Cinema Review - Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

How often do sequels surpass it's predecessor? From what i've experienced over the years, sadly not very often.

The old age battle between household pets continues in The Revenge of Kitty Galore, centering around Kitty Galore, a former spy of an organisation named MEOWS (original, huh?). Scorned by the enemy, Kitty sets out with the diabolical plan of turning all humans against man's best friend. That is until lackluster police dog Diggs is hired by a covert agency to stop Kitty in her dirty paw tracks, but must team with another cat to accomplish such a risky task.

Toy Story 2, Pixar's smash-hit sequel, proved that said theory can be obliterated by merely providing viewers with a family flick that doesn't demean it's demographic, all-the-while maintaining a partially intelligent script with grounded, well-rounded characters. Sadly, Kitty Galore is absent almost everything that is guaranteed to stray from the curse of the sequels.

What once may have started out as original, light and frothy fun has simply become tarnished with what Brad Peyton has brought to the screen. Eighty-two minutes inexplicably feel long and overdrawn, gradually becoming tedious and often insulting with it's lackluster comedy and dodgy, overused CGI. Still, was a film of Kitty Galore's stature made for anybody over the age of 7?

While the consistent parody of James Bond may appeal to the parents unwillingly dragged along (most probably by the scruff of the neck), fodder such as this will undoubtedly entrance the younger audience with the plentiful supply of fart jokes and litter of adorable faces to gawk over. James Marsden, Christina Applegate and Bette Midler are a few of the stars lending their voices, but are almost entirely unrecognizable due to their furry counterparts blocking pretty much any identity that belongs to them.

The Goldeneye-like opening credits are brilliant, along with a scene involving a dozen felines under the influence of what i can only assume are a dodgy batch of Felix's Chicken Bites. Unfortunately, this charmless drivel is about as memorable as Chris O'Donnell's acting career (yes, he does star in Kitty and yes, he is astoundingly awful). With Toy Story 3 still floating around in cinemas, this will drown before it's given a chance to breathe.

1.5/5