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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, October 10, 2003

'Good Boy!' heralds good news for family filmgoers

By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

GOOD BOY! (Rated PG) Three Stars (Good)

In this twist on "Third Rock from the Sun," a boy finds himself caring for a dog sent from outer space in this delightful tale of Alien invaders sent to seize control of Earth. Kids will love it and parents may find themselves wiping tears away at movie's end. Liam Aiken, Kevin Nealon, and Molly Shannon star. Lending their voices to the animals are Matthew Broderick, Brittany Murphy, and Carl Reiner. Written and directed by John Robert Hoffman. MGM, 87 minutes.

"Good Boy!" is good news for little ones who have outgrown pre-school video cartoons.

A preview audience full of 5-to-8-year-olds squealed with delight at the opening shots of dogs leaping across the screen in slow motion behind the opening credits.

In fact, nothing in the sweet, funny action that followed drew quite as much laughter. Still, the story of a boy who finds himself caring for a dog from outer space doles out jokes and insights in quantities to keep most of the young 'uns interested for the duration.

The story, a canine twist on the much-missed TV series "Third Rock from the Sun," holds that the pups we love as pets are actually alien invaders sent eons ago on a mission (from the dog star Sirius, of course) to seize control of Earth.

They did fine as infiltrators, but discovered while ingratiating themselves with human hosts that life in the doghouse is a cushy gig. By the time a scout from home arrives to check on their progress, they have forgotten their conquest business. Cue the intergalactic crisis.

All this comes to light through Owen Baker (the charming Liam Aiken), a kid grown weary of constant moving with his home-rehabbing parents ("Saturday Night Live" alumni Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon). Owen accidentally gains the ability to understand dog talk when he encounters a mutt he calls Hubble (voiced by Matthew Broderick) who just happens to be the scout from the home world.

As the neighborhood dog-walker, Owen has a ready-made posse of pooches on hand for the comical panic that follows. There's tough-guy Wilson (voiced by Donald Faison), jittery little Nelly (Brittany Murphy), pampered poodle Barbara Ann (Delta Burke), and shaggy old Shep (Carl Reiner), whose problems with gas account for the "P" in the movie's "PG" rating.

Ultimately, they must answer to their dog-planet leader, The Greater Dane (Vanessa Redgrave). There is some serious talent in the voice line-up that clearly enjoys their work here. The human actors have a tougher time, however, given the serious message-sending chores they are given. Too much human talk slows things down; the talking dogs are much more fun.

The screenplay, based on a story called "Dogs from Outer Space" by Zeke Richardson, is written by John Hoffman, who is making his feature-directing debut. He does a credible job, particularly managing the tricky special effects required to make the animals seem natural when they're cracking wise.

Some of the credit clearly belongs to Jim Henson Productions, offspring of the famous shop that gave the world the Muppets. If anybody understands anthropomorphic critters, it's these folks.

All in all, this live-action fantasy is carefully crafted to tickle young viewers. And if it so happens that their parents should find themselves wiping away tears at movie's end, all the better for the cause of old-fashioned family films.

Rated PG with some mild crude humor.