • NELLIE is the nervous and hyperactive Italian greyhound who's part of the group.
  • SHEP is the gassy Bernese mountain dog.
  • THE GREATER DANE is the grandiose dog leader who visits Earth to check up on the progress of dogs taking over the planet.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a brief summary of the content found in this kids comedy that's been rated PG. That rating comes from various instances of kid-based scatological humor (farting and talk of "poop" and other such matters).

    Some colorful phrases are present, while two boys have bad attitudes toward others and throw rocks at a dog and briefly tussle with his owner. A few scenes might be unsettling or suspenseful to very young kids, but older ones won't likely have any problem with the material. Some dogs act goofy and laugh a lot after accidentally ingesting some sort of gas, and some viewers may want to note that the owners of one dog are an apparently gay male couple (although no verbal references or activity occurs).

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • A canister of gas is knocked over and the escaping gas causes the dogs to laugh and act rather high (we see the distorted point of view of one of them).
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Crude humor includes the following:
  • A person comments that their dog has had "the runs" and wants Owen to inform them when "things turn solid."
  • A kid states that he smells "poop" and then sees Own cleaning up some from a dog (we don't see the excrement).
  • A dog comments he knew someone was trouble the minute "I sniffed his butt."
  • A dog comments that his grandfather "had to pass through Uranus" (made to sound like "pass through your anus") when traveling to Earth.
  • A dog says it needs to pee.
  • After Hubble sees Owen come from the bathroom, he starts to ask, "Did you..." and then says that he drank from that bowl (the toilet).
  • We see a dog's urine stream hitting a tree.
  • A dog mentions (about humans), "You don't see us picking up their poop."
  • We hear a farting sound from one of the dogs (Shep) in several scenes. Later, and while practicing for the arrival of the Greater Dane, he says, "I would like to apologize in advance for any farting."
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Two local boys are constantly mean and demeaning to Owen. They also throw rocks at Hubble (the dog).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Very young kids might find some of the following as unsettling or suspenseful, but older kids probably won't.
  • Hubble coordinates the other dogs to gang up on Owen (very brief, but it might be a little unnerving to very young kids), but a dogcatcher snares Hubble and that's the end of that.
  • There's a brief reference to euthanasia for Hubble (since he's a dog with a "bad attitude") and Owen briefly makes a concerned comment about him being put to sleep, but that's it regarding such material.
  • The two mean boys abduct Hubble and prepare to shave him with some shears, but the dog escapes.
  • Two mean boys run off with the dogs in hot pursuit (mostly played for action, but it could be suspenseful for some younger kids).
  • Owen wakes up to discover that Hubble is missing and other pet owners then report the same about their dogs (some younger kids might not like this development).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • None.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Loser," "What a freak," "Move your butt," "Mental case," "Nuts" (crazy), "You guys are so busted," "Dog boy," "Such total jerks," "Balls" (testicles), "Eat my dust," "We are in big diddly-doo-doo," "Get your royal heinie down here," "Screw (everything) up" and "Shut your yap."
  • A dog comments he knew someone was trouble the minute "I sniffed his butt." There's also a comment that a dog's grandfather "had to pass through Uranus" (made to sound like "pass through your anus") when traveling to Earth.
  • Two boys make exaggerated/goofy faces at a window.
  • Owen asks if two mean boys are not without any toy balls and then sarcastically states in a double entendre, "I guess you don't have any balls then" (meaning testicles).
  • After Hubble tells Owen the reason for him spinning around on his bed before going to sleep (to ward off bad dreams), the boy does the same in his bed.
  • A canister of gas is knocked over and the escaping gas causes the dogs to laugh and act rather high (some kids might be enticed to find such a canister and/or gas to get the same results).
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • There's a little bit of suspenseful music in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 use of "Oh my God."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • A miscellaneous woman briefly shows some cleavage.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Owen isn't happy that he and his family are moving all of the time (but beyond being unhappy, there are no big blow-ups or anything of that nature).
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Owning a dog.
  • What dogs (and other animals) are "saying" when they bark, etc.
  • There's a brief reference to euthanasia for Hubble (since he's a dog with a "bad attitude") and Owen briefly makes a concerned comment about him being put to sleep, but that's it regarding such material.
  • Owen has few human friends.
  • Moving all of the time (from one place to another).
  • We see that the owners of one of the dogs are two apparently gay men.
  • VIOLENCE
  • Some mean boys throw rocks at Hubble. Owen then knocks both boys down to make them stop, but one then pins Owen to the ground. He stops when Hubble and the other dogs growl at him.
  • Hubble has a limp after flying through the air and landing hard in a body of water.
  • After the other dogs see Hubble fly through the air, we see them trying to do the same and hear the sounds of them crashing into various things (played for laughs).
  • A boy hits his head on a window as he tries to get out of a room fast and accidentally kicks his friend on the head while doing so.



  • Reviewed October 4, 2003 / Posted October 10, 2003

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