Review: Netflix’s ‘Dog Gone Trouble’ Only Worth The Trouble For Younger Kids
Jun 1, 2021, 9:24 AM | Updated: Jun 11, 2021, 6:50 am
SALT LAKE CITY — Sometimes a movie marketed as one for parents and children turns out to be a movie just for the little ones to enjoy and for the parents to simply endure. Netflix’s newly-released animated movie “Dog Gone Trouble” doesn’t quite drop to that level, but it also doesn’t reach any great heights of storytelling or comedy, either.
The movie was directed by Kevin Johnson (who also headed up an animated version of “The Jungle Book” in 2014) and actually released in theaters in Canada a couple of years ago but was picked up by Netflix for U.S. distribution. It features the voices of Big Sean, Lucy Hale, Pamela Adlon and musicians Snoop Dogg and Jason Mraz.
“Dog Gone Trouble” tells the tale of a pampered pooch named Trouble (Big Sean) whose ultra-wealthy elderly owner Sarah Vanderwhoozie (voiced by Betty White) has spared no expense in providing him with all the comforts money can buy — including an entire staff (butler, maid, life coach, cook, etc) dedicated to his every need. But his life is turned upside down when Sarah passes away and her greedy niece and nephew (Marissa Winokur & Joel McHale) show up to hopefully claim the inheritance.
There’s a catch, though: They have to care for Trouble for a week before the estate can be inherited. They niece and nephew are not thrilled about this, and it only worsens when Trouble accidentally gets into a moving truck and finds himself lost in the big city.
From there Trouble must actually learn some life skills in order to get along with other dogs, fend off a pack of dance-fighting squirrels, and avoid a human who communicates with animals (Wilmer Valderrama in probably the funniest part of the movie) who was hired by the niece and nephew to find him. Along the way Trouble meets up with a struggling singer-turned-pizza-delivery-driver named Zoe (Hale) who has nothing, but at least seems to love him like his late owner did.
It’s a pretty straightforward tale that has some occasional funny moments, but it’s not very original. It also has a whole lot of characters to keep track of — including what may be the first time that rapper Snoop Dogg has played an actual dog. The animation was done by Vanguard Animation and is not quite as polished as some of the larger studio releases.
But probably the best thing about “Dog Gone Trouble” is that it’s safe for any age (it’s rated TV-Y7 with nothing worse than some bodily function humor) so parents can put this on Netflix on one TV for the younger kids and not worry about content, while they watch something else on another TV. I give it one out of four stars for any adults who would watch it, but my younger children liked it a lot so I’ll be generous and say three out of four for young kids.
Hopefully you & your family found this review helpful! Andy Farnsworth is the movie and pop culture guy for the KSL 5 Today morning news show and also hosts the Fan Effect podcast for KSL NewsRadio. Check out some of his other in-depth reviews of movies and streaming TV series on KSLTV.com