Bailey (a handsome golden retriever, voiced by Jon Lovitz) has just been left a billionaire by his recently deceased, animal-rights advocate owner. Naturally, the heiress' only relative, nephew Caspar Pennington (Tim Curry) and his greedy wife, Dolores (Jennifer Tilly) are ticked off royally. It seems this duo has already borrowed most of the grand lady's foundation money to fund a secret "puppy mill" behind the non-profits' headquarters and to foster their lavish lifestyle. To make matters worse, Bailey can not be bumped off without suspicion and, besides, he has a constant companion, Theodore (Dean Cain), an odd-duck animal behavioralist who can actually "talk" to the wealthy canine. As a front, the Pennington's employee a leading animal rights advocate, Marge (Laurie Holden) to handle the foundation's communications. Ever scheming, the Pennington's hit on the idea that they will "kidnap" Bailey and ask for ransom. Can they pull it off? This film, probably made on an ultra-slim budget, is just wonderful. First, the cast is marvelous, as Cain is a great attraction, even in glasses, and there is a subtle romance for him with the lovely Holden. Lovitz, too, does a fine job as the voice of Bailey. As for Curry and Tilly, they are a dynamic duo, with Curry doing his quietly sarcastic rants that serve as a perfect foil to Tilly's screechy explosions. All of the lesser characters, including the animals, are nice as well. Bailey's digs are a beautiful mansion with extensive grounds while the costumes and production values are quite fine, too. As for the script, it may be formulaic but it is fun, fun, fun, with enough action and suspense to tantalize the typical family audience, or indeed, anyone at all. Why don't you do what I did and plunk down a measly $5.00 bucks to purchase a copy of this winning flick? For a small investment, this films delivers big, big smiles and sighs.

I only rented this movie, because it was Dean Cain's latest, and it was 99 cent rental day at work (I didn't wish to waste a Netflix rental on it). I didn't expect much, of course...and the movie turned out as I expected...an incredibly silly kids movie with an absurd plot, but fun and charming none the less. I was mostly surprised by the movie's great cast...Tim Curry, Jennifer Tilly, Jon Lovitz, Laurie Holden, and of course, Dean Cain; not the type of cast you'd expect from a straight-to-DVD kids movie about a talking dog (well, OK, maybe you WOULD expect Dean Cain to show up in random straight-to-videos, since that's ALL he shows up in, lol). They all performed just as well as you'd expect, and I think perhaps that set the movie apart from other movies like this one. The dog was adorable, and amusing...voiced perfectly by Jon Lovitz, and everyone seemed to be having fun, so what more could you ask?Worth the time, and the 99 cents...and I think kids will like it.

I was a teacher in a Hamilton school where the crew ate their lunches between takes, as scenes from this one were being shot. I wanted to see street scenes I recognized, so I ordered in pay-per-view for my kids, 10 and 6. They seemed to like it. I didn't recognize a single Hamilton location. Moreover, I couldn't believe how few jokes were in the script, how thin the characters were, how uninspired the plot and the performances. I like Mary Walsh as a CBC satirist and she's created and played some funny newfie characters, but it's obvious that for this movie, she took the cash and handed in a quickly-written piece of doggy doo doo. I think we've seen the last of Bailey. Bow wow!

When I first found out about this movie, I didn't think that I would like it because I have never enjoyed rated G movies. I find them childish and the ending is always about family love (yuk). But this one is different, its funny, entertaining, and I never wanted to take my eyes off the screen during the entire movie. Best of all, correct me if I am wrong, no one kissed in the movie. So I could sit back and enjoy the comedy without the weird feeling of romance. There's 2 things i didn't like. 1)Why not hire pros to do the kidnap? 2)Who would make the doors of an underground illegal business so easily found and even easier to open?