User reviews

The Disney Channel has been criticized for making too many shows and movies for and about pre-teen girls, and while the criticism is fair to some extent, the idea that they're all Lizzie McGuire clones is just wrong. Shows like "The Famous Jett Jackson," "American Dragon: Jake Long," "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," and even Canadian import "Naturally, Sadie" are nothing like Lizzie McGuire, even though Sadie is the same age Lizzie was towards the end of that show's run. The same goes for the TV-movie "Life is Ruff," whose main character is a pre-teen boy in perhaps the best dog-loving movie for kids since "The Sandlot." In his first starring role, Kyle Massey plays Calvin Wheeler, a conniving 13-year-old boy with a great reputation, and a prized comic book collection. Wheeler is incredibly selfish, but not completely unwilling to do things for other people. This kid is no misfit, struggling through the grind of junior high(There's another stereotype broken), in fact he's got a best friend with asthma named Raymond Figg(Mitchel Musso), is popular with the other kids at school, because he does fantastic things for them, as long as they do them for him, and even has a few girls lining up to take him to a school dance. If you need another fictional character to compare him to, the best one would be Ferris Beuller. The only thing Calvin is missing is an out-of-reach first issue of his favorite comic book "Gotham-Man" from which he and Figg frequently quote the hero's catch-phrase "Expect the Impossible!" After recently getting the 2nd issue from the school basketball team in exchange for stealing an opposing team's play-book, he runs into a prized show dog who attacks him while skateboarding through a rich neighborhood. The dog's owner, a snobby kid named Preston Price(Carter Jenkins), brags that his dog won him $5000, and that's when he decides that he should get a dog too. Emily Watson("Phil of the Future's" Kay Panabaker) is a girl at his school who volunteers at a local animal shelter and cares more about the dogs and cats than the people who run it want her to, so much so that she names all the pets before they're adopted, and is a rabid opponent of dog shows. She also knows comics as well as he does. One of the dogs she names(Tyko) had a rough-upbringing by Disney standards. You could consider it a "Bambi-type" origin. Left out in the rain in a cardboard box as a puppy while waiting with other black puppies to be adopted for free, he grows up as a stray. When Calvin seeks a dog to adopt for the show, Emily persuades him to take Tyko, unaware of his plans for the dog, although clearly aware of his disdain for dogs.

As predicted, Calvin only wants Tyko long enough to win the top prize so he can buy that first issue of his favorite comic book, but when the huge pooch is determined to stay, Calvin warms up to him then changes his plans and decides to keep him. Needless to say it's Tyko who adopts Calvin, not the other way around. I had a big dog who adopted me rather than the other way around, so I'm very familiar with the subject. While the movie holds onto stereotypes like cute dogs, and bad rich people, it breaks a few as well by making fanboys popular, and even pushes the potential for a date between Emily & Calvin -- yes, interracial dating in junior high on The Disney Channel. This movie deserves to be on DVD, more than many others on the Disney Channel. More than "Life-Size," "Stuck in the Suburbs," "Pixel Perfect," "Go Figure," and even "Tiger Cruise," which was a good movie itself.

"Life is Ruff" was a really cute movie about essentially growing up. I actually went to the school where it was filmed and was able to see some of the set as I went around to my classes. One of my teachers got her flag signed by the kids in the film. I thought the weirdest part of the whole experience, was that the week the film premiered on Disney Channel, the school where it was filmed (Wasatch Jr. High) burned down due to an electrical fire started in the library. It was really cool because the last time I was able to see the inside of my school was in that movie. Calvin learned a lot from his experiences in the movie, about friendship and responsibility. He learned the same lessons we learned that summer when our school disappeared.

Calvin Wheeler is a 13-year-old boy with everything going for him, except for an original issue of his precious comic book collection. When a prized show-dog chases him down while skateboarding one day, his owner inadvertently convinces him to adopt and train a dog of his own. However the only one available, is an uncouth stray Labrador/St. Bernard-mix named Tyko from a local animal shelter, who proves to be more than anybody can handle.

Cute, but silly, almost bored and nauseous, with so many half-assed films, almost boring marathoning Disney movies from the early 2000s, we come across wonderful pearls, but with many bland bombs...

I found this one of the most annoying movie in my LIFE! look the message is OK and how he is a selfish boy who be comes good by the power of loving a dog. Ahhhh. But everything else I hated especially the dog show the guy doesn't complete any of the obstacles in the race yet he breaks the course record. And the last one the dog doesn't do anything all you see is the boy doing tricks on a skateboard while the dog avoids the tricks and runs around them watching the boy do the tricks he should be doing. The evil running champ boy is about as predictable and annoying to watch than any other villain of a movie I've ever seen before. It is probably the best Disney movie that didn't make it to the movies that I've ever seen (that ain't saying much and that's mainly because of the dog acting) but easily the most annoying one I've ever seen and if it deserves any kind of prize it should go to the dog.

The two Disney Channel movies that are the absolute best are Tru Confessions and Life is Ruff. This has a great story about a selfish kid named Calvin (Kyle Massey) who collects Gotham Man comics and to receive the first ever comic of the Gotham Man comic series, he has to learn responsibility by teaching a big dog new tricks. This movie reminds me of Air Bud and Shiloh, except that those are dramas and this is a first-rate comedy that hits high on my account. If you miss this movie, you'll really be missing something you can watch and enjoy with friends, because they will all be talking about it afterward. The only dog movie that could ever top this one is My Dog Skip. 10/10*

Life is Ruff is my second favorite Disney Channel movie and one of the standout movies from my childhood. I rate the movie 10/10. The movie follows a boy (Calvin) who from the beginning of the movie is portrayed as quite arrogant and selfish. Calvin's best friend (Raymond) is a quiet kid who basically follows him around. Calvin is used to always getting his way and being irresponsible but all that changes when he adopts a dog at the local dog shelter. Why does he adopt a dog? You'll have to watch the movie to find out! (Hint: it's for an ulterior motive.)

The movie is funny and heartwarming, with lots of beautiful moments as Calvin's bond develops with his new untrained dog. Also, there are a lot of quite comical scenes with Calvin and his parents (who have no idea that there is a dog in their house). In the movie, a beautiful bond also develops between Kyle and Emily (a girl at Kyle's school who works at the local dog shelter), although they did not initially get off on the right foot due to Kyle's selfish behaviour.

I loved the movie as a kid and still love it as an adult because it has several twists and turns as well as some comedy and heartwarming moments. The movie focusses on relationships between different characters and shows how Kyle's attitude toward life and the people around him fundamentally change with the responsibility of having a dog. I think it is a wonderful family movie and a great movie for kids. Life is Ruff is the best movie I have ever seen about a kid and his pet. I highly highly recommend this sweet movie to anyone who loves children's movies (you don't have to be an animal lover because most of the movie centres around the human characters and the relationships between them, although Kyle's dog does play a continuous role).