Snow Dogs

This film has virtually NOTHING to do with Gary Paulsen's gritty book "Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod" though he is credited with "suggesting" the idea for the movie. Essentially it's an amusing "fish-out-of-water" tale about a Miami dentist (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who inherits an Alaskan dogsled team, complicated by the fact he really doesn't like dogs. The filmmakers have relied heavily on the sunny persona of Gooding and a great deal of physical comedy for audience appeal. There are also solid support from grizzled screen veteran James Coburn and the ever-elegant Nichelle Nichols of "Star Trek" fame. I enjoyed the movie & so did most of the kids I saw in the theater. Don't know what that says about my taste in movies...

One caveat: if you are severely allergic to pseudo-singer Michael Bolton, you might break out in a "Time, Love and Tenderness" rash!

Very entertaining story of a Miami dentist who travels to Alaska when notified of biological mother's death. He finds love, a father and ownership of a pack of head strong sled dogs. I would define as an entertaining, several laugh comedy, worth adding to your viewing list.

This is a fun movie with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and James Coburn vying for scene stealing credit. The dogs are beautiful and the real canines can't be told apart from the animatronic ones (at least not by me).

I saw the film with my twelve-and-a half year old boy in a crowded theater. Most of the kids were much younger than mine. All seemed to love the film. As well they should have.

What I particularly liked was the fact that this film, aimed primarily at pre-teen kids, told without apology or moralizing a story that features premarital, interracial sex with a resultant pregnancy AND surrender of a baby for adoption. Of course most young kids would have little or no reason to wonder about what kind of relationship brought a black Miami dentist to the icebound interior of Alaska in search of his roots. That's great: kudos to the director, screenwriter and cast. But methinks some parents are going to be unhappy. Too bad: the family values spelled out in "Snow Dogs" are decent, caring and free from prejudice. Just what kids ought to see without explanation or excuse.

I am a little stumped at the low rating, this movie is not that bad. It is no masterpiece in any shape and form, and I have certainly seen better films, but I have also seen worse. Also it is entertaining enough and has cute moments too. I do agree the story is predictable and nothing special, the script has its weak spots and the pacing is uneven being a little too draggy in the middle. But there is a lot to redeem it, namely the amazing scenery captured by the lovely cinematography. The soundtrack was a nice touch too, the direction is good and the acting is actually above decent. Cuba Gooding Jnr is a likable enough lead and James Coburn the great actor he was matches him wonderfully. The really cute snow dogs steal the show though, it could be said they are the film. Overall, definitely not a bad movie, exceptional no, entertaining yes. 7/10 Bethany Cox

SNOW DOGS reminded me of the old family Disney films of the 1970s (you know, the ones where Dean Jones was in most of them?). The movie was completely predictable, but that didn't make it any less fun for me. I've never read the book it was based off of, but as for the movie itself, my wife and I greatly enjoyed seeing it. We could use more family films where the main purpose in going to see it is to be entertained and nothing more.