"Hotel for Dogs" — The premise would seem to be foolproof: It's about a hotel … for dogs! How cute is that? Unfortunately, that's all "Hotel for Dogs" is: a clever concept that quickly runs out of room to roam.

It's not that director Thor Freudenthal's film sits up on its hind legs and shamelessly begs for approval; on the contrary, it performs a few tricks, then rolls over on its back and plays dead. (Sorry, had to go there, the metaphor was irresistible.) Still, kids might be entertained by the canine antics.

Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin co-star as 16-year-old Andi and her younger brother, Bruce, who've been bouncing between various foster homes since their parents died. Now that they live with a pair of deluded, wannabe rock stars (an obnoxiously one-note Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon), they've been forced to hide their inordinately resourceful and perpetually hungry Jack Russell terrier, Friday. When the scruffy white pooch scampers off, and Andi and Bruce follow him into an abandoned hotel, they find a 160-pound bull mastiff and an energetic Boston terrier who already calls the place home.

It's rated PG for brief mild thematic elements, language and some crude humor.