Starring: Tim Allen, Robert Downey Jr, Kristin Davis
Cert: U
Released: 31st March 2006

Dave Douglas (Allen) is due to be the city's next district attorney but such prestige comes with doesn't come easily and requires intense dedication. Douglas concentrates most of his waking hours, and some of those when he should be sleeping, to the job. Much to the chagrin and detriment of his wife, Rebecca (Davis) and two children, none of whom he 'understands any more'.

His latest case is to be his ultimate one. He is prosecuting Justin Forrester, his daughter's favourite teacher, for burning down a research laboratory run by Dr Kozak (Downey Jr). Forrester claims that not only is he innocent but the facility is actually carrying out illegal genetic research on animals.

So Douglas's daughter, Carly, doesn't like him because he won't listen. His son, Josh, is failing his schoolwork so he gets kicked out of the American football team so he never has to tell his father that he's rubbish at it. His wife feels neglected and can see the family getting torn apart. Douglas is so intent on his career that he doesn't see that anything is wrong.

During a protest outside the laboratory an overly clever dog (having been dog-napped from a Tibetan monastery) escapes and ends up at the Douglas' family home where he bite Douglas on the hand. This infects his body with little CGI doggy cells which begin to alter his DNA.

The next day sees Douglas invigorated, excited about everything and his senses heightened. This affects his performance in the courtroom and shortly after, he turns into a dog. Exactly the same sheepdog as the one that bit him.

As a dog he is able to bond with his kids and see their life behind the scenes; he quickly realises how much he is missing out on and how much he is wrecking the family but is it too late to do anything about it?

That night he returns to his human form and as the case progresses he learns the link between Dr Kozak, the mysterious dog and his own condition and vows to put everything right.

1. Disney.
2. Remake.
3. Tim Allen.

If that's not enough to keep you away then I don't know what other elements should be necessary other than if the Wayans brothers wrote it.

Oh, alright. It's not actually that bad and since the original was in 1959 then the majority of people won't know any different or actually care.

It's a run of the mill Disney family film meaning the kids (up to their teens) will probably enjoy it and most parents will be able to sit through it if they lower their standards and switch the brain off.

The troubled family is an overused device and as soon as it's shown then the rest of the film's storyline falls into predictable place. I suppose it could be seen as one less thing to worry about. The stroppy teen girl just wants to be loved and the brainiac boy would rather do drama than sports. Both children are rebellious enough to do really stupid things like fail school and breaking into private property but they're also gushy enough to turn into the perfect family unit come the resolution. Who needs Supernanny?

Allen is pretty amusing that morning after the infection as the dogginess starts taking over, after that it becomes a one-joke premise with Allen narrating his thoughts over the dog action and CGI allowing each species to perform outside of its natural restrictions. The computer animation almost takes first place in the humour ranking as they are responsible for a number of other dog-animal crossovers. If you've seen the trailer and the snake then this is, by far, the second creepiest thing I've seen in a long time. The first is the bull-frog.

Downey Jr takes a relapse from his acting renaissance and hams it up bigger than a panto villain. If this guy did exist in reality then he would have been arrested on sight and made a considerably shorter film.

It's all amusing enough and competently performed to provide a distraction for a couple of hours but is instantly forgettable after leaving the cinema.