The Fur Flies in Hilarious "Cats and Dogs"

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Aug 10, 2001

Three and a Half Stars out of Four

There are two types of people in this world: cat people and dog people. Sure some people adore both (like myself) but deep inside if we had to pick one species over the other, we could. I would definitely be a cat person, so seeing the trailers for "Cats and Dogs" could have made me very upset. After all, despite what the posters for the film say, it isn't really which side you will root for, but good versus evil with the cats on the evil side. However, even though the film was obviously made by dog people, 'Cats and Dogs' will still strike a chord with cat and dog lovers alike. It is hilarious, action-packed, animatronic fun that will have viewers rushing to the nearest toy store to pick up the plush versions of their favorite heroes (or in my case, villains).

"Cats and Dogs" focuses on the hidden war in our own backyards between America's two favorite pets, cats and dogs. The film begins with some basic cat/dog history, informing us humans that dogs have been mankind's protectors since cats lost their reign over us back in Ancient Egypt. Now, however, a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) is threatening feline existence (in their eyes at least) by creating a cure to humans' allergies towards canines. Under the command of Mr. Tinkles (voiced by Sean Hayes), cats have joined forces to break into Professor Brody's house, steal his cure to dog allergies and reverse its effects-mainly make all humans allergic to dogs. It's up to Brody's beagle puppy named Lou (Tobey Maguire) to save the dog world, or else the cat population will enslave mankind once again.

With a premise as simple as that in "Cats and Dogs," it is shocking that no writer had thought of it until now. Luckily for us though, no one had, giving writers John Requa and Glenn Ficarra a chance to bring this classic rivalry to the big-screen. Sure the action sequences aren't as realistic looking as the fight scenes the dinosaurs have in "Jurassic Park" and the talking animal thing has been done before ("Babe"), but Requa and Ficarra create a hilarious story that will entertain both kids and adults alike. And while it's obvious who the audience should be cheering for (the dogs), the cat side of the story is what brings the most comic relief to the film. Unlike many comedies now days, the best lines weren't given away in the trailers--- these cats have plenty more lines just as funny and memorable as the Russian's, 'I think not baby puppy. It is you who is in trouble,' that will keep audiences in stitches throughout the film.

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