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Snow Dogs

Snow Dogs

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $17.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A farewell to James Coburn
Review: This is a Disney's fish out of the water comedy. Cuba Gooding Jr takes the reigns of a championship sled of dogs. Gooding plays Ted Brooks, a Miami denist traveling, to Alaska too claiming an inheritance from his mother. Ted must adjust to harsh climates of Alaska in contrast to the warm climates of Miami Florida.. The self discovery is between his father Jack who tells Gooding about his independence mother making up years of memories.
Snow Dogs was advertised as a movie with talking siberian dogs to bring the audience into a comedy dialogue. You won't hear talking dogs.
There are many funny parts in Snow Dogs: 1. Ted's first encounter with the Dogs 2. Pizza delivery 3. Golf on the snow. 4. The lawyer making the inheritance speak 5. Gooding trying to get the dogs to Mush. 5. Ted falling in love with a tough but beautiful native girls. Ted eventual return as a denist in Tolketna. 6. The outhouse and all its contents being deeded to Jack

Thunder Jack enters the Kondic race and despite blizzard conditions moves out in the front. Gooding finds Thunder Jack refuged in a secret cave which he knows about, and Jack has been stranded by knee injury. Gooding comes to his rescue and wins the loyality of the lead pack dog by biting its ear; and the affection of a parental Jack. The dogs are bounding with energy and these thoroughbred dogs bring the energy of the race to the big screen. The sudden deviation on the high Alaskan cliffs test the dogs teamwork prevailing to save Jack and Ted.

Snow Dogs is a farewell to James Coburn adding a booming voice, a toothy smile, and a defacing snarl.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: What's with the running gag about Michael Bolton???
Review: My 6-year-old is obsessed with this film. It seems like every time I hear the TV turn on, my daughter's got "Snow Dogs" popped into the VCR...again (sigh...)! It's harmless good fun and I certainly don't mind hearing her gleeful laughter resounding through the house. The only thing that gets on my nerves are the Michael Bolton references. Michael Bolton's music is used in the film soundtrack. Michael Bolton is a White recording artist, but his most successful releases have consistently been cover versions of songs by Black artists. The central character in "Snow Dogs" finds out that he's not only adopted but also only half-Black. His foster mother promptly quips that maybe this is the reason he likes Michael Bolton's music so much. Then at some point Michael Bolton himself makes a cameo in the film. And Bolton's music returns as the credits roll, this time a cover of a Stevie Wonder classic. Was this redundancy really necessary? Aside from that, I think "Snow Dogs" is a heartwarming family movie that parents will be able to tolerate without going nuts the twentieth time the kids put it on. Don't hesitate to check it out!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A charmer fit for the family, even the pets will love it!
Review: A Miami dentist and a team of sledding dogs combine for a humorous, snow-filled adventure. Dr. Ted Brooks (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) has a successful practice, "Hot Smile," when one day his mother drops the news that he was adopted. He soon finds himself in a small Alaska town to claim his inheritance, which includes no money but plenty of dogs - not such a good match for the wealthy, canine-hater! Before heading back to balmy Florida, however, he braves the frigid climate in search of his biological father. He slowly finds himself drawn to the simplicity of the town and its people, including Barb, a tough but sweet bartender, and Thunder Jack (James Coburn), a very rough-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside "musher." When the "Arctic Challenge" sled race begins soon after, Brooks and his new canine friends discover the meaning of love and family.

There is so much to enjoy about this movie, which comes from a long tradition of Disney snow/dog/sled racing classics ("Snowball Express," "White Fang," "Iron Will"). It's lighter in tone but still provides some thrilling moments against a spectacular Alaskan backdrop. (They could have capitalized on the scenery even more.) The laughs come naturally in this script, as a Southern city slicker thrust into the Alaskan wilderness is bound to run into goofy situations. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is in fine comedic form, and a scraggly James Coburn easily takes to his lighter side. Both actors have proven their dramatic prowess with serious, decidedly adult roles, but the two fit snuggly into this family film and share some amusing and touching scenes. Though "Snow Dogs" lacks the scriptural tightness of films before it, it warms the heart.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: R.I..P Mr. James Coburn aka Thunder Jack
Review: Although Cuba Gooding has always gotten on my nerves, this movie is worth the watch for James Coburn's turn as Thunder Jack, a grizzeled mountain man. To lose Rod Steiger, James Coburn and Charles Bronson all in such a short time marks the end of an era and a goodbye to the last of the 'Real Men' of both Hollywood and the world...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A very funny movie!
Review: When Ted Brooks (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.), a happy and successful dentist in sunny Miami, finds out that he is adopted, and his birth mother has just died, he flies off to her home in Alaska to learn what he can about his background. Arriving in the tiny backwoods town of Tolketna, Ted finds life at it's rawest (and coldest). It turns out that his mother was a sled dog racer, and about the only thing she left behind was a pack of mischievous sled dogs.

Rising to the occasion, Ted sets out to learn how to be a musher, somewhat aided (and somewhat hindered) by the grizzled old backwoodsman Thunder Jack (James Coburn). Braving the tricks of his own dogs, the barbs of the locals, thin ice, bears, skunks, and a host of other obstacles, Ted learns about himself, and about Thunder Jack. [Color, released in 2002, with a running time of 1 hour, 39 minutes.]

This is a very funny movie. I must admit that my kids asked for this movie, and I really had no intention of watching it. But, just being around, I found myself [pulled] into the story, and soon I was sitting with my kids laughing as loud as either of them! As for extras on the DVD, it amounted to a snowmobile game, some deleted and extended scenes, and three featurettes on the making of the movie.

OK, we weren't thrilled with the extras, but we were thrilled with the movie. It is great, and makes the purchase of the DVD well worth it. We highly recommend this movie!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Funny, and family-friendly
Review: What do you get when you cross a successful dentist from Miami with the bitter artic cold and a pack of mushing hounds? Snow Dogs, the movie released from Disney in 2001.

This review is from a Christian male 17-year old who has never seen any R-rated movies, and doesn't plan to either, just so you know. If it helps one person decide yes or no on a movie, then it's been worth it. And besides...movie reviewing is fun!

PLOT:
Ted Brooks (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a successful dentist in rural Miami, with a great job, a nice car, and a great apartment. When he receives a notice that his Mom, his REAL Mom has just passed away in Alaska, and left him an inheritance, his life is shaken up. His kindly adopted mom explains that she had so wanted him to have a normal life that she had never told him about his real mother.
So, in the classic tradition of greenhorn-goes-west, Ted catches a plane to Alaska to claim his inheritance. When he finally arrives, he finds Tolketna, a scrawny little town in the wilderness, and the people that knew his Mom, Lucy as one of their own
Barb, the operator of the local watering hole, takes Ted to his mother's rustic cabin, where Ted explores his mother's legacy inside. He gets quite a shock when he discovers seven rambunctious and raucous snow dogs and one mild-mannered border collie staying inside the home.
The rest of the movie is classic fun as Ted attempts to learn how to drive his new Snow Dogs, encounters the beautiful winter countryside, and becomes accustomed to his new environment.

GOOD POINTS:
Ted's mom is a great gal, helping out at his dentist's office and being supportive of Ted's venture into the artic. Ted's devotion to his father in spite of his father's rejection is exemplary, There is no swearing, and the only violence is shown in a comical cartoon-style. This movie is just a light-hearted comedy.

BAD POINTS:
There aren't many bad points, but what little there is I'm going to list, just in case there are some careful parents out there. Ted, being taught dentistry by his adopted father at a young age, is shown for an instant vomiting after viewing a patient's decaying teeth.
Ted is bitten on the behind by Demon, the lead dog, and on another occasion, when Ted mocks the dog, the dog urinates on the tree Ted is in.
There are two instances where the movie causes you to think something bad is coming, but veers off in a comical manner. (Examples, Ted encounters a giant grizzly bear, and exclaims "Oh...oh my GOODNESS GRACIOUS!" Ted also cuddles with Barb in front of a campfire, and the next scene is Ted awakening in bed. He smiles, and turns to his bed partner, who turns out to be nothing more than the border collie, Nana.
A one-night encounter in a cave that led to Ted's birth, is briefly described, but a way that does not focus on the encounter itself, but the events thereafter.
In a black-out dream sequence, Ted dreams that, among other things, Barb is talking to him on a beach wearing a bikini, but this quickly fades back to real life. Ted also takes a walk on the beach, and you can see several sunbathers in the background, but nothing is shown or emphasized.

THOUGHTS:
I have to make this plain to dispel any ideas you may have from previews; the dogs do NOT talk in the movie. If you've seen any previews, that's what you could easily think, but it ain't true.

This movie is pure, light-hearted fun, and promises lots of laughs if you buy it. It is a great film family-friendly film for people of all ages. Recommended at seven stars. (That's my private rating, with ten being the highest)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: What's with the running gag about Michael Bolton???
Review: My 6-year-old is obsessed with this film. It seems like every time I hear the TV turn on, my daughter's got "Snow Dogs" popped into the VCR...again (sigh...)! It's harmless good fun and I certainly don't mind hearing her gleeful laughter resounding through the house. The only thing that gets on my nerves are the Michael Bolton references. Michael Bolton's music is used in the film soundtrack. Michael Bolton is a White recording artist, but his most successful releases have consistently been cover versions of songs by Black artists. The central character in "Snow Dogs" finds out that he's not only adopted but also only half-Black. His foster mother promptly quips that maybe this is the reason he likes Michael Bolton's music so much. Then at some point Michael Bolton himself makes a cameo in the film. And Bolton's music returns as the credits roll, this time a cover of a Stevie Wonder classic. Was this redundancy really necessary? Aside from that, I think "Snow Dogs" is a heartwarming family movie that parents will be able to tolerate without going nuts the twentieth time the kids put it on. Don't hesitate to check it out!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: THE DOGS ARE THE SHOW
Review: Critics have pretty much bashed this movie, stating that Oscar winner Cuba Gooding has sunk to depths unprecedented by previous winners. A little harsh; SNOW DOGS works not because of Cuba; it works because it's hearts in the right place and the dogs are a pleasure to watch, especially Demon and Nana. There is one hilarious dream sequence where the dogs are sunning themselves on the beach, in lounge chairs, sunglasses and drinks in hand. Cuba does better once he gets over the prat-falling sequences early in the movies; Gooding comes nowhere near the masters of this: Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Dick van Dyke and Jerry Lewis. But once Gooding stops trying to be these guys, his performance settles down, and he avoids killing the movie. Also, James Coburn is delightful as his "father", and Nichelle Nichols is even more beautiful than she was in "Star Trek." There's nothing new in this movie, but as typical Disney fare, it has an upbeat message and everything goes just as one would hope and expect; the Alaska backdrop is sumptous, too. Don't let the horrible reviews influence you; if you like this kind of "feel good" movie, it's fine.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hilarious Family from Disney!
Review: Again, Disney has made a family classic for the whole family. Cuba plays Ted Brooks, a Miami dentist, that learns he is aopted when he is served to attend the reading of his biological mother's will in a small Alaska town. On arrival, he runs into his mother's champion Sled Dogs. Espically the lead dog, who gives him a serious bad time. On top of this, the local legend, Thunder Jack, harrasses him of wanting the dogs. When things couldn't get worse, he finds out that Thunder Jack is indeed his father! To proove that he isn't some city slicker that's out of his league, he tries to learn the sport!
I got a kick of all the adventures this poor character goes through in learning how to ride a sled, and the bad time the dogs give him. The dogs don't talk though, that was just a dream scene. This is filled with physical humor, and jockes that will give you a good time. It also has a touching story and a happy ending that makes this enjoyable for everyone!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Cute Fun Family Fare
Review: Cuba is so fun in this fish out of water story. Now I want to see him do a remake of the UGLY Dacshaund! Get Bill Cosby to play the vet who talks him into a Great Dane:)

The CG dogs in Snow Dogs steal the show- Nana is so sweet you want to just let her curl up with you and make everything better. The transformation of Ted Brooks DDS into Ted Brooks dog lover is fun and funny- a must for all family collections


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