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DVD Features
- DVD Release Date: February 3, 2009
- 1.78:1 Widescreen (Enhanced for 16×9 televisions)
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- French and Spanish Language Tracks
- Subtitles: Closed Captioned
- Suggested Retail Price: $29.99
The Movie
Space Buddies is the third in the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buddies series. So far, we’ve seen Air Buddies released in 2006, and Snow Buddies released in 2008. The Buddies are, of course, the offspring of the basketball playing Golden Retriever made famous in Disney’s 1997 film Air Bud. Between that film’s release and 2002, 3 more Air Bud films were released; Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998) in theaters and Air Bud: World Pup (2000) and Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch (2002) on home video. This makes the Bud and Buddies series the longest-running series in Disney history. That’s right, more than everyone’s favorite VW, Herbie.
Having never actually seen any of the previous seven films, it behooved me as a Disney nut and a parent to check out Space Buddies. Joining me in my screening was my 10 year-old daughter, Samantha. She is a big animal lover, and a fan of the previous Buddies films. After all, what self respecting fourth-grade girl could resist adorable talking puppies? Mr. Ed, Babe, and Charlotte’s Web aside (right…you didn’t cry at the end of Charlotte’s Web? OK), I’ve never been a fan of talking animal movies, but I figured I’d see what all the fuss is about.
The Space Buddies prove they have the right stuff. © WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.
We join our intrepid puppies on a regular morning in their neighborhood. Their beloved owners are heading off to school, and Buddha, the all wise, almost Zen master pup, decides to enlist his siblings in an adventure. it seems all the children are going on a field trip to see the launch of a new type of unmanned spacecraft. Buddha’s intention is to sneak on the school bus and accompany his master on the trip. One by one we meet the pooches and their respective child masters. Rosebud is the only girl of the litter. Budderball loves to eat. Mudbud loves to get dirty and B-Dawg is a devotee of hip-hop and bling. The pooches successfully stow away on the school bus and their adventure begins.
Upon arrival at Vision Enterprises Mission Control, we meet the human leads of our cast. Pi, played by Bill Fagerbakke (most recognizable from TV’s Coach and the voice of Patrick on Spongebob Squarepants.) is the oddball head designer of the spacecraft, who inexplicably keeps his pet ferret, Gravity (voiced by comedienne Amy Sedaris) in his breast pocket at all times. The villain of the story appears in the character of Dr. Finkel (Alias‘ Kevin Weisman). Finkel is Pi’s rival and is determined to sabotage the mission in order to embarrass his colleague and presumably take control of the project. Finkel drains the spacecraft of much needed fuel, setting the scene for an aborted mission and embarrassment of Pi and his company’s dream of space travel for the common traveler and their families (including, of course, dogs). Unbeknownst to anyone in Mission Control, our pack of puppies sneak onto the spacecraft, are shut inside and are launched into space. So far, I’m with the movie, my 10 year-old is laughing and the puppies are certainly cute. I’m a little annoyed by the B-Dawg character, he reminds of of someone from way out in the country who thinks they’re a hip rap star, but in reality, their lingo is forced and about a year or two out of date. Other than that, I’m holding in.
Dr. Finkel’s plan comes to fruition as Mission Control realizes that the craft is almost out of fuel, and unless they are able to refuel, the mission must abort. Conveniently, there is a derelict Russian space station out there, believed to have plummeted to earth, but in reality kept in orbit secretly by the Russian government for several years. It’s here we meet two new characters; Yuri, the wacky cosmonaut who’s obviously been in space way too long, played by Diedrich Bader (easily recognizable as Oswald from The Drew Carey Show.) and Spudnick, (voiced by Hannah Montana’s Jason Earles) the Bull Terrier dogmonaut (think Spuds MacKenzie in a space suit) who misses his boy Sasha back home in Russia. The Buddies are almost trapped on the space station by Yuri, who believes they are a gift from the Americans, and worse, almost incinerated as the station explodes due to a gas leak. Yuri escapes in a pod, and Spudnick decides to go with the Buddies, hoping to get home at long last to his boy owner.
Spudnick, the dogmonaut. © WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.
The Buddies are then sent, not home, but where else? To the Moon, where they don spacesuits and helmets and… wait for it… go for a walk on the lunar surface! The ship’s cameras catch them on their moonwalk (featuring the obligatory Michael Jackson moonwalk joke) and their presence is finally alerted to the folks back home at Mission Control.
Rosebud, ready for her moonwalk. © WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.
The children see their beloved pets are trapped in outer space, and priority one becomes getting our four legged friends home safely. Remember Gravity, the pet ferret? Her role increases in importance as she communicates with the pups and guides them back to their ship and helps them blast off for home. Of course, one last curve must be thrown at our brave dogmonauts. Dr. Finkel tries one last time to sabotage the mission and guides the craft into the path of a meteor shower, damaging the ship’s ability to be guided from Earth. How do you fix a crippled antenna in space? With a spacewalk, of course. Budderball bravely volunteers for the mission and while in space, his jetpack fails. Fear not though, Budderball consumed the spacecraft’s entire supply of bean burritos earlier and he… releases flatulence into his suit (I kid you not), which leaks out through his jet pack and propels him toward the broken antenna. My 6 year-old boys would’ve loved that! My daughter and I thought it was a little gross. The ship is saved, and the Buddies and Spudnick are on their way home. Yuri, however, comes in contact with the ship in his out-of-control escape pod. The puppies work together, still being guided by the ferret back on Earth and Yuri and the Buddies land safely on terra firma, and all are reunited with their respectful owners, especially after all these years, Spudnick and Sasha. Dr. Finkel is ratted out by Buddha’s owner, Sam, and is taken away (“…and I would’ve gotten away with it, if it weren’t for you meddling kids and your dog”. No, he didn’t really say that, but I couldn’t resist).
The Goodies
There aren’t so many goodies this time around, four total. There’s a blooper reel, a behind- the- scenes, the obligatory Disney Channel tween star music video and a pop up facts feature.
Buddy Bloopers
These are a cute mix of created bloopers, ala Pixar, and what seem like some genuine puppy mishaps. We both laughed out loud when one pup bites off Diedrich Bader’s costume beard. Overall, this was a fun feature.
“Dancing in the Moonlight”
A remake of the 1973 one-hit-wonder by King Harvest performed by Disney Channel star Alyson Stoner. Alyson’s probably best known for her recent role as Caitlyn in Camp Rock, but also appeared on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody as Max and performs the voice of Isabella (Hey Phineas, Whatcha’ doin’?) on Phineas and Ferb.
DisneyPedia: The Buddies Guide to Space Travel
This was more enjoyable than I had anticipated. it features a solid mix of behind-the-scenes footage, working with the dogs, and space travel facts and trivia. Well produced and informative, especially for my daughter.
Buddy Facts
This is a feature that can be turned on or off, much like audio commentary on other DVD’s. in this case, a line or two of text comes up on the bottom of your screen, featuring a nice mix of backgrounds on the actors, as well as dog information and space facts and trivia. Not a bad feature at all. If it doesn’t distract your kids, I would recommend turning it on to keep a parent interested.
Blu-Ray Features
I did not view this film on Blu-ray, so I can’t comment on the quality of the added features exclusive to the Blu-ray format. They consist of a Buddy Finder scavenger hunt, locating 100 items scattered within the movie and access to Disney’s BD-Live Network. This requires a BD-Live player and an internet connection. Here you can chat live with other connected parties, send mail and play a real-time online trivia game. Activation and parental authorization is required for minors.
Notable Sneak Peeks are for The Pinocchio 75th Anniversary Platinum Edition and you guessed it, the 9th Buddies movie due out for the next holiday season, Santa Buddies.
Audio, Video and Interface
No qualms or concerns with the audio or video quality. I especially liked the menu screen with the puppies floating around in zero gravity, one of the cuter moments in the film.
The Final Evaluation
Here’s the thing. I don’t think Space Buddies is being purchased by the adult Disney fans out there for personal viewing. This is definitely a purchase for the kids, and my 10 year-old is really on the threshold of not caring about a movie like this. If the puppies weren’t so darn cute, she might not have watched with me at all. But they are, and that goes a long way. I watch a lot of cartoons and kid movies, and most of them, I can usually sit through and find the redeeming qualities. Space Buddies tested my patience a little. Sure it was completely preposterous, I mean, talking puppies and walking on the moon and all that. But, suspension of disbelief is an important thing that makes a kid movie watchable by an adult. This is purely kid stuff, and I wish, considering the company’s substantial history in this realm, that it was a little more watchable for me. I realize I’m not the intended audience, but I watch the movies that my kids watch, and sometimes I need them to be a little more geared to me as well as my kids. it’s a fine line to walk, but i’ve seen it walked more successfully than this. Buy it for the kids, they’ll love it.
