A brother and sister live with their umpteenth set of foster parents. They hide their pet - a small dog - because the foster parents don't want to know about it. When the dog runs away they follow it and find their way into an old abandoned building. To their surprise it is not completely abandoned but actually lived in by a number of dogs. Soon after that an idea comes to life.

And from there the story rolls on in a typical Disney style children's film where evil is evil and good is good and anything else is easily forgotten. As as adult I wasn't overly impressed with the film but the kid I took to see it loved it - and that's good. The target audience for the film must be kids in the age range 6 to 12 or so. The things that happen are fun to watch (at least the very most of the time) and although the acting capabilities of the younger players leaves something to be desired it is not bad enough to turn the film into a complete waste of tape.

All in all, it features a good number of laughs, a few tear drops and surely a lot of hard work - and a cast that is clearly liking to play the roles they were cast for.

5 out of 10 dogs barking in the night

Andi (Emma Roberts) and her brother Bruce (Jake T. Austin) are foster kids staying with the annoying Scudders (Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon). Their social worker Bernie (Don Cheadle) has a hard time placing them together. They befriend a stray dog they call Friday. One night on the run from the cops, they run into an abandoned hotel where they discover a couple more strays. The duo try to create a home for homeless dogs with the help of Dave (Johnny Simmons),Heather (Kyla Pratt),and Mark (Troy Gentile).

There is a very sweet and poignant story here. The foster kids don't really have a home, and neither do the stray dogs. Their parallel plights make for a great heart breaking story. However this is strictly a kiddie movie. I don't have a major problem with that. Although there are quite a few poop jokes and silly kiddie moments.

This really is one of those duh! titles about what it is about, and it was so obviously a film made for families and dog lovers, it had moderate reviews from critics and sounded like it could be fun, directed by Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid). Basically in Central City, Louisiana, orphans Andi (Aquamarine's Emma Roberts) and Bruce (Jake T. Austin) have gone from one foster home to another for some time, social worker Bernie Wilkins (Don Cheadle) finds them new foster parents, they are uncaring Lois Scudder (Lisa Kudrow) and her untalented wannabe rock star husband Carl (Kevin Dillon). Andi and Bruce are strictly forbidden from bringing animals into their new home, but they are secretly caring for their adorable Jack Russell Terrier dog named Friday, they were originally willing to risk everything to look after their dog, but they know that he needs a place to stay out of sight. One night while on the run from police officers Andi and Bruce stumble into a huge abandoned hotel across their street and use this as the ideal shelter for their dog, soon enough they are joined by more dogs from the neighbourhood who have escaped the pound. The hotel soon becomes a paradise for the many breeds of stray dogs, and thanks to the ingenious engineering of Bruce there are many gadgets and activated systems to clean up after and feed the canine guests, they have help along the way from new friends from the pet shop, Heather (Doctor Dolittle's Kyla Pratt) and Dave (The Perks of Being a Wallflower's Johnny Simmons). Of course the dogs are not completely safe in the hotel, their barking gets the attention of the neighbours, and the dog catchers do eventually find and capture all the furry friends, but in the end Bernie helps the city see what good Andi and Bruce are doing for the many stray dogs of the city, and the end of the film sees an official Hotel for Dogs in business. Also starring Troy Gentile as Mark and Robinne Lee as Carol Wilkins. Roberts and Austin are likable as the young leading stars helping the dozens of mutts, Cheadle is fine but perhaps odd big star casting, and Kudrow nd Dillon get their moments as the mean and daft foster parents, it is a very simple story of children doing good helping dogs who don't have homes and saving them from the nasty dog catchers, there is a fair amount of slapstick to keep you entertained, and plenty of mischief, it is a fun family comedy. Worth watching!