‘Jock the Hero Dog’ can teach kids a lot
There are many worthy lessons to be learned in Jock the Hero Dog, the new animated film from ARC Entertainment. Whether courage, self-respect or forgiveness, the 80-minute movie features a heartwarming lesson just about every 2 minutes. The problem with the family film is that the lessons are not wrapped around an interesting plot, and many of the animals in the film feel like stock characters.
Writer-director Duncan MacNeillie, working off the book by Percy Fitzpatrick, keeps everything action-packed and spread out on the South African wilderness, where much of the film is based. The animation style is basic and screams “direct to video,” but younger viewers will find it a-OK for their impressionable minds.
The voice acting is enjoyable and somewhat surprising for its star power. Donald Sutherland offers his voice for the narration, while Helen Hunt, Ted Danson, Mandy Patinkin and Bryan Adams round out the cast. Adams is the best of the animal bunch; his youthful tone for Jock is believable.
The movie feels like a second-rate effort (that’s largely a result of the shoddy animation), but the creative team was somehow able to convince Alan Menken and Tim Rice to write some tunes. “Howling at the Moon” is a nice addition, while Adams provides his voice on “Way-Oh” and “By Your Side”.
The plot is a mishmash of man’s-best-friend emotions and friends-never-leave-friends-behind corniness. Again, it teaches many lessons, but turns in some bland entertainment for the adults in the room.
Jock the Hero Dog will be remembered as a heartfelt try at family entertainment. If its animation style were more original, much of the story and characters would feel inspired. But the computer imagery is too ordinary that it keeps the mind from exploring beyond the lines and colors. Backgrounds look like they are dropped in and feature little detail. Humans sport either short or long faces, with no rhyme or reason of why everyone looks a little bit different. The animation style on Jock is also stilted. There’s some nice detail in the hair, but his head looks too large and human for his animal body. The best animated character is a rooster, and that’s mostly because the colorful feathers provide a different look to all the blandness.
Jock is one for the kiddies, and because its message is worthy of their attention, the movie should be endurable for the parents in the room. At the very least, those songs by Menken, Rice and Adams are catchy.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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Jock the Hero Dog
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2011
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Written and directed by Duncan MacNeillie
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Starring the voice talents of Donald Sutherland, Helen Hunt, Ted Danson, Mandy Patinkin and Bryan Adams
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Running time: 80 minutes
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Rated PG for some menace and peril
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Rating:
