Firehouse Dog

Theatrical Release Date: 2007 04 04 (USA)

UPC: 024543450689

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Adult Language, Scatological Humor]

Summary: Hollywood's hottest canine commodity has gotten hopelessly lost after wandering away from his master, and now the former movie star has become the beacon of hope for a small-town firehouse on the verge of collapse. Rex is the dog that every child in America has fallen in love with. A pompous A-list barker whose list of perks overshadows that of even the most esteemed Hollywood actor, Rex 's fate takes an unexpected turn when a skydiving stunt goes awry and his handlers assume that their cash-canine has perished as a result. Now, despite being very much alive, the former doggie diva has become just another mangy stray wandering the streets in search of a home. Lost in an unfamiliar city and pursued by animal control, Rex seeks refuge in a run down building that soon goes up in flames. Shane Fahey (Josh Hutcherson) is a rebellious preteen whose single-parent father, Connor (Bruce Greenwood), is struggling to care for his son and cope with the death of his brother, the former captain of the local fire department. Pressed with the responsibility of getting the crumbling inner-city fire house back in working order while helping his 12-year-old son deal with the untimely loss of a beloved family member, Connor just can't seem to convince Shane to keep his grades up and stop ditching school. Upon rescuing the unidentified Rex from the four-alarm blaze, Connor attempts to teach young Shane the meaning of responsibility by charging him with the task of locating the dog's owner. Despite an initial clash of personalities, the headstrong mutt and the disobedient adolescent soon form a strong bond. Subsequently adopted as the scrappy fire department's new mascot, Rex proves just the catalyst needed to reenergize the dejected firefighters and reform the once-tenuous bond between father and son. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Children's/Family

Features: Dog Treats featurettes
Firehouse Dog: A True Hollywoof Story featurette
Deleted scenes with optional director's commentary
Storyboard-to-screen comparison with optional director's commentary
Alternate opening scene animatic with optional director/writers/producers commentary
Fox Movie Channel presents Casting Session
Humane Society OSA with Josh Hutcherson
Dogster photo montage
Canine star poster gallery
Theatrical trailer

Firehouse Dog

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/31/2007

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 111 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Firehouse Dog [FS]
1. Temperamental Star [6:22]
2. Playing Hooky [5:23]
3. Dangerous Rescue [8:04]
4. Dog Duty [5:59]
5. This Is My House [3:10]
6. Loss of a Legend [4:15]
7. Surprise Entry [7:56]
8. Responsilbility [3:54]
9. Lifesaving Rescue [10:23]
10. Rest in Peace [2:43]
11. Firehouse Dog [3:23]
12. Real Strength [7:31]
13. Trey Claims His Dog [6:09]
14. Underhanded Plan [2:25]
15. True Calling [3:17]
16. Decoy Fire [3:32]
17. Firebug [2:48]
18. Dewey to the Rescue [5:46]
19. Saving Shane [1:55]
20. Justice [1:36]
21. Award Ceremony [1:34]
22. Wonder Dog [1:52]
23. The New Dogpatch [2:37]
24. My Dog/End Titles [8:23]

Derek Armstrong

If you're justifiably wondering how a movie called Firehouse Dog clocks in at a whopping 111 minutes, consider all they're trying to squeeze in: a boy and his dog movie, a boy and his dad movie, a Hollywood satire, a workplace buddy comedy, a mystery surrounding arson, and a romantic angle featuring a love interest for almost every character, including the dog. Somehow, it works -- sort of, eventually. Firehouse Dog sputters out of the gate, when the titular pooch -- a canine actor named Rexxx, known for his signature hairpiece -- survives a fall out of an airplane, then wanders into the precinct of a local firehouse. Here he participates in numerous slapstick shenanigans, many of which involve digitally grafting facial expressions on the dog, which range from merely goofy to downright grotesque. During this inauspicious first act, there's a manufactured hatred between the fire captain's son (Josh Hutcherson) and Rexxx, straight out of any romantic comedy where the romantic leads initially despise each other. But Todd Holland's unwieldy mess starts to take shape sometime in the second act, and that's thanks in large part to the focus on the father-son story, touchingly executed by two solid actors: Hutcherson and Bruce Greenwood. Greenwood has too much gravitas to keep getting stuck in kids movies (he also appeared in Racing Stripes and Eight Below), but here at least he's reunited with Steven Culp, after Culp and Greenwood both memorably played Kennedy brothers in the considerably more adult-oriented Thirteen Days. In the second act the arson story also takes hold, and the dog actually starts growing on us - first tolerable, then sympathetic. The Hollywood satire stuff never works that well, except for the names of the fake movies Rexxx stars in, such as Jurassic Bark and The Fast and the Furriest. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Todd Holland  Director 
Mike Werb  Producer 
Mike Werb  Screenwriter 
Michael Colleary  Producer 
Michael Colleary  Screenwriter 
Jeff Cardoni  Composer (Music Score) 
Claire-Dee Lim  Screenwriter 
Josh Hutcherson  Actor 
Bruce Greenwood  Actor 
Dash Mihok  Actor 
Steven Culp  Actor 
Bill Nunn  Actor 
Bree Turner  Actor 
Scotch Ellis Loring  Actor 
Mayte Garcia  Actor 
Teddy Sears  Actor 
Arwen  Actor 
Hannah Lochner  Actor 
Arwen  Actor 
Claudette Mink  Actor 
Jean-Michel Frodon  Actor 
Jean-Michel Frodon  Actor 
Eamon Rohan  Actor 
Eamon Rohan  Actor 
Stryder  Actor 
Stryder  Actor 

Country: USA