Hotel for Dogs

Hotel for Dogs


Directed by: Thor Freudenthal
Reviewed by: gothiclolitamaiden, 15
Rating: Really liked it


Wow. I think this is the first non-anime movie review I've done...that aside, Hotel for Dogs is about a pair of orphaned siblings whose parents died three years ago. They kept their old dog, Friday, unbeknownst to their newest foster parents, Carl and Lois. They discover a pair of strays in an abandoned hotel, and decide to start rescuing strays.

Hotel for Dogs was not my first choice when I went to the movies with my family. I wanted to see the Twilight movie, just to see how bad they screwed it up, but alas, my dad has no interest in sparkling vampires. Anyhoo, Hotel for Dogs pleasantly surprised me. It was a cute, family friendly film without being overkill-cute. Some people might consider the ending overly fluffy, but it fits. You have to remember, this is a family movie and a family movie has to be simple enough for kids to follow with enough wit to keep the adults happy. The movie was predictable, something only adults and teens will pick up on. I knew, from the commercials for the movie, that Dave and Andi were going to become girlfriend-boyfriend. And it didn't take me long to figure out that Bernie was going to adopt Andi and Bruce. Some parts of the script were just a bit unnatural, a bit corny.

Despite the predictablity and the sickeningly sweet ending, it was a funny, cute movie. I wish I could find a home for every stray. There weren't too many doggie poo jokes, (thank goodness) even my dad was laughing, and that's a good sign (he probably would have laughed at the sparkly vampires, come to think of it).

The camera angles were very interesting in the scenes where Friday was roaming the city. It made you feel as if you were seeing through a dog's eyes. All the humans looked so big.

Overall, adults and kids alike will enjoy this movie. Kids will like it for the cute dogs, adults will like it because it is entertaining, and pretty funny.


Recommended to: Anyone looking for a family-friendly movie. It is rated PG, for some crude humor. Some of the creepier scenes in the old hotel might scare small children.