Rock Dog (2016) Reviews

• Doesn't completely rock, at the same time it's far from a dog

  TheLittleSongbird2017-11-26

  Coming from a big lifelong animation fan, 'Rock Dog' may not be on par with the best films of the best major animation studios (i.e. Disney, Pixar, Studio Ghibli), nor does it ever try to be or be anything more than it is. It's also much better than especially anything from Video Brinquedo and, although to me critics do not deserve anywhere near the over-the-top bashing they get on the internet, 'Rock Dog' is another case of liking it much more than they did and going against the grain. 'Rock Dog' is less than perfect, but for the imperfections there are it has its heart in the right place, it knows who to aim it at and really tries to appeal to all ages and it doesn't try too hard or attempt to do more than it needs to. 'Rock Dog' may not be ground-breaking in story, a good deal of it is derivative, and some of the plotting concerning the villain's plan is a bit strange and takes away at times from the rest of the story. The film is also too short, if it were twenty minutes longer it would have fleshed out the slightly underdeveloped lead character Boni more and done more with the disapproving parent cliché. However, the animation may not be mind-blowing or imaginative but it's colourful and detailed enough and at least the characters don't look ugly. The music is truly amazing and along with the supporting characters steals the show. In particular "Glorious", which lives up to its name. Writing is witty and heartfelt and while the story execution is less than perfect it goes at a bright and breezy pace, is fun, is inspiring, is well-meaning and has a heart of gold that comes over movingly. Although he could have been better fleshed out more, the lead character is an easy to relate to one. Stealing the show though is the hilarious character Angus Scattergood, a character so rich in personality and so much fun he is worthy of a solo outing of some kind. Fleetwood Yak (nostalgic adults will have a good chuckle at this) is fun too. Voice acting is good, with the best contribution coming from a note-perfect Eddie Izzard. JK Simmons is perfectly gruff as well and Luke Wilson is a likable lead. On paper, Lewis Black didn't seem right to me for a villain but he won me over, making Linnus a suitably formidable and somewhat cool villain. Mae Whitman is charming. Overall, didn't love it but liked it better than thought. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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• Much better then I had thought

  paulinapayment2017-06-03

  I saw the trailer for this, which played along with the trailer for Sing, which I think may have hurt the ratings for this partially. Both cliché movie ideas that BOTH turned out to be well done in the end. I thought I wouldn't watch either, but did, but I do find I like this movie better than Sing- primarily because of Sing being another American Idol, Got Talent, etc reminiscent flick/show and piggybacking on that old hype. Rock Dog has clichés, but it's certainly more heartfelt and uplifting, you can't help but adore Bodi's cheerful attitude and blissful innocence. (The last couple end songs were pretty good, too, which is also surprising.) I give this movie a rating of 8 / 10 because I would have preferred perhaps a few different voice actors better suited and the animation models to have more variety within species- say, the crocodiles. Not that I expect it to be as diverse as the heavily funded Zootopia, which had each shown character/background character in the film with its own character sheet and specialized design/sculpt and even gait; I just wish there had been a bit more variation in some of the designs; it makes sense, I suppose, for the sheep to be over simplified to push the purposeful trope. I digress. . . It's a simple storyline that we've seen before with simple character models/sculpts, but it's heartfelt, sometimes comedic, with a bout of passion- it's a truly good feel movie that all ages can enjoy, I recommend it for a rainy day that needs a pep talk.

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• Rock Dog Rocks Rented From Red Box

  happipuppi132017-06-18

  Despite my title I wish I could have seen this at the movies but I honestly had no idea of it's U.S. release back in February. Otherwise, I'd probably call this "Rock Dog Rocks on Big Screen Box". (Box office that is). I'll admit, I found the title alone amusing. Meaning it looked like a flop that wasn't in theaters long. Of course that's true but I gave it a chance as I'd seen most of the animated films in Red Box. It's obvious others here have their opinions in rating it less than favorably but I really don't get how anyone could not like this film. It has a solid story/script, there's funny moments along with moments that are (lightly) dramatic. Bodi's desire to be a musician, in opposition to his father and his quest to find his place in the world, granted, not an idea that hasn't been done before but for my taste, it was presented here with a truly fresh approach. He's naive' and is off to the city and runs into people much like himself who want to make music but along with it, also finds jaded, cynical characters that take advantage of him. The wolves are our resident villains, out to kidnap him to find out what the villages plans are and what to expect when they attack. (Given their drive to do this, they should have more confidence in themselves.) Angus Scattergood, especially, just wants to use Bodi's music to save his career. Bodi's original song leads Angus to taking the song and saying he wrote it. The song 'Glorious' is amazing. Falling into the vein of U2 and possibly a number of rock/pop bands that have songs with a deeper lyrical meaning than others. In short, I still can't get the song out of my head...no hurry to though. Despite 'rock' in the traditional sense not being what it used to be, the use of the 'classic rock' style, combined with a touch of today's style, makes the music absolutely original sounding. The main story gets conjoined to the plots of Bodi's village banning music and only concentrating on keeping wolves from attacking an stealing their sheep and fading rock star 'Angus Scattergood' trying to come up with a hit to save his recording contract, mesh well with the main points of the movie. That being we all search for our place to fit in, our lives and existence, as well as our actions directly affect others as well. This doesn't mean that it's wrong to think of yourself but it is to think 'only' of yourself and 'only' what you want, to the exclusion of others. Bodi, his father, Angus and even the wolves want something for themselves, be it a good or bad thing. In the end result when Angus finds his 'fire', it serves to bring about something that I can only describe as a peaceful solution and/or resolution for all. (I wont spoil that part for you.) It was also great to have Sam Elliot narrating (ala 'The Big Lebowski' style) as an elder & Yak named 'Fleetwood Yak'. The animation here is spectacular and the story is inspiring as well. Maybe those who have seen animated films like this many times don't think so, because they've gotten older or just don't get it. Being 49. I still found it all inspiring. The story, the animation and the music. Decide for yourselves ladies & gentleman if you like this movie or not. I'm not here (nor or the others) to decide that for you, just to tell you how I felt about it. Ten greatly deserved stars from me. I can only hope many others will feel the same. (END)

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• Great Music-Themed Animated Family Film

  lindseyflagg2017-05-21

  I'm not really sure where all the negative reviews for this film are coming from. I am not the biggest animated film fan AT ALL, but I really found Rock Dog to be enjoyable. The music was fun (mostly thanks to Adam Friedman), the characters were funny and generally likable, the story was creative, AND my 2-year-old niece loved it. I do love music, so for me, an animated film about music was much appreciated. I highly recommend this one, especially for families. Not sure why others don't.

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• Heartwarming with a Message!

  dancingvegan2017-02-25

  Cats and dogs instinctively do not like each other, and Bodi, the Mastiff, and a cat named Angus Scattergood, an aging rock star, were no exception at the beginning of their time together. Bodi left his home on the mountain to pursue a career in rock 'n roll, and Angus, with an inflated ego and an emancipated underweight physique, dreaded writing a new song which was so desperately needed to revive his flailing career. The animated film "Rock Dog" was not a Disney movie, nor a DreamWorks, nor any other big movie studio movie, but it worked like a dream in my eyes. Lying in our reclining seats two rows from the front, my beautiful 10-year old granddaughter (Hannah) and I laid our eyes for the next 80 minutes on the screen that projected before us. At times I cried, at times I sang (quietly) and almost all the time I was dancing with my shoulders, my feet, my hands. I LOVED this movie more than she did. Bodi's father was one that is characteristic... he wanted Bodi to follow in his footsteps, and his particular footsteps were walking back and forth guarding their mountain home from wolves. He tried and tried to train him, but Bodi wanted to be a rock 'n roll guitarist in a band. Finally, he gave in and told Bodi to go to the big city and follow his dreams. His dreams eventually became reality and his adventures that preceded involved sharply dressed wolves, a low rider black Cadillac, a bunch of colorful characters and so much more. The message of the movie was clear. Do what you need to do to make YOUR life what YOU want it to be. Don't just go with the flow or the status quo. Be yourself. Everyone exceeds at something. No two people are the same. Use your uniqueness and follow your dreams!!

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