Sadly Over-hyped

A Masterpiece!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Snow Dogs is an enjoyable and light hearted film. A story about a successful dentist in Miami who travels outside his comfort zone in Alaska to find out more about his real mother and father. Cuba Gooding Jr and the rest of the rest of the cast give very good performances. The humor is very well done and who doesn't love the beauty of nature and the animals? Snow Dogs gives you a good look into the Alaskan environment and the local snow dogs instrumental in the Arctic challenge. The sentimental moments that show Cuba Gooding Jr get closer to his biological father, find love and appreciate Alaska are well balanced with the humor that flows in the film. Overall a good and enjoyable film that leaves you with a good feeling. 8/10

Snow Dogs I thought could be nowhere near as bad as people have been said . I mean I've heard comments saying this turned out to be the downfall for Cuba, it's laughable, I actually expected to be pleasantly surprised, unfortunately I was dead wrong. There is not one laugh to be had in this movie, not one, in fact it looks pretty cheap production wise, and this is a Disney film!. As I've noted many times before, I think Cuba is an underrated talent and not a fluke like many people have said, but his choice in projects are peculiar. It doesn't help that the storyline itself wasn't very interesting, it just felt like an awkward type family film to be honest, even if the dogs were cute. It started off with great potential, I was enjoying the whole dentist in Miami storyline, but once it went into colder territory it started to become embarrassing. Cuba is better than this, he's better than the countless DTV film's he's putting out now a days, he just needs a good script again.Performances. Cuba Gooding Jr. tries hard, but his comical skills are not up to par and he's nowhere near enough to bring it back to respectability. James Coburn looks embarrassing, I assumed he did it for some cash. Sisqó's character is heavily grating. Joanna Bacalso is pretty to look at, but she isn't that great in her role.Bottom line. Yes. Snow Dogs is as bad as they say it is. Kids will be bored, adults shouldn't even go near this film and Cuba fans will just be shaking their heads at how far he's fallen. Avoid at all costs.2/10

From the unoriginal story, to the inconsistent characters, to the painful acting of Cuba Gooding, Jr., Snow Dogs proved two truths. The first is that Disney can successfully make and mass-produce B-level cinema. The second is that they can make Oscar-winning actors give the worst performances of their careers. Snow Dogs demonstrates fully that some people in Hollywood choose money over scripts, they choose flimsy over developed, and recycled over original. What upset me the most about this film was the use of CGI to exaggerate the dog's expressions. To me, that is a huge slap in Cuba Gooding, Jr's face. If the studio didn't think that Cuba could successfully make the audiences laugh, then they needed to get stronger talent, do not muddle the genre with CGI created eyes, mouths, and expressions on the dogs. With this CGI, I felt as if I was watching a quick fix to an already unfixable problem.Did I go into this film expecting greatness? Not in any way shape or form. What I did expect was a level of professionalism topped with some brilliant "something" to make me utterly aware that this was a Disney film and while they may have a bad film on their hands, at least they may throw money to fix the problem. Again, my expectations were demolished. It became very obvious as I watched this film that half of the scenes were in front of a green screen, not actually in Alaska. Some of the more emotional moments were completely ruined by the horrid special effects in place. Disney has the money, where did the $35 million dollar budget go? From the CGI created dog "faces" to the CGI trees, bears, and mountains, you never felt like you were in Alaska at all, but instead warmly comfortable inside an obvious sound stage. Pay up Disney, you cheated me on this one… From the delivery of the lines, the horrid physical comedy (which never worked), to the random moment of romance, not one character in this movie stayed in character or gave us any semblance of an actual character. I watched an hour and a half of actors awkwardly demonstrating to us that they did not know their characters, that they did not know their lines, and that the paycheck at the end was more important than the work throughout the process. I place solely the blame on Cuba Gooding, Jr. What happened to him? From the opening scene in Miami to the ending embarrassing "catch-phrase", I felt like Cuba should have handed the Academy back the award and apologized to everyone profusely. There are lines in Snow Dogs that were obviously read from a cue card. There were moments when it was obvious Cuba didn't care. He showed no range of emotion, no rational credibility, and again, there was no character. Who was Cuba Gooding, Jr. in this film? Just like a Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know! I could easily, and sadly, say the same about James Coburn. He was awarded an Oscar as well and the best he can manage is Snow Dogs? Who was Thunder Jack? What was his story, what made him gruff, what … what … what … just too many questions running through my mind with these key actors that it makes me feel sorry for the child audience this film was aimed towards. It was very clear that neither of these actors were passionate about the story for they would have stopped early and backed away. I would have thought that Cuba (or at least James Coburn) would have put their hands down when it was discovered that SISQO (Mr. Thong himself) was going to be a key player. Unbelievable is the level of lacking respect that both of these actors had for themselves. The proof is in Snow Dogs.What bothered me the most about this film was the lack of intelligence aimed towards children. This was a "family" film, yet racism seemed to be slapped directly in your face. There was a scene that sticks out in my mind when Gooding tries to find his real father and assumes that it can only be the other black man in town. When it is discovered that it is someone else, there is a shock in the community. This film was released in 2002, with the society that we live in why would this be such a shock to the system? Couple this with the fact that Michael Bolton brings us the "inspirational" line from the film, "It doesn't matter what color you are, everyone can have soul." Egh. Where did this come from, and is this a "good" message to send to children? This ranks right next to the feeling that Gooding's love-interest was the only woman within a 100-mile radius, and that those living in Alaska are grizzly men with bad teeth. I felt midway through this film that Disney executives were in their offices insisting on another Cool Runnings-esquire film (there was even a Volkswagen moment in this one). Sadly, with Snow Dogs their request became a nightmare.Overall, this was a cheap film, which boasts Oscar-winners performing well below the bar, CGI dogs and background, a story that hinges on the edge of fantasy, and the quintessential Disney "bow of approval". What I mean by this is that anything can happen, and with Disney films, it will. Gooding has the finances to leave his dental practice for several weeks without worrying about missing work, he can learn how to dog sled within a couple days, saves a man's life, and he immediately falls in love with the only girl from town who happens to be a model in her spare time. For those looking for a cute and cuddly film about dogs, I would not suggest this garbage. It is predictable, pretentious, and pathetic.Grade: * out of *****

The very best kids' films are just as enjoyable for parents as for their offspring, but they're rare (and mostly made by Pixar these days). Snow Dogs is not in this league but it is still pure knockabout fun for the little 'uns, with a good deal of mush thrown in - as in sentimentality AND dog racing. Parents will enjoy it because they're enjoying watching their kids enjoying it, if you see what I mean. My six-year-old daughter loved it for the novelty of seeing dogs pulling sleds over snow, and for the way Cuba Gooding happily clowns around on the ice. He is wonderful, as is James Coburn in one of his last roles, while the comely heroine is played by a former Miss Philippines. A satisfying kiddies' film and, as my 17-year-old son grudgingly pronounced, "a lot better than Angelina bloody Ballerina".