Charlie The Wonderdog (PG)

A spaceship commanded by an alien queen abducts ageing golden retriever Charlie and neighbouring house cat Puddy from their front yards to find the perfect present for her spoilt son. Before the animals are safely returned to terra firma, they are blessed with superpowers and an ability to speak. Charlie celebrates his restored vigour and new abilities with wide-eyed owner Danny. The pooch a responsibility to use his powers for the benefit of mankind and he takes on the mantle of Wonderdog.

LondonNet Film Review

Charlie The Wonderdog (PG) Film Review from LondonNet

Fifteen years after an otherworldly creature carrying a glowing orb crash-landed on Earth, a spaceship commanded by an alien queen (voiced by Rhona Rees) abducts ageing golden retriever Charlie and neighbouring house cat Puddy from their front yards to find the perfect present for her spoilt son, the alien prince (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez). The bratty heir can’t choose between his mother’s menagerie of stolen critters and before Charlie and Puddy are safely returned to terra firma, they are blessed with superpowers and an ability to speak.

Charlie (now voiced by Owen Wilson) celebrates his restored vigour and new abilities with wide-eyed owner Danny (Dawson Littman). “Be gone hip dysplasia,” whoops the dog. “Be gone rheumatoid arthritis!” Charlie feels a responsibility to use his powers for the benefit of mankind and he takes on the mantle of Wonderdog. Next door, Puddy (Ruairi MacDonald) terrorises his neglectful owner Otis (Zac Bennett-McPhee), and declares interspecies war on any furry adversaries that stand in his path. The despicable feline frames Charlie for a crime he didn’t commit – cue tongue-in-cheek newspaper headlines of Golden Deceiver – and slinks into the fickle, money-grabbing affections of US President Rose (Tabitha St Germain).

Charlie The Wonderdog is a spirited story of good versus evil played out between four-legged adversaries and their humans. The narrative arc is smooth and predictable and laughs are concentrated in the opening hour before the Machiavellian moggy enacts a nefarious plan to enslave mankind and propel cats to the top of the evolutionary food chain. Wilson’s honeyed vocal performance polishes dialogue that gets noticeably clunkier and he catalyses winning rapport with Littman. Visuals are strong with some neat flourishes such as viewing one scene of skullduggery from the cramped vantage point of a snoring human owner’s hairy nostril.

The script teases a small lump in the throat when it focuses on the connection between the eponymous canine protector and his favourite human, Danny, who is beginning to accept that Charlie’s best years are behind him and he will soon ascend to dog heaven. Screenwriters Ball and Inglis open an escape hatch from having to discuss mortality and the cyclical nature of life in upsetting detail.

– Sarah Lee