Eight Below

Eight Below is a pleasant family movie that surprisingly isn’t about people being rescued by heroic dogs, as you would expect from the still photographs and Disney’s clichéd production. Frank Marshall again plays a fair game and, besides the children, the cute pups and one comedic character (Jason Biggs), the film doesn’t irritate the adult intellect or those allergic to sentimentality. There is a tolerable amount of that here and the actors turn in better-than-average performances in the context of the genre. The scenes with the solo dogs are handled superbly and the natural scenery is beautiful. Only the film’s runtime is a bit of a problem – it runs out of steam in the second third. But if your heart softens merely at the sight of the sad dog eyes, you'll give Eight Below four stars. (2006-05-24)