What Do The Critics Say?
"The plot is straight out of the James Bond casebook, and the film owes much of its look and ideas to classic entries in that franchise, including a villainous sidekick akin to Jaws and Roger Moore voicing the feline equivalent of M. Sly tributes to other more adult films including The Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and The Fly. Thanks to improvements in CGI and a sympathetic canine lead, this is a slight improvement on the original, with the prize for the best voice acting going to Bette Midler, who lends Kitty a devilish rasp that's one of the joys of the film."
Sue Robinson RADIO TIMES
"This is a busy espionage feature with talking pets, so children may well like it. Although there's humour in the film aimed at the grown-ups who accompany those children, the movie is for the under-10 crowd."
Liz Braun JAM! MOVIES
"Bond references abound, as well they should. The hideouts are subterranean, the gizmos are awesome, and Roger Moore voices a bow-tied cat named Lazenby. There's a henchman with shiny metal teeth. The brassy music grooves and swoons over slinky opening credits. Exploits every cliché with abundant good cheer and an admirable, unapologetic ridiculousness. Cats & Dogs is a howler."
Amy Biancolli HOUSTON CHRONICLE
"The sky-flying action is tremendous, and the animal spies' high tech gadgetry is consistently entertaining. The obligatory message: in this case about working together despite differences, as seen when canine and feline forces unite to save humanity; is genuine and not hammered home, making this far more fun than it is formulaic. Sure, the scenarios and jokes are obvious and it might not make you laugh, but it'll at least make you smile."
Annette Basile FILMINK
"I like this one a lot more and I think it has more of a spy movie spoof going on. The first one had Matrix ninja fights and battles but it was within a domestic world. This one just makes the animals full on spies. I love the Bond-y opening titles with cats and dogs in fiery silhouette. They’ve basically got a Q lab and Kitty Galore is Blowfeld, with a pet mouse of her own. They spoof movies really well. The Silence of the Lambs homage has some good cat gags."
Fred Topel CN MAGAZINE
"Nine years after the first Cats and Dogs film comes this sequel, subtitled The Revenge Of Kitty Galore. You don’t need to have seen the original to catch up with the basic premise, particularly as not many of the characters remain. For some reason, this sequel had some scathing reviews in the States, but I rather liked it and I reckon children will enjoy it."
Roz Laws BIRMINGHAM POST
"What works best in the plot is the buddy-cop angle with Nolte and Marsden's canines. There's an obvious 48 Hours/Lethal Weapon vibe between the two dogs and the rapport feels genuine. Kids who have yet to outgrow the allure of every single talking-animal comedy will enjoy the silly jokes. Goofy animal adventure is full of first-grade humor."
Sandie Angulo Chen COMMON SENSE MEDIA
"Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore may be in 3-D, but it's the satirical vibe that makes the live-action kids comedy pop. In its more coy moments, "Cats & Dogs" pilfers famous bits from other movies as well. When the spy gang visits an underground prison to get inside information from an inmate, they approach a glass-walled cell that reveals Mr. Tinkles, the villain from the 2001 original, "Cats & Dogs". There are other connections to the first edition, but this one is actually better than the original."
Sue Pierman MILWAUKEE SENTINEL
The Inside Story
People the world over adore their pets. And why not? Just look at them: a steady old sheepdog with a shaggy mop of hair, a soft, sweet purring kitten: simple creatures, so loyal and loving, and all they ask from us is our protection and support. Clueless humans! Guess again. "That picture of domestic harmony is just what they want you to see," claims director Brad Peyton, who happily exposes the true story of backyard politics in "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore". The truth is those placid furballs idling on the sofa and goofy mutts chasing their tails are really the paw-soldiers of a vast underground network of canine and feline covert agents, surveillance experts and four-legged assassins of every stripe. Heroes from both sides of the fence, they risk their lives to protect our way of life and uphold the balance of power between mankind’s most trusted and fiercely competitive animal companions: cats and dogs. It’s the thin furry line between life as we know it and pure howling madness. "Once people bond with their pets and get to know their personalities, it’s easy to imagine them doing things when we’re not around," Peyton suggests. "This movie is just an extension of that idea: that animals have their own secret lives. Of course, we take it a lot further; we have them using jet packs and rocket cars. But it all comes from that basic curiosity that I think most of us have had at one time or another, wondering what our cats and dogs really do all day. It’s why candid clips of animals caught in the act of being themselves are so popular on the Internet." Producer Andrew Lazar, who first introduced audiences worldwide to this battleground of paws and claws in the 2001 hit comedy "Cats & Dogs", says, "The idea that these animals are living such actively outrageous lives right under our noses is what makes it so irresistible. Cats and dogs can save the world while people go about their business completely unaware of how close they came to disaster." With that in mind, the everyday activities of the average pet take on new meaning. Christina Applegate, who stars as the voice of MEOWS agent Catherine, says, "It’s absolutely absurd and fantastic, this whole secret high-tech world they have and yet it’s presented as perfectly normal. It’s as if all that other stuff they do: like purring and doing tricks, or tearing up the yard; is just designed to distract us from what’s really going on." And what’s really going on is nothing less than the endless war between two species at odds since their earliest ancestors sought out the first caveman’s campfire. But now, one renegade agent has upped the ante. Determined to not only break the bond between dogs and humans forever but also pit feline against feline, Kitty Galore’s bid for global domination could jeopardize the future of all creatures, four and two-legged alike. "We don’t mean to misrepresent our feline friends as all bad," says producer Polly Johnsen. "It’s just this one cat who isn’t quite with the program. As a result, cats and dogs must unite against a common foe and, in fact, it’s another cat, Catherine, who emerges as a true hero by being the first to extend her paw to the other side." "We thought it was time for them to team up as equals," Lazar notes. Longtime James Bond fan Peyton likens this uneasy partnership to that of the classic cold-war era scenarios in which "Bond and MI-6 are forced to collaborate with the Russians to get the über-villain who’s threatening them both. They still don’t like each other, but somehow they make it work." His appreciation for the Bond mystique led Peyton to cast Roger Moore in a cameo role as the voice of MEOWS Chief Tab Lazenby: a tuxedo cat, of course.
And Chief Tab Lazenby is just one of the many film and pop-culture jokes offered to the adults in the audience. "We’ve got everything you’d want in an action adventure: jet-pack chases, explosions, fights, flights, spies, more explosions, and underground tunnels, Peyton ("Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl") revealed. "It just happens to be with talking animals." Citing differences in scope between this film and its predecessor, Lazar ("Cats & Dogs" & "Get Smart") says, "This is bigger in every respect: the action, the set pieces, the sheer number of animals in each scene. We’ll get a full view of DOG Headquarters this time and look inside the rival cat agency, MEOWS. The bigger landscapes allowed our trainers to use the environments to get more sophisticated performances from the animal actors and that, combined with advances in computer animation, means more fluid action on screen." Some of it will even bounce, claw and leap off the screen, thanks to a 3D presentation designed for kids and family audiences, which includes numerous breakout moments throughout the story. "This is the perfect kind of comic action that lends itself so well to a 3D experience, and that just adds to the fun," Johnsen ("Cop Out") says. This new adventure also boasts a larger company of characters, reuniting some fan favorites from the first film while adding new players on both sides of the conflict. With so many vocal roles to cast, Cohen Johnsen relcounts, "We looked for distinctive voices that would project a personality and immediately set that individual apart. In the early stages of production, when we didn’t have the animals’ mouth movements in yet, it was just the voices that let us know who was talking." That should have audiences thinking, "that’s a Beagle," or "that’s a Russian Blue." "We were so fortunate to work with this fantastic group of actors," says Peyton (who directed the 2004 animated short film "A Tale of Bad Luck"). "With this kind of a movie, actors rarely get a chance to interact in person, but even so, their work came together in a way that created its own chemistry and in that sense they truly were an ensemble." "It’s a lot of fun," says 2007 Hollywood Film Award winner James Marsden ("Hairspray"), who voices rookie agent Diggs. "This movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, although, at the same time, the characters behave as if the fate of the world was really at stake. Dogs using headsets and computer keyboards, throwing grenades; it’s all played straight and that’s what makes it so funny. The more determined they are, the crazier it is." Well, that’s certainly one point of view, though Bette Midler might disagree. Starring as the voice of Kitty Galore, the scariest, loopiest, fur-challenged feline to swipe a claw since the maniacal Mr Tinkles earned a permanent time-out at Doggie Alcatraz. "I’ve been asked if I believe people are going to like this movie because they think their animals talk to them, " Midler ("Drowning Mona" & "The First Wives Club") said. "Well, I don’t know about anyone else but I had an animal that did talk to me. She was a Jack Russell terrier, a dear friend of mine, and she spoke in complete sentences." While Kitty Galore grooms herself for greatness, another drama plays out on the streets of San Francisco. S.F.P.D. K-9 Officer Diggs (a German Shepherd with leadership issues) is about to execute the latest in a series of screw-ups that will land him back in the concrete kennel. "He has the best intentions in the world but not the best judgment," says Marsden, who played John Wilkes Booth in 2001's "Zoolander". "Wanting to be the maverick, the hero, he recklessly takes the lead in every situation: with disastrous consequences."
"He knows he keeps messing up, but he just can’t help himself," Chris O’Donnell, who plays Diggs compassionate human handler S.F.P.D. Officer, Shane. Diggs finally comes un-stuck while attending an incident in which used car impresario Crazy Carlito is living up to his name, by going nuts at his car lot, threatening to blow it all up. Against orders, Diggs lunges at Carlito’s backside for a massive chomp, prompting the startled salesman to toss his detonator skyward: with unfortunate consequences. Paul Rodriguez, who stars as Crazy Carlito, recalls, "Right before he was going to bite me, I called for the stunt double. That poor guy had to get bitten and all I had to do was act like it. Sure, they had padding but that German Shepherd had some big teeth." Rodriguez, who voiced Chico in "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", remembers the dogs trainer saying, "Go for it, make me believe it." Diggs gets a reprieve when he gets an offer from elite, secret, canine protection agency DOG, recruits him. Lou, a bespectacled Beagle voiced by Neil Patrick Harris ("Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay"), was once the pup trainee from "Cats & Dogs". Now a proud papa with a litter of his own, he’s top dog at HQ. "He takes the job very seriously. Lou assigns the missions. He’s also like the watch commander, saying 'let’s go, let’s get this done. You can’t have an ego when you’re doing this. Ultimately, Lou’s voice is pretty much my own, but with more of an official, businesslike tone." 1992 Golden Globe winner Nick Nolte ("The Prince Of Tides"), who provided the voice for Vincent in "Over the Hedge" (2006) (voice) was tapped for the gruff Anatolian Shepherd, Butch. "Since it’s a human story played out by dogs, you have to think in human terms: meaning, Butch is primarily a cop. He’s an old-timer, he’s been around and has a certain loping pace." Meanwhile, watching everyone’s back is Peek, a resourceful Chinese Crested with a keen nose among noses, the agency’s tech and communications expert. Much like Bond’s Q, Peek has a gizmo for every occasion. "Peek is the geek," quips Joe Pantoliano, reprising his role from the first film as the voice of the tiny technician. "He’s always at the center of things in the lab, developing gadgets the dogs use in the field." Also reprising his original role is 2000 Black Reel Award winner Michael Clarke Duncan ("The Green Mile") as the voice of stalwart Sheepdog Sam. Sam can hardly see through the thatch of hair over his eyes, causing his feline adversaries to underestimate him, but this veteran DOG agent can hear the crunch of kibble or the click of tiny claws a mile away. "I have a cat and three dogs, so this probably goes on at my house," says Duncan, of the ongoing campaign between Sam and his pack against their lifelong foes. Katt Williams ("Norbit") provides the voice for the gregarious pigeon, Seamus. The number one informant on Kitty’s elusive plans, he is taken into protective custody (more or less) and becomes an unofficial member of the team. But to get inside Kitty’s twisted mind they’ll have to talk to someone equally twisted: Mr Tinkles, now under heavy guard in the canine corridor at Alcatraz. Reprising the role of the ferocious feline is 2001, '03 & '06 Screen Actors Guild Awards winner Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace"), who was surprised at how easy it was to get back into the character he made famous in "Cats & Dogs". "I remembered the voice instantly," says Hayes. "Then I checked YouTube to see if there were any clips of Mr Tinkles and, sure enough, there were. There were a few homages, too. The idea of cats working with dogs clearly doesn’t compute in Mr Tinkles brain. It doesn’t sit well with him at all."
What's It All About?
 In the age-old battle between cats and dogs, one crazed feline has taken things a paw too far. Kitty Galore, formerly an agent for cat spy organization MEOWS, has gone rogue and hatched a diabolical plan to not only bring her canine enemies to heel, but take down her former kitty comrades and make the world her scratching post with a dastardly plan to use an orbiting satellite and broadcast 'the call of the wild', which will have a desvestating effect on mans best friend. But Kitty Galore has not counted on DOG Headquarters new recruit, former SF Law Enforcement dog squad member, Diggs. Despite his record, Diggs may be just what the DOG's need when it comes to saving the day. Facing an unprecedented threat, cats and dogs will be forced to join forces for the first time in history in an unlikely alliance to save themselves and their humans, from global cat-astrophe. It’s time for the fur to fly.
The Verdict
"Those who enjoyed "Cats & Dogs" way back in 2001, will be pleased to know that the sequel "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" exceeds the original on every level. And you'd expect that. After all, nearly a decade has passed and in that time massive advancements have been made in the use of CGI and of course, 3D. Those who aren't fans of 3D, can see see "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" in standard format, which I suspect is nearly as good as the 3D version. Why? Because the the production team didn't go for a 3D over-kill. It's very subtle and unlike "Clash Of The Titans", wasn't an after thought. Parents who are taking children to either film, won't be bored. There are huge nods to the 007 films and there are plenty of laughs in the interesting story-line. Kids and 'kids at heart' will be thoroughly entertained by the talking animals including Scottish cat assassins, Angus & Duncan MacDougall and a chatty pigeon named, Seamus. And Mr Tinkles is back with a nod to another iconic film. Sure to delight children, parents and anyone who's still a kid at heart. Will make a great family day out. 3 1/2 STARS."
The Production Team
Director
Writers
Characters
Producers
Original Music
Cinematography
Film Editor
Casting
Production Design
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Costume Design
Makeup Dept
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Brad Peyton
Ron J. Friedman & Steve Bencich
John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Polly Cohen Johnsen & Andrew Lazar
Christopher Lennertz
Steven Poster
Julie Rogers
Kristy Carlson
Rusty Smith
Sandi Tanaka
Carol Lavallee
Tish Monaghan
Kathleen P Campbell
Who Is Playing Who?
Chris O'Donnell
James Marsden
Nick Nolte
Christina Applegate
Katt Williams
Bette Midler
Neil Patrick Harris
Sean Hayes
Wallace Shawn
Roger Moore
Joe Pantoliano
Jack McBrayer
Fred Armisen
Kiernan Shipka
Paul Rodriguez
Elizabeth Daily
Phil LaMarr
Michael Beattie
Jeff Bennett
Malcolm Stewart
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Shane
Diggs
Butch
Catherine
Seamus
Kitty Galore
Lou
Mr Tinkles
Calico
Tab Lazenby
Peek
Chuck
Friedrich
Little Girl
Crazy Carlito
Scrumptious/Patches/Catherine's Niece
Paws/Cat Spy Analyst
Angus MacDougall
Duncan MacDougall
Captain Flemming
Run Time 85 minutes
Rated G [AUST]
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