Tag: Owen Wilson

Charlie the Wonderdog isn’t a complete wash. It’s an animated film with its heart in the right place despite leaning on a familiar premise: cats versus dogs. The latter takes the heroic lane while it seems every purring entity is cast as villainous. At least the origin story avoids retreading the Superman template. Instead, the narrative centres on two pets who gain super abilities and how they choose to use them. One leans toward saving the day, the other toward domination, driven by a lifetime of mistreatment by his owner that fuels a lingering vendetta.

This bowser (voiced by Owen Wilson) has known nothing but love since entering Danny’s (Dawson Littman) life as a toddler. That emotional framing gives the film its strongest footing. Now much older, this tween is facing the quiet reality that his longtime companion is nearing his sunset years. This canine isn’t as spry as he once was, and the boy simply wants his best friend comfortable and cared for. That dynamic shifts when this dog is kidnapped alongside a neighbourhood cat (Caitlynne Medrek) and subjected to alien experimentation. They are returned with renewed vigour and the ability to talk.

Continue reading “Charlie the Wonderdog Has Some Bark, But Can He Bite?”