A new animated film by Kevin Donovan, this boasts a very starry voice cast in this tale of a dog and a cat who find themselves heading on an adventure when their family – mum, dad, two children and gramps – up and move to Salt Lake City.
Of course, Gracie (dog) and Pedro (cat) only tolerate each other (“we use the same pet door, but defiinitely not family”). But adversity makes them uneasy fellows of fortune, and their efforts to return to their family after a showpiece action piece on the airport baggage sorter gets them involved with all sorts of odd people along the way.
This is (almost) a musical, but decides to ditch that idea early on after a couple of numbers. The story, such as it is, is fairly entertaining, but stretched out to 85 minutes, and the animation is, at best, indifferent. Gracie and Pedro does not have the unique gene which makes it stand out from many other family animated films out there.
The opposites attract buddy movie has been done so many times before, including with animals. Even the bits where the crafty cat utilises his cunning and his teeth don’t really hit, and the background doesn’t gel well with the main animation, making the film as a whole hard to watch at times.
However, there are moments where this film does display a clever twist or turn, and the main characters of Gracie and Pedro at least display characteristics that make them both interesting, and recognisably canine or feline. The animation of the family and other humans, though, looks odd, especially around the arms.
I liked the goldfish narrator, but think more could have been made both of this, and the fish’s relationship with his fellow pets. And why does Gracie have what look like human teeth when the detail of Pedro’s teeth is so spot on?
The standout voices are Alicia Silverstone and Bill Nighy, but I’ll leave you to spot them. As for Bianca Alongi’s singing Sophie, you can have too much of a good thing.
Gracie and Pedro comes to UK cinemas on the 9 Aug.