Spooky Buddies (2011)

Directed by: Robert Vince | 85 minutes | family | Actors: Tucker Albrizzi, Diedrich Bader, Ameko Eks Mass Carroll, Max Charles, Tim Conway, Jennifer Elise Cox, Elisa Donovan, Mitchell Duffield, Pat Finn, Hardy Gatlin, Nico Ghisi, Skyler Gisondo, Tatiana Gudegast, G. Hannelius, Nicholas Harrison Rance Howard, Jake Johnson, Frankie Jonas, Nels Lennarson, Stuart Malinowski, Sierra McCormick, Brendan Meyer, Ty Panitz, Tom Pickett, Debra Jo Rupp, Sage Ryan, Dylan Sprayberry, Ryan Stiles, Michael Teigen, Frank C. Turner, Harland Williams, Charles Henry Wyson

The five adorable Golden Retriever puppies, Buddha, Mudbud, Rosebud, B-Dawg and Budderball, return for their sixth adventure. This time the story isn’t set during Christmas (‘Santa Buddies’ or ‘The Search for Santa Paws’) or in outer space (‘Space Buddies’), but during Halloween. In the village of Fernfield is a beautiful, but now very dilapidated old house, which was the scene of a terrible event in the 1930s. None of the living villagers wants to talk about it and nobody really knows for sure whether it really happened. Maybe it’s a legend?

The opening scene, which takes place in 1937 Fernfield, has already proven that nothing could be further from the truth. The evil wizard Warwick lives in the stately home. He plans to conquer the world. To do this, he must sacrifice the souls of five puppies to the Howlloween Hound, an aggressive-looking Rottweiler with green eyes and supernatural powers. This terrifying dog comes straight from the underworld, and his breath, which looks like gray-black smoke, turns everything around him to petrification. Something goes wrong during the spell: Warwick is interrupted just before he has reached his goal by the villagers, who have long realized that he is up to something. Young Joseph Johnson tries to save his puppy Pip, but in vain. However, Warwick and the Howlloween Hound fail to complete the spell, as Pip continues to haunt the house as a ghost.

Seventy-five years later, not coincidentally on Halloween, the owners of the five Buddies are on a school field trip. The teacher tells about the legend and reminds the children to turn in their report on the history of Fernfield on Monday. Completely panicked, Billy shouts that his will be about the legend of the Howlloween Hound (but of course he hasn’t prepared anything yet). His friends go with him to the sheriff, who is very helpful and even Warwick’s staff, once evidence, but now just an obstruction in an unsolved case, gives Billy.

Meanwhile, Billy’s little dog B-Dawg bluffs that he dares to enter the haunted house and mention Howlloween Hound’s name three times (because you seem to be able to summon it that way). Once inside, he encounters Pip’s ghost and mistakes it for the Howlloween Hound. He accidentally manages to release the real ghost of the Howlloween Hound, who, together with Warwick, search for a way to complete the spell.

The plot of ‘Spooky Buddies’ this time – for a ‘Buddies’ movie – is very well put together. Of course the film is predictable and not too complicated, after all it is a family film, but the running time is well divided between the adventures of the Buddies and those of the children. As in previous films, speaking of the dogs seems a bit strange, but the young viewers won’t care. It is simply very funny to see the funny dogs in Halloween costumes walking around in style with those of their owners. Harland Williams deserves a special mention for his over-the-top portrayal of Warwick. He gives shape to this uberengerd with visible pleasure. And Frankendude (a surfer dude dressed as Frankenstein) also knows how to bring a smile (especially note the tombstone he carries with him).

The music of ‘Spooky Buddies’ is very reminiscent of the ‘Harry Potter’ movies. By the way, the whole film carries the atmosphere of the series about the world’s most popular sorcerer’s apprentice, but that also means that ‘Spooky Buddies’ is not really suitable viewing material for the very young. Although ‘Spooky Buddies’ has been given the All Ages viewing guide, some scenes are just too creepy. That’s why parents thinking about letting their kids watch this movie “Spooky Buddies” will have to do a viewing themselves to determine if they’ll stick with it.