Snow Dogs

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 01 18 (USA)

UPC: 786936184914

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Suitable for Children, Adult Humor]

Summary: Two Oscar-winning actors add a family-oriented comedy to their resumes with this Disney-produced arctic adventure. Snow Dogs stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as Ted Brooks, a Florida-dwelling dentist with a successful chain of offices and a comfy, poolside lifestyle. All this changes, however, when he finds out that he was actually adopted as a child, and that his birth mother has died and left him an inheritance in her home state of Alaska, of all places. After arriving in the snow-bound clime, Ted learns that he has been willed a pack of cutely named sled dogs: Demon, Diesel, Dutchess, Nana, Mack, Scooper, Sniff, and Yodel. Problem is, the town's premiere sled-dogger, Thunder Jack (James Coburn), wants the pack for himself, and encourages Ted to go back to his tropical environs. But with a major sled-dog race looming, Ted's inspired to learn the ropes, as it were, and prove himself worthy of his birth mother's inheritance -- any way he can. Snow Dogs was directed by Jingle All the Way's Brian Levant and features some animatronic dog effects by Jim Henson's Creature Shop; the script was very loosely adapted from popular author Gary Paulsen's nonfiction book Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Features: Deleted and extended scenes
"Ted's Arctic Challenge" set-top game
Three featurettes: "Going to the Dogs," "Chillin' With the Actors," and "Tolketna on Ice"
Audio commentary with director Brian Levant and producer Jordan Kerner
DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Full-screen (1.33:1)
French-language track: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Snow Dogs

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/14/2002

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DTS Digital Theater Systems, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 99 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Opening Titles/Dr. Brooks [4:07]
2. "You're Adopted" [3:35]
3. Trip to Alaska [4:27]
4. Lucy's Will [5:46]
5. Inventory [5:22]
6. Dogs [3:18]
7. Looking for Answers [9:07]
8. Mush Master [1:43]
9. Father and Son [2:53]
10. Alpha Male [1:12]
11. Mushing Lessons [3:42]
12. Nice Day for a Drive [3:19]
13. A Place to Think [3:22]
14. Bear Fan [4:27]
15. On Ice [2:52]
16. A Crazy Dream [1:36]
17. Thunder Jack's Story [3:16]
18. The Hidden Truth [5:14]
19. Arctic Storm [:52]
20. Race for Survival [1:33]
21. Jack's Confession [5:40]
22. Finishing the Race [1:04]
23. The Last Man In [3:59]
24. A Dentist in Tolketna/End Credits [4:40]

Derek Armstrong

No review of Snow Dogs would be complete without a couple obligatory words bemoaning how far Cuba Gooding Jr. has fallen since Jerry Maguire. It's possible Gooding never wanted to uphold the reputation of Oscar winner, and accepted being on a downward slide since that career pinnacle. But it's doubtful he imagined himself scrambling through the Alaskan wilderness, over-emoting like a buffoon, eyes and mouth fighting to see which could open the widest. Such slouching toward stereotypes is a disturbing trend in Disney movies, though the premise itself might be more directly responsible for turning the film into a walking punch line. To be sure, Gooding gives it his all, but Snow Dogs may have needed less than that to work. For the youngest children, just giving the dogs facial expressions might be enough. But older ones will probably find it square at best. Since this is Disney, the movie is assembled with a certain tidy competence and at least a minimum of good cheer; another Disney byproduct is that it deals with an orphan type seeking out his long-lost parentage, part of an ongoing thematic preoccupation. And sure, it's nice to empower Alaska as a demographic, as well as the tragically ignored sport of dog sledding. But unless you're a Star Trek fan peeking in to see Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) as Gooding's mother, mush onward. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Tommy Swerdlow  Screenwriter 
John Debney  Composer (Music Score) 
Jordan Kerner  Producer 
Brian Levant  Director 
Casey Grant  Executive Producer 
Casey Grant  Producer 
Michael Goldberg  Screenwriter 
Jim Kouf  Screenwriter 
Mark Gibson  Screenwriter 
Philip Halprin  Screenwriter 
Christine Whitaker  Executive Producer 
Cuba Gooding, Jr.  Actor 
James Coburn  Actor 
Sisqo  Actor 
Nichelle Nichols  Actor 
Joanna Bacalso  Actor 
Graham Greene  Actor 
Brian Doyle-Murray  Actor 
M. Emmet Walsh  Actor 
Jean-Michel Pare  Actor 
Michael Bolton  Actor 

Country: USA