Good Boy!

One of those generic family comedies of which there is no shortage at this time of year, Good Boy! follows Owen Baker (Liam Aiken, not bad). A dispirited lad in sunny suburbia, young Owen's life is brightened by the arrival of a terrier called Hubble (voiced by the annoyingly perky Broderick). The twist is that Hubble has been despatched from the Sirius AKA the Dog Star to sort out the wheat from the chaff in dog terms and discover why dogs have become subservient to man when the plan was always the other way round. His mission is to find the waster hounds (of which there are no shortage) and send them back home in a global recall.

Although 28-year-old grumpy men are unlikely to be the targeted demographic of Good Boy!, the film is hampered significantly by its laboured effects (the work experience kids appeared to have supplied most of FX), while the script lacks energy and is overly reliant on the more syrupy aspects of the child and dog relationship. Avoid unless you've got very young kids, obsessed by the notion that their pet may indeed be from outer space.