Snow Dogs (2002) – Movie Review

Okay, hands up.
Who else seriously considered biting a dog
on the ear cause of this movie?
Hey everybody, welcome to Mainely Movies.
Today Iím gonna be talking about the 2002
Disney family-comedy film: Snow Dogs.
If youíre new here, please consider subscribing
for a variety of movie-related content like
reviews, ranked lists, and trailer reactions.
All of my reviews include a breakdown of the
pros and cons, my rating, and some tailored
film recommendations, so be sure to watch
through to the end of this video for all of
that extra content.
Snow Dogs stars Cuba Gooding Jr., James Coburn,
Joanna Bacalso and was directed by Brian Levant.
Snow Dogs tells the story of Ted Brooks, a
Miami dentist played by Cuba Gooding Jr.,
whose life gets flipped upside-down with the
news that his biological mother just died
and has left him a team of sled dogs in Alaska.
Snow Dogs is one of those rare movies from
my childhood that I haven’t revisisted since
I became an adult.
In most cases, if I loved a movie when I was
a kid, I either still watch it regularly or
have at least seen it once or twice in the
last five years or so.
For some reason, that’s just not the case
with Snow

Dogs and this was my first rewatch
in about fourteen years.
Much like how movies, shows, and games from
the 90s and early 2000s got me interested
in extreme sports, films like Balto and Snow
Dogs also got me interested in dogsledding.
And while I’ve still never gone snowboardingÖ
one of these winters, I have had the opportunity
to go dogsledding a handful of times and let
me tell you, it’s not something you just pick
up.
Sorry Ted, but you wouldn’t have even been
able to get those dogs into their harnesses
on your own.
You know exactly the type of movie this is
gonna be as soon as the opening credits start
to roll.
In every name, letters have been swapped out
for wingding style images: doghouses in place
of As, paw prints instead of Os, and dog bones
for Is.
There’s no doubt that this film is clearly
geared towards kids and watching it again
now, I can see why I liked it so much back
when I was one.
It’s got an extremely emphasized fish-out-of-water
story, quite a bit of physical comedy, and,
of course, dogs.
The dogs were great back then and they’re
still great now.
Especially Nana.
So, does Snow Dogs hold up?
Sort of.
Even though nostalgia definitely has some
influence here for me, there are still aspects
of it that are kinda disappointing to me now.
A lot of the physical comedy doesn’t hit like
it did when I was a kid.
So by the third time Ted was getting dragged
around by the dogs or the fourth time somebody
slips on ice, I just wasnít all that invested.
Also, Sisqo’s character is entirely unnecessary.
Heís there purely as comedic relief that
ends up not being relief at all.
I was trying to think of a witty one-liner
that combined both novocain and thongs, but
I couldnít come up with anything.
SorryÖ so, Iíll make a nice lame reference
to one of this movieís repeated quotes instead
and say that Sisqoís character hurts more
than a tickle AND more than paying your taxes.
That’s not to say all the comedy is bad as
an adult though.
I still very much enjoyed the interactions
with the townspeople and many of the little
moments are still great, even silly stuff
like Nana doing the neck crack.
But, as an adult, it’s not really the comedy
that resonates with me on this one anymore.
Instead, the central story and emotional core
of the film is pretty sincere and a unique
take on the idea of discovering one’s own
roots.
I’m always a little surprised when I watch
a movie like this and can remember all the
scenes and little details right before they
happen: the Beetle dogsled, the tree dodging
sequence with Ted saying what every audience
member is thinking ñ ìThis is insane!î,
his eyeroll when his mom drops and breaks
the picture frame, the cookie tin rolling
through the snow, the ear bite.
I mean, I have a really good memory, but the
last time I saw this movie was literally half
of my life ago.
So I never quite know if that means I really
connected with a movie when I was younger
or if I just watched it far too many times
as a kid.
Probably a bit of both.
Alright, letís talk about the pros and cons.
Really the only non-nostalgia influenced pro
here is the story.
Despite its by-the-books trappings as a fish-out-of-water
tale, the premise is actually pretty unique.
Dogsledding isnít exactly a common film topic,
which separates this movie to begin with,
but then you mix in the adoption subplot and
all the revelations that come along with it
and you end up with a surprisingly unique
and heartfelt story underneath the thick coating
of dumb humor.
It also doesnít hurt that Ted actually has
a true character arc, which is nice to see
in a story like this.
As far as cons go, Snow Dogs has a number
of issues.
Rewatching it, I found my biggest problem
with it was the slapstick physical comedy.
A little bit sprinkled here and there would
be fine, but they just keep piling it on and
repeating gags to the point that theyíre
more boring than funny.
Kids will probably still get a kick out of
them, but all the physical comedy gags got
old pretty quick for me.
Iím sure people who didnít grow up with
the movie will be able to find a lot more
cons, but the only other major thing that
was noticeably subpar here for me was the
dialogue.
Not all of itís bad.
In fact there were some pretty good linesÖ
ìTo Thunder Jack, I leave my outhouse and
all its contents.î.
But a lot of the dialogue between Ted and
Barb and Ted and his adoptive mother Amelia
comes across as pretty stilted.
So, I want to tell you guys one personal story
related to this movie for me.
A few years ago, I went to the first annual
Bangor Comic and Toy Convention and one of
the special guests was Nichelle Nichols.
Of course everybody there was clamoring to
talk to her cause of her role on Star Trek
as Lieutenant Uhura.
But, to be completely honest, I still have
yet to see more than a stray episode or two
of Star Trek, so when I finally got a chance
to talk to her, I introduced myself and said
that my favorite role of hers was Amelia from
Snow Dogs.
And she looked a little surprised and kinda
confused for a second, but then she smiled
and said that I was the first person to mention
that movie to her in a long time.
And she didn’t say it, but I kinda got the
sense that she was glad somebody remembered
her from something other than Star Trek.
Before I give you my rating and recommendations,
I want to remind you that if you’re interested
in buying Snow Dogs or any of the other films
I mention today, I do have affiliate links
for all of them in the description below.
I get a small commission from anything you
buy using one of my links, so I’d really appreciate
if you’d use them if you’re in the market
for any of these movies.
Iím gonna give Snow Dogs 3 out of 5 paws.
Now I know what youíre thinkingÖ youíre
only giving it that high of a rating because
of nostalgia.
Iím not gonna completely deny it cause Iím
sure it did have some influence, but if you
asked 12 year old me to rate this, I probably
wouldíve given it a 4.5 soÖ take from that
what you will.
I would recommend Snow Dogs primarily to people
with kids.
I think kids up toÖ maybe 12 or 13, who like
animals, will still get a kick out of this
one.
Adults coming into this as a first-time watch
likely wonít get too much enjoyment out of
it beyond thinking itís okay for a kidís
movie, but if this is one you used to watch
as a kid, give it another shot.
It likely wonít be as good as you remembered,
but itíll still be a nice little dose of
nostalgia.
If you liked Snow Dogs, I would definitely
recommend Balto as another, more superior,
dogsled family film with some great animation
and a really heartfelt story.
If you want another good dogsled option, you
might want to check out Eight Below for something
with a slightly more serious tone.
And, if you want another early 2000s animal-based
film with somewhat similar comedy to Snow
Dogs, check out Cats & Dogs.
Alright, a few questions for you guys.
Number one: Have you seen Snow Dogs?
If so, whatíd you think of it?
And number two: Whatís your favorite movie
featuring a dentist as a main character?
Bet you thought I was gonna ask about dogsledding
movies, didnít you?
Be sure to leave your answers in the comments
below so we can get a discussion going.
Alright, so if you got some enjoyment, insight,
or information out of this review, Iíd appreciate
it if youíd hit that like button.
And, if you havenít done so already, please
hit subscribe while youíre at it, so you
can see more videos like this.
Till next time, this has been Alyssa with
Mainely Movies: The way life should be.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: