Review
DANIEL AND THE SUPERDOGS
Starring Mathew Harbour, Annie Bovaird and Macha Grenon
Directed by André Melançon
Opens Friday, March 4
Check listings
It’s hard not to think of the old W.C. Fields quip. To paraphrase (and modify): I love dogs and children, preferably if I can persuade the former to attack the latter. Hollywood has no shortage of movies featuring children and dogs and a good many of them are decidedly dreadful. (Dogs dominate presumably because they are easier to work with than cats, sea otters or kodiak bears.) Mercifully, Daniel and the Superdogs is distinctly non-Hollywood in look, feel and storyline, and for the most part it avoids the clichés and crass emotional manipulations that plague this genre.
The real live Superdogs are a mixed pack of canines of all sizes that have been entertaining audiences all over North America for more than 27 years. All the dogs in the Superdog show perform and compete alongside their owners (each and every one is a beloved family pet) and about 40 per cent have been rescued from animal shelters.
In the film, Daniel (Mathew Harbour) is an 11-year-old boy who’s dealing with the recent, unexpected death of his mother. Daniel’s dad (Patrick Goyette) is coping with his own grief and the two find themselves increasingly alienated from each other. When Daniel hangs out and makes mischief with his pals, one of their pranks results in the destruction of an old barn belonging to Claire (Claire Bloom). As punishment Daniel ends up helping out in Claire’s kennel. Here he bonds with a Jack Russell named Gypsy (Streak) and develops a Saint Bernard-sized crush on Claire’s granddaughter April (Annie Bovaird). We cheer young Daniel on as he patches things up with his father, gets that never-to-be-forgotten first kiss and races to triumph with Gypsy in the Superdog show.
The film admirably portrays both peer and inter-generational family relationships and doesn’t shy away from depicting real grief and pre-adolescent pain (without quite rubbing our noses in it). There’s even a tail-wagging-twist on that famous scene in Miracle on 34th Street where a parade of pooches deliver petition after petition to save the town arena from imminent destruction.
Filmed simultaneously in French and English, with all but one of the young actors performing in both official languages, Daniel and the Superdogs is one heartwarming family story that won’t leave you feeling like you’ve wasted your time or had your emotions yanked on. It might even help generate some valuable family discussions about real life. As a parent with small children, I can highly recommend this as a movie to see with your kids. Or even better, send the kids to see it with the grandparents, put the pets out and stay home and roll around on the rug with your spouse. |
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