“Play as one; think as one; win as one. The road to glory is walked as a pack.”
This could be the motto for many team sports, but in this case the motto belongs to an unlikely team of animated dogs in K9 World Cup. Originally filmed in Spanish, it has been dubbed for English audiences.
When the Mexicanine Republic becomes the host for the World Canine Cup, coach Lapata has one last chance to put together the best team in history; but the new warriors will have to learn to put aside their differences and work as a team, to show their country that ultimate football glory is more than just a dream.
Soccer is not my favourite sport, but I am open minded and enjoy animated films very much. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this film for a number of reasons…
Firstly, the animation is sloppy – the movement was not clean and seemed to jerk or buffer at times. After watching Disney animation this is retrograde technique. The texturing of each figure is very basic and reminded me of a cheap Xbox game.
Secondly, the story is bogged down by too many plot lines – boy meets girl, the unscrupulous dog trying to lure players away from the team, the older and wiser players from yesteryear and the young dog who wants to be a soccer star, to mention a few. This made the overall story confusing at times.
But my biggest criticism is the attempt from the filmmaker to treat an animated film as though it was a “live” film. It did not transfer successfully.
The final soccer game left me cold. I don’t watch soccer, but know enough to appreciate it. However, it seemed to go on forever and lost my attention.
K9 World Cup is definitely not a winner for me. Even a voice over by Sean Astin could not save this one.
Reviewed by Barry Hill
Twitter: @kinesguy
Rating out of 10: 3
K9 World Cup will be released on DVD on 18 May 2016.