Two Dog Tales

Back in August I went to BlogPaws, an annual conference for pet bloggers that was held in Tysons Corner this year. Besides meeting other pet bloggers from around the country and learning blogging tips and tricks, I got to see a sneak preview of the Disney movie Spooky Buddies, which came out direct-to-video on Sept. 20.

BlogPaws is pet-friendly, so not only did I get to watch the entire movie while being leaned on by an adorable year-old Golden Retriever in training to be a service dog, but I got to meet one of the movie’s stars.

Well, OK, it wasn’t really a puppy that appeared in the movie.

As writer and director Robert Vince said during the Q&A after the screening, about five different puppies played each character. Why? C’mon, you’re dog owners! You know how fast puppies grow, and the movie took about a year to shoot.

Vince has done five “buddies” movie, which were inspired by the first, and very successful, “Air Bud” movie. He said they used more than 1,500 visual effects in the movie, including CGI to make the puppies speak.

In addition to the five Golden Retriever puppies–Budderball, Rosebud, B-Dawg, Buddha and Mudbud–other dog characters include the psychic Zelda, played by a Chinese Hairless Crested, the ghost Pip and his siblings, played by Beagles, and the villain Howl-oween Hound, played by a huge brindled dog that looks like a Mastiff.

Here’s a trailer for the movie:

All in all, it’s a cute, very family-friendly movie with the typical Disney positive messages about friendship, loyalty and teamwork. There’s no blood or gore, and the worst “potty gag” was a puppy fart that deflected magical demon-dog breath.

The movie is available as a Blu-Ray, DVD or movie download from the “Spooky Buddies” website.