The Dog Who Saved Halloween (2011)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Ted and Stewey are out of jail. George, Belinda, Zeus and the kids are the new neighbors and it is all they can do to keep from seeming weird. For example, George is out with Zeus the dog, who is scared of thunder, and as a result, George makes a mess of neighbor Eli's Halloween decorations. And the whole neighborhood witnesses George's shame. Eli is a creepy old man resembling Christopher Lloyd with a mean dog Medusa, who never seems to interact with others and appears to have mysterious things going on in his house.In addition to breaking Eli's Halloween decorations, George appears to have broken something else because he is walking around with a cast or something on his leg and using a cane. For some odd reason, he can get around just fine to investigate the mystery of Eli Cole, but he can't go to work. Belinda goes to work and the kids go to school, leaving George and Zeus to get themselves in various situations.And what about Ted and Stewey? It is the job of demanding Chloe Cloverfield to see that they do everything right or they're going back to jail. And not for a short time, if she has anything to say about it. Their first job? Cleaning up at a dog park. Apparently this job is done for you if you bring your dog, so you don't have to do it yourself.George finds his way into Eli's house with Zeus. Eli is not too happy about the situation, but he is friendly in his own creepy way. He doesn't reveal too much other than the fact he is a college professor, but George knows some generators have been stolen from a local power plant and he has seen similar looking equipment delivered to Eli's house.The neighborhood watch meeting goes pretty much as one might expect. The neighbors aren't any more impressed with the Bannisters than they were the other night. By the way, the gorgeous Monique has lost her beloved black cat Rufus. And one has to wonder how the nerdy web designer Max ended up married to HER?So how will George solve the mystery? There is another attempt to investigate with his kids. But it's not enough. As you might expect, he takes Zeus to the dog park, where he meets you-know-who. Stewey wants to go straight and become a butcher, but Ted believes he can't succeed in life without doing something illegal which he knows he can get away with if he can just escape afterward. While in yoga class (another of Cloverfield's requirements) they discuss the details, much to the dismay of the instructor, while an actual dog does downward dog.The big Halloween party is the Bannisters' next chance to impress the neighbors. But what is George doing? You guessed it. So now we'll finally find out what the big mystery is and have some fun along the way.This is a kids' movie. There are numerous jokes involving bodily functions (both human and dog), some cartoon violence that includes incidents which could kill a person in real life, and one scene where Monica is showing too much of her chest. But it's appropriate family viewing. It would have to be because no one but kids under 12 could possibly be that impressed with it.Joey Diaz is a great moron who gives the standout performance as Stewey. Dean Cain has done better in his career but he's entertaining enough.Lance Henriksen gives a quality performance (for this material), at least in his first scenes with George, just creepy enough but not truly scary, so there's no concern for the kids.Elisa Donovan is the voice of reason and out of the remaining actors playing humans comes the closest to giving a good performance.Ariana George as Shelley the Spider, Eli's pet, gives us an interesting performance. Only other animals can hear her. Mayim Bialik as Medusa is also pretty good, more angry Blossom than shy scientist Amy.Zeus is well trained, but his voice actor is nothing to write home about, except in one memorable scene where the dog tries on Halloween costumes.Mindy Sterling (as Grandma) is not Lily Tomlin. There is a resemblance but Tomlin is better.The visual effects are effective but not too scary for kids. Eli's house is appropriately scary with moving suits of armor, paintings with eyes that move, and the other kids' horror movie stereotypes.As for the solution to the big mystery, and the heroic deed of Zeus: only kids will be impressed. The only reason for the movie's name is to connect it with what appear to be numerous sequels to the first one. I can hardly wait.Oh, well, I had a good time.

The Dog Who Saved Halloween was a big hit on our family movie night!!! We really enjoyed hearing our four Grandkids laugh so hard. We had bought "The Dog Who Saved Christmas, which the kids loved, so when we saw "The Dog Who Saved Halloween" we couldn't resist buying the newest "Dog" movie.Elisa Donovan is a fantastic actress as well as Gary Valentine. Dean Cain has been a favorite since he appeared in Superman, and his partner Joey Diaz is a hoot! Our Grandkids love the dog and think he is brilliant opening the refrigerator and bringing the drink to his owner, really impressed them! Our five year old Grand daughter asked us to buy the DVD of "The Dog Who Saved Halloween" as a present for her four year old cousin! Because its not that scary and it was really funny! We have decided to buy extra copies for Halloween gifts.

Having seen both "The Dog Who Saved Christmas" and "The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation" on ABC Family, I was very surprised to see this sequel on the shelf in the store. I didn't know they were making another one! Since we'd enjoyed the previous ones, and my kids love Halloween, I brought it home to show the family to watch, with no idea what to expect.Needless to say, we enjoyed it. In fact, my kids said it was their favorite one in the series. I'd have to agree.In this one, George Bannister breaks his leg while exploring his creepy neighbor's yard and then spends the rest of the movie with his dog Zeus trying to figure out what's really going on. He finally hires the two robbers from the first two films to break in and prove to his family that he's not crazy.My kids loved this movie!! It's creepy without being scary and a whole lot of fun. Unlike the previous two films, this one actually has real special effects. There's bats and ghosts, and… while I could have done without the poop and fart jokes and the dog's mouth still doesn't move… the kids really got a kick out of the action. Joey Lawrence replaces Mario Lopez this time and does an okay job. I really liked Mayim Bialik as the evil dog next door. I kept waiting for some "Blossom" references, but I didn't notice any.Unlike some family films, my husband and I could sit through it. We enjoyed the "Rear Window" references and got a kick out of seeing Lance Henriksen in a kids movie.If your kids love dogs and Halloween, definitely check this one out.

There's not much to this film. It's simply a saccharine sweet animal ABC Family Channel type movie.Being that I love both dogs, AND Halloween, I figured this would be right up my alley. It's pretty much what I expected to see; Dad's crazy, misinterpreted motives and misunderstandings, cute dog is the smartest living being in the whole movie… Pretty much any standard cliché laid down by Walt Disney is brought to the fore here… But the results aren't all that unpleasant. I felt Elisa Donovan made the movie… For me, anyhow. The two bumbling burglars also brought chuckles. Apparently this is third in a "Dog Who Saved (insert holiday here)____________ Movies. While I did like this film, I won't go out of my way to find the others in this series.I guess I should note that I don't have any children. I might have given this film a much higher rating had I watched it with the eyes of a parent. But it is what it is.Happy Halloween!