Like most kids, I used to think dogs were for me. Until I grew up, owned one and subsequently sold it. Now they’re nothing more than a barking, crapping reason to further loathe my neighbor. That and a great way to manipulate audience sympathy after killing off hundreds of men, women and children.
Nevertheless, I don’t want to begrudge anyone the joy of dump-shoveling for their favorite replacement for human interaction. Now that we’ve got all that baggage out in the clear, let’s get down to the reason for this article: dog saving and the films such acts inspire.
Thor Freudenthal, CG artist behind Stuart Little, has received his second directorial gig after They Came From Upstairs— Hotel for Dogs. The premise has a setup sounding like so many other gooey kids and their animals films: a pair of orphanage bound youngins find a hotel and decide its a great place to hide stray dogs. Where I come from, that’s called a dog farm and usually wins the proprietor five counties worth of cops and Animal Control officers setting up shop on the front lawn.
Hotel For Dogs, based on Louis Duncan’s 1970-something novel of the same name, is being distributed by Dreamworks. Is it CG? Live action? I’m not sure, but I bet you don’t care either way.