Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR… NOT The Cats Meow

The best part of this film is before the movie really starts. WB treats us to a new Wile E. Coyote vs Roadrunner cartoon in of course 3D. I personally think this 3 minute cartoon got more laughs in 3 minutes than Kitty Galore and her henchmen do in 82 minutes. But that’s pretty much the high point of this tedious time-killer of a kiddy comedy. The original was ahead of the curve in terms of muttering mutt movies. But this chatty 3D spy spoof is as hard-pressed for laughs and to me it is something we have all seen before.

An evil hairless cat, Kitty Galore ( Bette Midler) has plans to take down all of the dogs and humans for that matter, with a broadcast of a noise only dogs will hear, that will drive every dog on Earth nuts. “The planet becomes my scratching post,” she screeches, and the dogs believe her. This is when we meet canine spies, especially field agent Butch (Nick Nolte) are hot on her trail, pursuing a stool pigeon (Katt Williams) who may the key piece to the plan, and might I say without Katt Williams this movie would have NO laughs. They need some help from a new recruit, screw-up of a police dog, Diggs (James Marsden) who acts before he thinks things through. They then realize that Catherine a CAT (Christina Applegate), who works for the cat secrete agency (MEOWS) might actually help them.

Dogs and cats riding motorcycles with fake humans on the handlebars, in jet packs, and the odd use of the gimmicky 3D, Kitty Galore’s inept magician owner — are all potential laughs than never quite land. The best gag in the flick is when the chase leads everybody to the house of a “cat lady,” filled with kitties, “hopped up on catnip.” This is probably the only time in the flick I laughed.

Parents with a memory of 80’s and 90’s movies will see a lot of scenes from them. Adults who know their Bond movies will laugh at the voice of “Tab Lazenby,” (Roger Moore) head of the cat spy corps (a former Bond). As talking animal kids movie when the original 2001 Cats n Dogs was before its time. This sequel never really gets going. Putting an America’s Funniest Home Videos-style montage of real cat and dog antics over the closing credits only highlights how you feel you have seen this movie before.

I of course took my Daughter Addy to this flick, as I do with most kids movies. She seemed to enjoy it. So for a Kid I would give it a B. She watched the whole movie without moving around too much. She enjoyed it way more than “sorcerer’s apprentice”. My wife also joined us in the screening and she enjoyed it more than I did. She did say she was getting bored but it was a cute movie for kids.

I give this kids movie a D. With kids movies that are way more entertaining for the Kids and their Adult counter parts such as “Despicable me”, “Toy Story 3”, and even the fore mentioned “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” in theaters still I would go see them again with your kids and wait until this one comes out on DVD. The 3D effects is not anything you have not seen before, so don’t waste your money on this movie in theaters.