I thought the movie was cute.....although I am an adult. My yellow Labrador Retriever was used as a back up in the film. One reviewer posted it was a Golden Retriever, however it was actually a Labrador. My dog is in the scene in the beginning where he is looking out the living room window. Thus was my first introduction to a children's TV movie, but I thought it was well done and the child actors did a good job. I did think the movie would be longer in length than it was. The story line was OK, but there didn't seem to be enough interaction between the actors and the dog.

"Rufus" is a very recent television film that runs for 42 minutes and stars a cast of upcoming teen actors in the core roles. Unfortunately, these do not have a great deal of talent and that refers particularly to the actor who plays the title character. The story is very generic for kids films these days, nothing we haven't seen already and it was done better most of the time. The fantasy aspect is about a dog who turns into a boy. The drama is about another boy who has no friends at his new school, but of course, he quickly grows affections for a girl and there are slight indicators of romance. I also found it painful how this film tries to be so diverse with the girl being Asian and the White boy having a Black dad apparently. In terms of the story, there is really nothing good in here. A mysterious amulet gets the kids into contact with a couple criminals, but they are just way too clumsy. Also, maybe the worst thing about this film, I felt it does not really have heart or emotion in ti and it's certainly on the pathetic side how this film fails at being funny despite trying so hard and even worse how it takes itself so seriously during the dramatic moments. This is nothing your kids should see and if they really decide to turn this pilot episode into a series, I will not watch it. Thumbs down.

I honestly have no respect for Jace Norman whatsoever, he's a generic tween actor that will be forgotten in a couple of years. I expect what he's in is bad, but this proceeded my expectations. The plot is very cliché'd. It's about this necklace that can turn you into a human? i don't know much on since the movie doesn't and we meet our bland and text book new student being a nobody from Texas, hey at least they didn't make him a stereotype, they just made him bland. Trying to impress the textbook crush played by Haley Tju, who i also didn't like. My same reasons for Jace except more forgettable. Rufus is the golden retriever, while walking him they find that necklace i said before. It turns him into a human, when taking it off it turned him back to normal. In fact there's a scene where the dad comes in and yet doesn't show him. Why? it';s not like he's going to say no to it. I can tell up to that, because the rest is unnecessary boring filler, the only jokes are "Ha ha get it, he's a dog in a humans body" and etc. The climax is when Textbook new kid gets kidnapped and textbook climax happens a fake out death and a happy ending. Oh wait a squirrel is talking to Mr Black because that was his boss, what?