Grade: B

Verdict: Maybe not purrfect, but tail-waggingly fun.

Details: Starring Jeff Goldblum and Elizabeth Perkins. Directed by Lawrence Guterman. Rated PG for animal action and humor. One hour, 27 min.

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: Oh, foolish humans!

All these years we've thought that dogs were just goofy, tail-wagging friends whose main pursuits were drinking out of toilets and sniffing each other. And that cats were aloof, lazy, sun-loving lumps of furry self-obsession.

But now, the truth: While they've humored us by fetching newspapers and batting around balls of yarn, the species have secretly waged war against each other in a struggle for world domination.

That's the silly, satisfying plot of “Cats & Dogs,” a family fantasy blending real animals with animatronic puppets and computer animation. We learn the history of this four-legged feud through Lou, a beagle puppy (voiced by Toby Maguire). He unwittingly lands at the ground-zero battle zone when he's taken home by Mrs. Brody (Elizabeth Perkins), whose husband is a distracted inventor (Jeff Goldblum). Professor's Brody's latest project? Creating a cure for people with allergies to dogs.

As the cats see it, that would put the canines — who once upon a time freed mankind from kitty domination — at a great advantage. So, led by a white fluffball of a Persian cat named Mr. Tinkles (Sean Hayes, having vocal fun playing the effete villain), the cats target the Brody home, hoping to destroy the professor's lab.

That calls for defensive action by an underground (literally) network of dog operatives, including Anatolian shepherd Butch (Alec Baldwin), sheepdog Sam (Michael Clarke Duncan), Peek (Joe Pantoliano), a Chinese Crested, and the Saluki hound Ivy (Susan Sarandon), an old flame of Butch's. So, in addition to trying to get the Brody's boy Scott (Alexander Pollock) to love him, lil' Lou finds himself recruited as a junior operative. Soon he's facing off against Siamese Ninjas, traitorous mice, and a Russian cat equipped with shrapnel bombs and lethal blades.

For the most part, the mix of special effects and animal actors is smooth, the action quick and witty. What gives the flick its extra kick is the ways the battling cats and dogs have to keep their true activities secret from the oblivious humans. (“Quick, Sam, smell my butt,” Peek tells his pal, trying to look casual when Mrs. Brody shows up unexpectedly.)

On the downside, the movie contains a few too many echoes of the “Toy Story” flicks. (“You have your very own boy to play with,” one of Lou's canine friends points out.) Also, after “Spy Kids” and the “Austin Powers” series, this whimsical variation on the 007 theme seems a little familiar.

And is it just me, or is it hard to keep from wondering how these animals created so many cool gadgets when they don't have thumbs?

I know, I know. You're not supposed to think about things like that while watching a movie like this. And for the most part, “Cats & Dogs” is a terrific bit of summer escapism, filled with enough cleverness to keep both kids and grownups in a giggly mood.

Where else do you get to see an arch-villain who suffers the indignities of being a cute kitty-cat? Like being made to wear adorable clothes. In the words of Mr. Tinkles, “Evil does not wear a bonnet!”

— Steve Murray, Cox News Service