Snow Dogs
The Film
The uplifting Disney template is applied to another story (originally a novel), which sees a Miami Dentist (Gooding Jr) searching for himself in the wastes of Alaska with a team of huskies.
The Sight & Sound
Both the picture and stereo sound are pretty good — not that you wouldn’t expect it from a company of Disney’s backing, although the whole disc was terribly quiet.
The Extras
If you like the movie, the three documentaries will interest you — on the actors, dogs and production design & locations.
The commentary by director Brian Levant and producer Jordan Kerner is lively and engaging and will help keep you awake if the movie is enough to do the opposite.
There’s a bit of interesting backstory to the production — references to actual world events make you appreciate the process (how they filmed on the tarmac of a small airport prior to September 11 but never would have been allowed to after, for example).
A game where you drive a snowmobile in search of your dogs showed interactive promise, but whether it’s a region or compatibility thing, it refused to respond despite several attempts.
The Worth
Non Disney fans know better than to watch a Disney film, so don’t watch it without being prepared to stomach the requisite swelling music, popcorn-Capra ending and inanely simplistic morals. Likewise, the extras are only if the movie interests you.
2 out of 5