User reviews

I seriously think some users here on IMDb are being undeservedly harsh on this movie. What the motives are, I'm not too sure, but I can recommend some of them to watch the documentary Heckler. Now, back to subject, sorry for digressing, I've seen worse movies get higher ratings at IMDb. Now, I'm not really a fan of Owen Wilson or movies that have animals talking, but I feel this movie is at least a high 4 to low 5, in keeping in line with other movies reviewed on IMDb. I voted 5. I watched 2 movies - namely, Thomas the cool mule and that Aussie Ted movie that I would rank at 2 - 3 each, but not this movie. This movie is not brilliant or the best kiddies movie out there, but it's good, clean family fun. That's all I expected when I took my kid to watch this. And he enjoyed it. Unlike those other 2 movies I mentioned earlier.

I just saw this movie for the first time. I came to it with an open mind willing to be entertained. I have to admit that it was a good family movie that it is paced well and tells a simple story. Not full of of slapstick joke, but it has a very refreshing predictable and simple plot and easy to follow. A great movie for discussing family values and what loyalty, love and friendship is all about and the dynamics of it.

Good family movie . . . don't listen to the basher and purist that movies have to be a perfect reflection of reality. This is a great movie in a traditional sense.

Sit and back and enjoy it . . .

My 3 year old loves animal movies, even Beverly Hills Chihuahua (which let's face it was pretty average at best). She didn't like this movie at all.

It's not cute, it's not adult, it's not a lot of things and the most important thing it isn't is entertaining.

This film is a horrible adaptation from a beloved cartoon - the characters are not really likable, there is a confusing mish-mosh of adult aimed humor and situations involving the dogs, and then just horrible parts featuring the humans. William H Macy is sinister and extremely creepy as the dog food company owner - he could have been kooky and funny, a little zany perhaps, but no, he comes across as aggressive, pushy and sinister.

The story itself is stupid and lacking in any real interest for the young kids this movie is really supposed to be aimed at. The adults forced to take the kids won't find anything better in it either.

I would advise anyone not to even both renting it for a dollar, it's not worth it, and I don't say that about many movies.

CGI may be very clever and way better than it used to be, but this movie over uses it to the point of boredom on the part of the viewer.

CGI isn't enough if there is no real, interesting story - I for one could care less about Phil and his new job at the pet food company.

Nothing about this movie is appealing!

Some guy was giving out tickets to a test screening of this abomination to mankind, and I decided "Eh, free film and I always liked Marmaduke". Well, I was wrong. This film is a physically painful experience. This film consists of the BAD jokes from Marley & Me. The difference is, Marley & Me was touching and funny and cute. This is horrible. No more words to fit this. HORRIBLE! The horrible scene that sticks out the most is the dancing dogs sequence that features a ton of dogs dancing around to music in a park. I just saw a preview for this film on TV, and the song "Tik Tok" was playing during it. Tik Tok, during a dog film commercial. The writing is horrible, the acting is horrible, the effects are horrible, the jokes are horrible, the music is horrible, EVERY SINGLE LAST THING IS HORRIBLE!

I did not apply a rating to this review as 1 is too good for this.

EDIT: Under pressure from somebody, I watched the film in theaters to see if anything was different. I was wrong... IT WAS EVEN WORSE!

The funniest joke in the long-awaited live-action/CGI adaptation of everyone's second-least favourite comic strip Marmaduke is actually intentional, which is kind of impressive. Of course, it's not funny in the way that the filmmakers intended it to be funny so that's too bad I guess but it is actually a joke that is actually funny. Some connection had been made, through the layers of awful script and boring staging and legitimately creepy CGI. They intended to make me laugh, when they had the mean dog Bosco call out our Owen-Wilson-voiced hero in the middle of the hero's crowning moment, a big raucous "O.C. rager" of a party, icing our dog out with a growled, "Marmaduke? More like… Marmafake." And they did.

I laughed, I admit it. Marmapuke, Marmapoop, Marmadreck… there's a lot of ways the screenwriters could have gone, and they chose Marmafake, which…well dog-gone it, it doesn't even rhyme. Notes: I also laughed when the filmmakers, seeking to set the tone after Marmaduke & family's big cross-country move to the O.C. from Kansas so the dad (Lee Pace) could work for a dog-food company with a mean boss (William H. Macy, for some inexplicable reason) by mixing "California" by Phantom Planet almost directly into "California Love" by 2Pac. I assume they'd spent all the soundtrack licensing money by that point, because they left out "California" by Belinda Carlisle and "California" by John Mayall and "California" by Joni Mitchell and "Going back to Cali(fornia)" by L.L. Cool J and "Hotel California" by the Eagles. Too bad.

Anyway Marmaduke is, we're told, a big, gangly goofy dog played by two or more real dogs in the film, that talks with a creepy CGI animated mouth. I'm pretty sure, at least, that they used more than one dog because sometimes Marmaduke has a big, dangly pair of testicles, and sometimes he doesn't, which is obviously problematic and I started thinking, while on-screen Marmaduke was having another interminable dialogue session with some other dog about something that to so brazenly, as filmmakers, use dogs with varying levels of testicle-havingness is kind of bold, almost as if they're saying "Yeah, sometimes 'duke's got nuts and sometimes he doesn't. We don't care, because nobody will notice, and if they do notice, it's because you're a perverted weirdo who both looks at and notes dog's nuts." Which left me feeling vaguely insulted, and terribly aggrieved.

So Marmaduke has some friends that are dogs and some enemies, and he makes some mistakes and eventually gets sad and runs away from his family and his haughty girlfriend, voiced by Fergie from the Black-Eyed Peas, who is actually a better voice actor than she is a singer. Marmaduke then falls into a sink-hole along with another funny-looking but faithful and nice dog (voice of Emma Stone) and then or perhaps before then there is a dog-surfing championship and everything is fine, even the sub-plots about 'duke's dad's mean boss and his kid that hates soccer.

Kids might like it, but I doubt it, as aside from being creepy and awkward and really poorly plotted it's just… dull. One of the first thing they teach you in screen writing school is "show, don't tell", that expository dialogue is a no-no and narrators all the more so. But dogs can't really act, and they don't really do anything except run around and eat sandwiches so for the film to have a narrative structure the dogs have to talk, a lot, explaining everything, and because dogs don't drive or frame houses or fold clothes they talk while just… standing there looking around. It's hellaciously boring, but probably unavoidable as Marmaduke is clearly an intellectual property that fans have literally been screeching and rending their clothes to see brought to the big screen and given the ol' Hollywood treatment.

I don't have anything more to say about Marmaduke. 2/10

Every now and then, a movie comes out that critics, general audiences, and social network users love to pick on. Furry Vengeance came out in April of this year, receiving bad reviews and performing badly at the box office because it was unappealing to moviegoers. Now we have another one of those flicks, and low and behold, it's in the same category. Talking animals, and an attempt to be family friendly, but instead looks poorly not-so family friendly. When I first heard about the flick, I thought it would be just humans talking and trying to help and protect animals through bad circumstances, something I would do if I made a movie. But then the front page said "featuring the voice of Owen Wilson", and I thought, uh-oh, another talking animal movie. I watched the trailer, and it threw at me all the stock clichés, comedic pauses, rated PG, men rejected by women even for heroic causes, a use of teenagers instead of elementary school children (ie. ET and it's rip off "Mac and Me"), use of stars who are desperate for a paycheck, and several gross-out jokes. It was like I was trained to expect this in every live action family comedy released in this day and age. Could it possibly get any worse, I thought. Yes it did. A terribly executed dog dance at the end was so assaultive that my eyes were about to bulge out of my skull just like BoCo when he was tricked by Bill and Ben in The Diseasel, a Thomas the Tank Engine episode. With businesses down, foreclosures of houses, lay offs of jobs, high ticket prices, a bad box office summer this year, high ticket prices, and the ability to criticize films on social networks these days, I don't exactly see this as a surefire success, but then again, I'm secretly and sadly expecting it to be. By the way, I'm all ready to go back to a decade and a half to simpler times when I go see Toy Story 3. Save your money on that. I think I see the downfall of good CGI and decency with talking animals here. So far Babe is the best talking animal movie I can think of. Maybe you should let your kids see that.

Don't know why so many people have a downer on this.I took my 7yo and 3yo boys to this and they really liked it!

I thought it was OK, not great but OK easy to watch. Now is that not what a kids film should be? Too many people out there think they are experts, just relax man and watch the movie.

Instead of writing crap about every film, it's unfair as myself as a parent checked the reviews for this. I am pleased I ignored them as I have my suspicions about a lot of these reviewers. This is a long line now in poor reviews which turn out to be decent movies. End result the kids had a good time watching a nice gentle movie with some laughs-get over yourselves.

When I heard 20th Century Fox would be adapting the fifty-year old classic comic strip, Marmaduke, to the big screen I was gleefully entranced in an uninterrupted state of anticipation. We're talking about the same studio that flawlessly reconstructed the dated Garfield and SO last decade Alvin & the Chipmunks to fit into this fresher generation of modernized teen lingo, consistent pop culture references and omitting an occasional bodily humor gag every now and then (every two minutes can be considered occasional, right?). I'm happy to say that this is a worthy new addition to the gang that I go as far as to hold on par with Mike Myer's glorious Cat in the Hat.

First of all you have to appreciate the man who helmed it all, Tom Dey, for establishing a brave new look towards the characteristics of a beloved cartoon canine. All he really had to pick was a flashier setting, increase the obliviousness of his human companions, maybe add the most hip pop songs on Billboard's Top 100 during a montage, OH…he also may have also added more ignorance to his personality. But that's okay; out of all the things they could have forgotten I'm grateful they've maintained the premise of destructive, slapstick-reliant Great Dane. Once I saw that pack of computer-animated dogs dancing in unison to "What I Like About You", I realized this would be the most criminally misunderstood thing Dey had ever captured on film since Terry Bradshaw's rear end.

Major kudos also goes out Owen Wilson for FINALLY picking a well-meaning dog movie this time around. Marley and Me was idiotically under the impression you could show the shenanigans of a household pet every once in a while, but spend the rest of the time observing serious consequences and responsibilities of owning him. What were they thinking?!?! Kids shouldn't worry about all that – their parents should! Children should be aware that it's okay for a dog to run around wet after a bath, violently flip over masters and succumb to peer pressure for the sake of holding a party. Your mom will take care of it, little guy…until then, point and laugh!!! Not only does Wilson pick a better dog movie this time around, but also voice character too. What America was thinking in making Cars a $200 million hit, I shall never comprehend. It took an admirable, heroic lead who knew his place in society and had his mind twisted around into thinking losing is excusable. Un-be-lievable! Marmaduke on the other hand gives some strategical tips to the youth of our ages to fit in: if your household canine can't squeeze into anybody's $700 Gucci purse, than you should deny all existence of the one you actually own until he does something cool like surfing. You'll never live up to be the next Paris Hilton with that overly strong a backbone, sweety.

Marmaduke didn't get the strong box office performance or glowing reviews it deserved. Hopefully it has a better shelf life when it comes to DVD this August. That's right…August. How cool are these producers for putting it from the big screen to TV within a three month period? Really cool, I know. Just goes to show that if movies are as good as the time it takes them to get to stores, than I'd be embarrassed to be attached to Monsters Inc and it's 10 month gap.

This isn't a great movie, and knowing this before you go is key. Take your kids, or your easily-offended-with-R-movies mom. Don't take your date, not a date movie.

The story is predictable, but that's okay. I found myself laughing at some funny parts, yes, out loud.

I give this movie an 8 because it was a nice distraction for my mom. Before going to the dollar cinema, I read the reviews here on IMDb. I went in expecting a 2 star movie, but it's really not that bad.

I stayed with it and had some fun with my mom. She didn't cry or fuss or anything. LOL.

The results of when a mediocre idea for a movie like Garfield actually turns a profit. Producers rummage through the Sundays to find another decently popular comic strip with a similar idea, and stumble upon Marmaduke. Add in a terrible script, no respect for the source material, and a whole bunch of random celebrity voices, and you have a movie with absolutely no merit to speak for. This movie had dialog that has not seen the light of day, and for good reason. While there were some slightly funny moments here and there, it was all just lazy comedy. The fact that they made Marmaduke talk in the first place was one of the biggest mistakes the movie came up with. All of the lines about "Oh no! I can't do it!" and then the "Come on, you can do it!" then we have the "I'm scared! I can't do it!" and then the God-awful "Oh, wow, I can do it! Yay!" These moments were a fall-back to actually writing something. I could go on and on about how bad this movie was, but you won't understand unless you actually watch it, and keep watching it once the song-and-dance routine starts at the end, with bad CGI Dogs doing the mummy dance. I really wish I were kidding right now. Anyway, skip over this. The DVD cover with the cat and dog in sunglasses should be a huge clue as to how much this movie insults your intelligence. Sorry for the rant.

So the first two reviewers who panned it never saw it. How open-minded of them. Some people are way too sophisticated for a movie like this and should just order a latte and go to an art house movie.

I saw it, it was fun. Kids and adults laughed throughout. At the end adult guys in the lobby were cracking jokes and repeating lines from the movie.

It has a strong theme of "don't put others into groups and turn your back on your friends" and "parents, pay attention to your kids. Work and career are not as important as family." Which maybe explains why some won't like it - maybe those themes hit a little too close to home.

This movie was a great diversion from all the problems going on today. Relax and enjoy it.

The comic strip character of Marmaduke wasn't exactly calling for a motion picture. But give a film a recognisable name and you can sell anything. Marmaduke follows the adventures of a dog and his family as they move from Kansas to California. The dog is a little prick. He purposefully causes problems, such as ruining the house, hurting people, and making a mess. He enjoys acting this way. He breaks the fourth wall and talks to us but we don't care. I don't want to hear from him. He sucks. Early on Marmaduke farts and says he is juvenile. That's the film in a nutshell. It's filled with a voice cast hoping they wont be recognised and that you'll leave before the end credits. Obviously Wilson and Sutherland are unmistakable, but I think the rest should be named and shamed. Steve Coogan, Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Hand your heads. As Marmaduke and co go on a series of adventures, in one of which Marmaduke turns into a raging racist and starts hating on half-breeds. Unfortunately he doesn't go the way of Voldemort. Meanwhile the humans are involved in a very dull plot involving marketing for an organic pet food company. Pace plays the kind of father who is constantly beaten down. His family would rather he risk his job and look for their dog instead of going to an important meeting. The comedy is atrocious. I keep hearing the argument that this is for kids. Then why does it reference dozens of adult films? Almost Famous, Midnight Cowboy, The Elephant Man. These are just a few stolen lines that make no damn sense at all. There's also two drug references. This is really scraping the bottom of the barrel, with outdated and simplified lessons on life, and a sudden climax involving a road collapsing. It was horrible.

I am not going to compare copiously here, but I do agree about Marmaduke being a poor adaptation. It isn't completely awful, as the locations and photography are striking and the soundtrack is infectious. Plus there is the occasional good amount of CGI. However, what let it down was the weakness of the story and script. The story is the sort of story that works better as a 30 minute animated short at least, the whole plot felt not only very predictable but very overstretched too. While the script is decidedly lacklustre at best, with humour that would be perhaps too sophisticated for kids and too childish for adults. Kids may like it because the dogs are quite cute and do look good, though in regards to the CGI I do think there is too much of it. The direction is not exactly a high point either, like the story it is never sure of what it wants to do, and the acting is pretty weak, well the voice work was passable but the human characters are not developed or written well at all and the performances suffer as a consequence. In conclusion, partially succeeds as a kids movie, fails as a family movie, in my opinion of course. 3/10 Bethany Cox