Snow Buddies/Air Buddies Double Pack DVD – Patrick Cranshaw, Richard Karn

Air Buddies The canine star of Air Bud and its host of sequels is on the screen again, but this time Buddy, his girlfriend Molly and their human owners Noah and Henry have their hands and paws full with a litter of five mischievous puppies that talk. From Budderball who’s obsessed with food, to the meditating Bud-Dha and the dirt-loving Mudbud, each of the puppies is as unique as a sibling can be. When it comes time to adopt the young puppies into new families, humans and dogs alike are distraught and the puppies decide to run away. Enter a spoiled rich boy named Bartleby who wants Air Bud as a birthday present, a dim-witted cousin, and a doltish thug employed by Bartleby’s father, and mayhem prevails as Buddy and Molly get dog-napped and Noah, Henry, and the runway puppies all set out to rescue them. As the chase winds over the river, through the woods, to the drive in movie, and straight through the farmyard, slapstick comedy and satire reig! n and the whole gang learns an important lesson about the value of teamwork, love, and courage. While children ages 3 to 10 will delight in the capers of these cute talking puppies, most adults will find the plot predictable and the action less than riveting. Talent includes Don Knotts, Richard Karn, and Michael Clarke Duncan. –Tami Horiuchi Snow Buddies The Buddies puppies have been a great team since birth and now that Buddha, Mudbud, Rosebud, Budderball, and B’Dawg have all been adopted by various well-matched families throughout Fernfield Washington, they’ve each developed a comfortable routine with their new owners. After being chastised by Ms. Mittens (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg) for chasing her kitten, B’Dawg and the rest of the Buddies meet up in the park for a game of ball, but Budderball leads them astray after spotting a truck full of ice cream. What none of them expects after their all-you-can-eat ice cream binge is that they will soon end up parachute dropped into Alaska with what’s left of the ice cream shipment. After a night spent alone in a strangely white and very cold world, they are befriended by a young husky dog named Shasta (voiced by Dylan Sprouse) whose young owner Adam (Dominic Scott Kay) wants nothing more in life than to assemble a sled dog team and compete in a dogsled race across Alaska. Assuming that the Buddies are the answer to Adam’s prayers for a sled dog team, Shasta convinces the Buddies to race and enlists the legendary sled dog Talon (voiced by Kris Kristofferson) to train them all, while Adam pours over his father’s old sledding journal and single-handedly constructs a sled that’s the perfect size for him and his team. Adam secretly enters the race against his father’s wishes and thus begins a perilous, but exhilarating journey that teaches everyone involved a lot about teamwork, faith, and the importance of helping others. While many aspects of this film are completely unbelievable, the talking Buddies are adorable, the plot is significantly improved over the movie’s predecessor Air Buddies, and the wholesome message will appeal to children and adults alike. –Tami Horiuchi