Cats and Dogs

Details

There's a war that has been raging for thousands of years, and it is one that humans are completely unaware of. It is a battle for the hearts and minds of mankind and, for the past few centuries, the dogs have managed to keep the upper hand. Now the cats are preparing their move to finally take control.

Their plan revolves around stealing a formula that would permanently cure human allergies to dogs. The research is currently being carried out by Professor Brody, who is close to perfecting the serum in a laboratory hidden in the basement of his home.

When the Brody family's dog - who also happens to be a secret canine agent - mysteriously disappears, the dog council decides to place the family under surveillance by sending in a replacement. Unfortunately their carefully organised plan falls apart when a complete novice is accidentally assigned to the job. With the inexperienced recruit on duty, the dog agents soon find themselves struggling to defend the Brody household from ninja cats, Russian assassin cats and the diabolical schemes of the feline mastermind Mr. Tinkles.

Picture & Sound

The picture is bright and colourful with plenty of detail throughout. It is a very solid transfer with an above-average bit-rate and no noticeable pixelisation or artefacting. The special effects blend surprisingly well with the live action, particularly the facial expressions and mouth movements on the dogs, and it can be difficult to tell where the computer-generated work begins and ends.

Similar to the picture quality, the sound presentation is equally impressive with a lively and engaging soundtrack. Dialogue remains crisp and clear in the centre channel without bleeding into the others and, once the action starts to get a little 'hairy', the surround channels become very active with both sound effects and music. It all adds nicely to the overall enjoyment of the film.

Menu & Extras

The menus are nicely animated and fully scored, even offering viewers a choice of sides. Cat lovers can choose the feline-themed menu while dog lovers can opt for the canine equivalent. Each option presents a slightly different menu design based on the selected side of the conflict, which is a simple but effective touch.

There is also a decent selection of extras including a director's commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes and the usual theatrical trailer. A few Easter eggs are also hidden on the disc, although they are so easy to find that you begin to wonder if they were really meant to be secret.

The DVD-ROM section includes the usual screensavers and image gallery, although somewhat oddly it also contains an alternate ending scene. This is a little frustrating for anyone without a DVD-ROM drive, as they will not be able to access it. Nevertheless, the disc still offers a respectable selection of bonus material overall.

Overall

One of the more impressive aspects of the film is that it does not rely entirely on computer-generated effects. Real animals, animatronics and digital effects are all used together to create the illusion of talking animals and, for the most part, the combination works surprisingly well. While some of the more action-heavy scenes reveal their CGI origins, the animatronics - particularly the wonderfully evil Mr. Tinkles - are extremely effective.

Put all these elements together and you end up with a fun and slightly quirky family film that should appeal to viewers of all ages. The only potential problem might be for devoted cat lovers, as the cats are firmly cast as the villains while the dogs take on the heroic role. Still, whenever I see that shifty-looking tabby staring through my window, I do sometimes wonder what kind of secret plotting might be going on behind those feline eyes.

Special features

• Feature Length Commentary
• HBO Behind-the-scenes Documentary
• "Teaching a New Dog New Tricks" Documentary
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Interactive Trivia Quiz
• Mr. Tinkles Screen Test
• Concept Sketches
• Theatrical Trailer
• DVD-ROM Enhanced