The house is at the center of “Dog Gone Trouble”, about a lost dog whose owner has just died. But there is nothing out of the ordinary about this animated family feature from Netflix.
It starts with Trouble (voiced by Big Sean) living lavishly in a mansion, far from the street dog lifestyle. After her wealthy mate Mrs. Sarah Vanderwhoozie (the ever-delicious Betty White, who is criminally wasted here) passes away, her greedy niece (Marissa Jaret Winokur) and nephew (Joel McHale) rush to get their hands on Mrs. Business. by Vanderwhoozie. The trap? If they want his riches, they also have to take care of his diva bitch.
Kevin Johnson’s film set-up is promising: a charming montage of Trouble and Ms. Vanderwhoozie. Crazy, money-hungry parents wish you had more screen time. Then a touching scene with Trouble pawing at extravagant paintings by Mrs. Vanderwhoozie and wondering, in tears, why she left.
Once Trouble finds himself in what he calls the “jungle” – for other dogs, including soul-crushed loner Rousey (Pamela Adlon), it’s the street – “Dog Gone Trouble” s’ installs in the territory of exaggerated sheep films. We essentially get a story about the true meaning of the house, explored with more emotional sophistication in other dog-centric animated films (“Bolt,” from 2008, comes to mind). But another of her themes – a civilization without a label, briefly touched on when Rousey mocks Trouble after calling her an “outside dog” – is much more engaging and culturally contemporary.
Instead, the movie stays basic, until a central character named Zoe (Lucy Hale) shares a common external bond with Trouble. She’s a boring, aspiring Millennial musician, and her Memoji look does her – and other humans, similarly-animated – a disservice.
A group of dancing squirrels making some very suggestive nutty jokes is about as funny as it gets. Elsewhere, Snoop Dogg voices a Doberman named Snoop, who raps a plot recap as the credits roll. The fact that the movie could boil down to just simple, silly dog rap indicates that there wasn’t much story here to begin with.
Dog got in trouble
Unclassified. Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes. Watch on Netflix.
