Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! Review

The Cats & Dogs series gets a third entry that was meant to be a straight-to-video film. However, due to the lack of releases in the UK Warner Brothers has given the film a theatrical release.

Peace between cats and dogs has been achieved. But there are still forces that want to bring about conflict, leading to the formulation of the Furry Animals Rivalry Termination agency (or FART for short.) Two agents who monitor Seattle are Gwen the ginger cat (Melissa Ranch) and Roger the border collie (Max Greenfield), and on their patch is a villain who has released a signal that makes cats and dogs aggressive with each other. The pair must investigate before cats and dogs get abandoned by their humans. As the pets go on their mission, their teenage humans have their own personal issues.

The joke about the secret agency having an unfortunate acronym happened during an animated prologue and that showcased the level of humour throughout the film. This was a cheaply made film that aimed to distract 5-year-olds for 80-minutes. The scale was reduced to a few city blocks and the special effects were on the same level as Youtube videos. This CGI was cheap and obvious, like when the cat’s mouth moves and the use of Youtube videos to show cats and dogs fighting. The most hilarious effect was the obvious use of a cheap puppet to show a cockatoo driving. It looked like no one on the crew cared, which was a shame because the film ended with some behind-the-scenes footage.

Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! does have the base appeal of cute animals doing cute things. Pablo the Cockatoo (George Lopez) was shown modelling different outfits which was adorable and Gwen the cat reminded me of my ginger beast. The previous two Cats & Dogs films used a lot of CGI that hasn’t aged well, and 20^th Century Studios’ Call to the Wild earlier this year was deep into the uncanny valley. At least Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! used real domesticated animals.

As well as the animal spy antics, Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! had a teenybopper plot involving Max (Callum Seagram Airlie) and Zoe (Sarah Giles). Max was a tennis protégé who’s losing interest because of his tiger mum, whilst Zoe was an aspiring musician with self-confidence issues and about to be evicted from her apartment. It was a predictable plotline that would have fitted in a Nickelodeon or Disney Channel series, but it did give the film some grounding. This Nickelodeon/Disney Channel feel was added to by the film’s message that people should spend less time on their phones and talk to each other. Giles did seem like she was trying with her role, although she looked older than a middle schooler.

Cats & Dogs: Paws Unite might provide younger children with some entertainment, but that is a cynical film that shows some of the worst studio thinking when making a family film.