User reviews

This movie was one of my favorites as a kid. I really, really loved it. Thought it had this oddly cozy feel to it, the kind of movie you watch on a rainy day you know.

So yeah, for some reason, today I picked it up again to re-watch it. It was still a nice, pleasant enough movie. I know it's not anything extraordinary or amazing. It's not a masterpiece. But I still really like like it (partly because of nostalgia, I guess). Still think it's a sweet, feel good movie.

Some bad jokes adults won't really find funny and the plot is very simple. The surroundings are are beautiful and the acting is just fine too.

I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did if I hadn't watched it as a child, but I'd still recommend it to kids, especially if they like dogs.

My mom has been bugging me to watch Snow Dogs, it's funny because she hates Disney and I'm such a big fan, but these movies are always typical and I had no interest in seeing the movie. But my mom insisted again and again, so I finally went ahead and watched it last night, yeah, it was very silly and predictable, but it was fun to watch because it's such a fun family film. It had cheesy jokes here and there, but they made me laugh, the great thing I that I really liked was that they didn't computer enhance any voices for the dogs, it was just a natural performance for them and it made the story just a little bit more believable. I know everyone keeps claiming that Cuba Gooding, Jr. ruined his career by making these films, but he must be doing something right, because at least he's still getting paid for these films.

Ted is your typical Miami guy, he's a dentist, life is pretty decent for him, that is until he finds out that he's adopted. He finds out that his mother lived in Alaska, so he goes up there and finds out that his biological mother died recently, so he meets a girl, Barb, who tells him that his mother left him her house and top race winning dogs. A man, Jack, offers a lousy price for all of them, but he finds out that Jack is his father, and after hearing the story, Ted heads back to Miami. But he learns something different than Jack told him and heads back, but Jack is trapped in the mountains, and now Ted has to learn how to mush through the snow.

Snow Dogs is predictable and a common story, but it's all good, it's a cute family film that has a few cute jokes. I just loved the scene where Ted first learns how to mush, and the dogs know how incompetent he is so they play a joke on him and race him through the town while he's taped to the sled. It was silly, but Cuba's look on his face was just priceless. This is a fun little movie that the whole family can enjoy, I recommend it. The rating on IMDb is very harsh, just ignore it, this is a fun film.

6/10

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.

A fairly typical live action Disney movie that might please the less discriminating kids in the audience but will leave everyone else mostly bored. Cuba Gooding Jr. is a dentist from miami who discovers that he is adopted and goes to Alaska to inherit a dog sled team from his real momma... pretty dumb stuff all around. GRADE: D

I wasn't expecting anything extraordinary when entering the theater to see "Snow Dogs." Anyone who has seen "The Princess Diaries," "Operation Dumbo Drop" and "Jungle 2 Jungle" should know by now--Disney usually sucks at making comedies! There are few exceptions like "The Santa Clause" and the underrated remake of "That Darn Cat," but that's not gonna change my opinion of Disney altogether. The producers of Disney should really stick to animation. That's what they're good at.

One slight motivation for seeing this movie was Cuba Gooding, Jr. But though he's a terrific actor, even he could make a clunker--has anyone seen "Chill Factor"? It happens to the greatest of actors. Every once in a while a great actor wants to take a recess from serious drama and do either a broad comedy or a B-grade action flick. Cuba has done both. Serious actors always want to show their audiences that they CAN loosen up and they CAN be goofy and uninhibited when they want to be.

As expected, the humor in this movie is totally lame and utterly predictable. Gooding hams it up to the extreme in his most over-the-top performance up-to-date, but there really is no other way to perform this sort of comedy. Let me see: Cuba's (character) never mushed a team of sled dogs before, living in Miami all his life. Are we supposed to find it hilarious when he gets dragged across the snow by the dogs over and over again? Geez, we didn't expect that to happen! In the back of the theater, a kid--probably five or six years old--kept laughing hysterically whenever that would happen, but that's the point. If you're over the age of 6--this is not funny!

There are assorted gags here and there that worked. For example, we find out that Cuba's father is actually the big, brawny, white sled team owner who people steer away from whenever he approaches and is nicknamed Thunder Jack (James Coburn). In one scene, Cuba spots him in a store and tells the clerk, "He's my Dad. Don't you see the resemblance?" The chemistry between Gooding and Coburn is wonderful. And in another scene, Cuba is feeding the dogs a mish-mash of all sorts of organs from different animals called "slump." He comments, "In Miami, we call this hot dogs."

"Snow Dogs" is not painstaking to watch and is somewhat harmless, but it's entirely lame and predictable. The kind of film you watch and say, "Why even bother?" If there's anything the movie is notable for, it's the first film to feature a cameo by Michael Bolton. What happened? Vanilla Ice's phone was busy?

I have to say, that Alaskan woman who plays Gooding's love interest is completely hot! God, she's a fox! So guys, if you do have to sit through this movie--especially you fathers out there--at least you have some great eye candy!

My score: 5 (out of 10)

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

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!

Tell me it isn't so. Cuba Gooding Jr plays a Miami dentist that goes north to Alaska as he reluctantly inherits a dogsled team from the mother he never knew. Comedy family fare that isn't too much fun for anyone. Cuba, take the money and run! You would figure that maybe the dogs would be given personality...no not much. Redemption for this slushy clunker is James Coburn. He is hilarious. Also in the cast are: Brian Doyle-Murray, M. Emmet Walsh and Nichole Nichols. The promo trailer is more entertaining. Sorry.

If you like dogs, if you like an adventure, you'll probably enjoy this film. Even a bit of a tear-jerker as Cuba Gooding goes to save his long-lost father! The love interest is attractive. The dogs are cute. Even the border-collie is great! My 4 yo loves the movie. We re-enact the "Demon, save me!" scene often. Demon is the name of the lead dog. Comical slapstick mishaps run throughout the film as Ted (Cuba) is constantly being chased by dogs, dragged through the snow, slides down hills, and suffers mild injuries. None of these are excessive, however, a few crude remarks, some adult dialogue and a suggestive image, are not appropriate for very young children. But reasonably acceptable for children age 6 and up.

Okay, okay. It's supposed to be fun and fantasy. Yet this formula film disturbs me because you know it is the product of hard nosed beancounters married to a politically correct format. I suspect they didn't even chuckle if they even viewed their handiwork. It's not the sort of genuine story that Disney once produced before it became a big ugly conglomorate. One gets the feeling it was stamped out much like sugar donuts...uniform, bland, nutritionally void and manufactured as cheaply as possible and to sell without satisfying. Sure, it has its entertaining moments. But the whole thing is, well, so damned goodie two shoes that I felt my stomach had been pumped full of treacle. Even the mandatory bad guy turns out to be a good guy. And they all do live happily ever after. Everybody. Ecstaticly. Even the damned dogs! Furthermore, if they wanted to do a story about Alaska, why didn't they shoot it there rather than stealing and misrepresenting Alberta. The least they might have done would have been to put a Canadian flag in the scene at the finish line where there are several other national flags including that of Norway. Why does Hollywood --- or in this case, Lake Buena Vista --- ignore Canada with such offensive and xenophobic determination.

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.

"Snow Dogs" is a family film from Disney that is likely to appeal more to kids age 10-12....with less appeal to younger and older people. This is because sometimes the humor is VERY juvenile and seems very Disney-like. Adults will likely HATE this, as will teens. It's a shame, because with humor that is less broad and juvenile, the film would have had broader appeal.

The film finds Ted (Cuba Gooding Jr.) a successful dentist in Miami. Out of the blue, he receives word from an attorney that he's the heir to some lady's fortune...though he has no idea who she is nor why she's left him anything. When he travels to Alaska for the reading of the will, he learns that she was his actual biological mother...and his 'mother' (Nichelle Nichols) is actually his adopted mom. So what does he inherit? Some small cabins and a pack of sled dogs. What's next? See the film.

The plot is pleasant and I found it to be a nice time-passer. But the occasional inanae dialog and the slapstick-style humor was also off-putting and really prevented the film from being something better.

Snow Dogs, a kids movie that works ENTIRELY on that level, places Miami dentist Cuba Gooding Jr (anybody who is a fan of Cuba Gooding Jr who wants to see this movie soely cause he's in it should stay home) in the Alaskan wilderness with a bunch of dogs that got inherited to him from his late parent's death. The hallucaination sequence is actually pretty funny, although the kiddies will be dissapointed since that is the only time the little huskies talk throughout the movie. More is there for them, but nothing for me (or for the parents in tow except for gruding from James Coburn whom I'm surprised to see after winning an Oscar 3 years ago). D+

This movie is supposedly based on Winterdance by Gary Paulsen. Forget the movie and read the book. This is one of my favourite books - I have read it several times and still get a lot of enjoyment from it. Everyone that I have recommended the book to have also enjoyed it.

Why they had to change the book so radically is beyond me. The book has so much depth and character development that it would have made an excellent movie.

The book, which is autobiographical, covers the same basic idea as the movie - the training of a dog team to run the Iditarod dog race in Alaska. We learn about the dogs personalities and also about how they interacted with Gary Paulsen.

So once again forget the movie and read the book

This is a good, fun movie. Its light and chirpy and what more, its got a whole bunch of dogs. Its got lots of pretty scenary and decent acting.

Worth a watch. You'll love it if you love dogs.

This film could have been great. There are plenty of great family films out there that have multi-age appeal, so why did they write such a dud? Usually I would never buy a film unless I'd seen it first but we bought this movie on DVD because my daughter had seen it at the cinema and thought it great. I was hugely disappointed. As others have said, the dogs are beautiful and are well managed. The scenery is equally fantastic. But the pointless characters - why are they included? The terrible slapstick 'comedy', why is there so much? And the plot, you could have got away with the sheer predictability of it if the comedy had been better written - it can be done - why waste thousands of dollars making a film you would only want to see once?

Snow Dogs is a pretty decent film but not the greatest. I seen better movies associated with sled dogs such as Eight Below and maybe Iron Will. I probably would have never watch his but my parents brought the VHS film when it came out so I was forced to watch it with the family. Years later, I decided to watch it again and see for myself it was good as I remembered. My opinion is the same as I first saw it.

This is about some Miami dentist who inherited a pack of sled dogs. He heads up to Alaska in order to learn what sledding is all about.

The acting is okay. The only big name actor here is Cuba Gooding Jr. I though James Coburn was great though.

Overall, this is a decent family film. I probably will not watch this film again for awhile. But I think kids will like this. I rate this film 7/10.

There is cheesy, there is corny, and then there is cheese corn. You can get cheese corn in the three gallon metal drum, its usually accompanied by caramel corn and regular popcorn. Or you can get it from the movie "Snow Dogs".

I just recently read an article that was linked to IMDb.com that was about actors that had made poor career choices after having won an Oscar. Most notably on this list was Halle Berry for doing "Catwoman" and Cuba Gooding Jr. for projects after "Jerry Maguire". I racked my brain to think of what Gooding Jr. had done after Jerry Maguire. I thought of "Men of Honor", which was pretty good, "Rat Race", which was also fairly good, "Radio", which was very good, and then "Boat Trip" and "Snow Dogs" came to mind. "Boat Trip" and "Snow Dogs" were awful enough to effectively erase all good accumulated by the decent movies Gooding Jr. was in.

"Snow Dogs" is about a dentist (Gooding Jr.) who finds out he's adopted and finds out that his mother has passed away and left him a bunch of huskies. He goes to Alaska to claim his inheritance and there he finds out that not only was his mother White, but so was his father. Go figure?!! He proceeds to have some comical happenings there in Alaska, all which were forgettable because they weren't the least bit funny. I have to be honest and say that I don't know how the movie concludes because I had no interest in watching anymore of it. The story was absurd, and Gooding Jr. just over did it.

Some comedians are good when they are animated, e.g. Robin Williams and Jim Carey. Cuba Gooding Jr. is not. He tried very much to add to the comedic nature of the movie with his lively mannerisms, but it only succeeded in making the movie more cheesy. Couple that with the dogs and there equally corny contribution to the movie and you get a nice bucket of cheese corn. Eat up!

Movie was surprisingly good. There were funny action scenes no sex, profanity or vulgarity. I watched it with my family at home. With parents and brother and friends who were around 25yrs old and niece 10yrs old and they liked it.

I gave this movie 8 out of 10. I liked Cuba Goodings reactions even if they were a little over done, they were funny.

I was surprised it was in fullscreen format (1:33 ratio) but I rather see this movie than live thru the awful HOSTEL movie.

It was good to see James Colburn in a movie again. The Dog facial animation was kinda cool. It was done well where it didn't look too cartoonish.

OK, so the plot is thin and the sub-plots are fairly pointless. But I still loved this flick. It featured good performances all around, especially from Cuba Gooding, Jr., and James Coburn. Gooding had a very natural style to his performance and James Coburn had a commanding presence through much of the film as Thunder Jack, the man who has been struck by thunder (?) . . . twice. The story was not plotted out very well and some scenes seem almost random, especially during the first 45 minutes. There is nothing new in this film, nothing that hasn't been seen before with better writing. So why did I like it so much? Your guess is as good as mine. 7/10

It's not often enough that that the theatres comeout with a family movie, and its a shame that the entertainment business hasn't realized that it is a lucrative untapped area, because when a good family movie comes out, usually parents will take the kids to see it at least twice, like Monsters, Inc. or even more like my nephew who's seen Harry Potter already 10 times. I as an adult, only see great movies only once in theatresm (but I'm tempted to go see Lord of the Rings again).

Disney for the most part has comeout with really great entertainment, Monsters, Inc. was really fun, and Emporer's Groove still puts me in stitches. I don't know what they were thinking when they decided to fumble around in the dark with "SNOW DOGS". In a nutshell, the previews and commercials LEAD you to believe that its a movie about these sled dogs.

My wife and I took our 5 year old daughter expecting to see something along the lines of Dr. DoLittle and Babe, where the dogs actually play the biggest part of the movie. NOT SO! Instead its a below-average movie with no real surprises and easily read into along this yawning journey. My 5 year old was so squirmy and bored with this flick she asked if we could leave. This picture is just barely worthy of being aired on TV during Disney's Sunday movie. Don't wast your money, in going to see it or going to rent it, which should be on shelves within the blink of an eye. Hey Disney, I want my $20 bucks back!