Hotel for Dogs poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Don Cheadle, Johnny Simmons, Kyla Pratt ... see more see more... , Troy Gentile , Lisa Kudrow , Kevin Dillon , Robinne Lee , Yvette Nicole Brown , Maximiliano Hernandez , Andre Ware , Jonathan Klein , Ruben Garfias

Adapted from author Lois Duncan's 1971 children's book of the same name, director Thor Freudenthal's Hotel for Dogs follows two mischievous orphans as they attempt to hide dozens of stray dogs in an a... read more read more...bandoned hotel. Disheartened by their new guardians' announcement that pets are strictly forbidden, 16-year-old Andi (Emma Roberts) and her younger brother, Bruce (Jake T. Austin), race to find a home for their loyal dog Friday. Fortunately for Friday, there's an abandoned hotel just around the corner, and Bruce possesses just the kind of mechanical smarts needed to transform the rundown inn into a four-star retreat for canines. For a while, Friday and his friends have it made, but when the neighbors start to get suspicious, Andi and Bruce resort to every trick in the book in order to prevent their secret from being discovered. Don Cheadle, Emma Roberts, and Lisa Kudrow star in a family-friendly film penned by screenwriter Jeff Lowell. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

56% liked it

161,588 ratings

Critics

46% liked it

114 critics

PG, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Thor Freudenthal

Release Date: January 16, 2009

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: April 28, 2009

Get It:

Stats: 10,922 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs" Hotel for Dogs Hotel for Dogs
Upload a Photo | View All Hotel for Dogs Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (10,922)

  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    May 23, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Bienvenue aux chiens perdus! (Welcome to the lost dogs!)

    Good family movie! For all you dog lover's out there this movie will satisfy your thirst. Decent story with some funny moments and a happy ending.

    Siblings Andi (Emma Roberts) and Bruce (Jake T. Austin) are orphans, and t... read morehey live with wannabe rock-star foster parents Lois and Carl Scudder (Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon). Due to the foster parents awful treatment, the kids and their beloved dog Friday (who is hidden from the foster parents) spend their days on the streets. To get money for food for themselves and the dog they deceive a pawn shop, but are caught. Their social worker Bernie (Don Cheadle) reprimands them, but helps them to minimize the damage.

    One day while out on the streets as usual, they witness a store being robbed. The police seeing the two kids standing nearby accuse them as being the robbers and here starts a silly chase all over town. The kids eventually hide in an old abandoned hotel but are spooked when they here footsteps and chairs falling over. Come to find out the hotel is occupied by two dogs.

    The following day the kids gather up all the food from their foster parents pantry and refrigerator and secretly take the food to the hotel for the dogs. That's when they get the idea to turn the hotel into a home for the three dogs and any other strays they can find. They are joined by a boy named Dave (Johnny Simmons), a girl named Heather (Kyla Pratt), (both of whom work at a pet store). And later joined by a kid who lives nearby named Mark (Troy Gentile).

    The kids rescue about 20 or so dogs. Bruce invents and constructs many ingenious machines using parts he steals from his foster parents, to help feed the dogs and provide sanitary facilities, exercise and entertainment for them. The dogs are quick in learning how to use the machines.

    Later on Bernie announces to them they can move from the foster home they hate to a new one that is a few hours away. Even though this may be their last chance to be placed in a foster home together, they decline as they care too much about the dogs to abandon them, but they cannot tell Bernie this reason because they might be forbidden to continue their care for the dogs.

    One night while Andi and Dave are at a party (which turns into a disaster when Andi ends up getting punch on her dress, causing her to leave the party in tears) and Bruce is at his foster parents being reprimanded for a hair dryer he stole from them, the machines fail and the dogs go wild and cause so much noise that the police are called. The dogs are taken to a pound and Bruce and Andi's foster parents kick them out for stealing. As predicted, they are sent to separate foster homes. The pound prepares to euthanize the dogs, but Friday escapes and finds Dave. The two reunite all of the kids and they decide to save the dogs despite the fact that they are going to get in big trouble. They break the dogs out of the pound and try to lead them over the county line (Bruce tempting them to follow the van with sausages) to an animal shelter that has a no kill policy, but as the dogs get close to the hotel, they make a bee line there instead as that is their 'home'. The kids and a massive crowd of people follow.

    The police call Animal Control who tries to take them back,. Bernie having seen what the kids did, makes a speech in favor of the dogs for the kids rescued so many strays and gave them a home which is something he had been trying to do with the kids he dealt with. (When he introduces the two twin dogs, Viola and Sebastian, this makes reference to the play, "Twelfth Night". The characters Viola and Sebastian are twins in the play. And the dogs Romeo and Juliette are mates)

    With donations from the people of the city, the hotel is fixed up and turned into an actual hotel for dogs. The kids all work there. Lois and Carl Scudder are 'howling' good entertainment for the dogs in the lounge and Bernie and his wife end up adopting Andi, Bruce, and Friday.
  • kiriyamakazou
    February 26, 2011
    kiriyamakazou
    Harmless but forgettable fluff designed to make every child feel as though they are worth something. Roberts plays a young girl thrown from foster home to foster home with her brother. Needless to say, they soon meet a load of dogs that also can't find a family. Soon they're runn... read moreing a Hotel for Dogs to escape the misery of their lives. All this would be easier to swallow if Roberts and Austin were relatable. They commit crimes to make money. Who cares if their parents are dead, there are plenty of law abiding orphans out there. Cheadle is a surprise turn out in this paint by numbers fluff. It can be entertaining, but the dog handlers deserve the biggest congratulations.
  • roygutteridge
    July 26, 2009
    roygutteridge
    All the innocence of the Beethoven film series but with more dogs.
  • deano
    June 22, 2009
    deano
    Wonderful and sweet family movie with really great performances - and yes, I'm also referring to these of the dogs because I love them as I have one.
  • movieguru12
    June 16, 2009
    movieguru12
    Really cute movie. I adored it. A great family movie.
  • barrys
    February 20, 2009
    barrys
    Hotel for Dogs is a movie that tells the story of a two orphan brother and sister with a dog. One day they found a abandoned hotel and decide to transformed it on a shelter for dogs. The movie is good, it has some funny moments and also some dramatic ones. The plot is good yet pr... read moreedictable and with some flaws. The cast is decent Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin aren't bad but I think they were a little weak, Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon were very good as a couple, both were very funny and Don Cheadle in a very different role that we have seen him lately more hedaded to comedy than to drama. In conclusion, Hotel for Dogs is a enjoyable and entertaining movie for the whole family and for those who love dogs.
  • lewiskendell
    February 3, 2009
    lewiskendell
    Very cute kids, very cute dogs, it's all pretty standard. There was a brief Entourage cameo, which is always a good thing.
  • fb1644764650
    November 19, 2011
    fb1644764650
    I don't know how people can look at this and not think it's anything less than a great family movie. The inventive idea between a dog-themed inn was so creative its almost cool. Having great child actors Jake T. Austin and Emma Roberts make the film worth it, but it was more than... read more just worth it for me. Sure, it had a predictable plot, but it was done with more honest emotion than usual.
  • fb100002343630392
    July 12, 2011
    fb100002343630392
    this is for dog lovers and cat lovers who want to give their cats to the shelter and trade in for a dog. B
  • xxdebxx
    September 17, 2010
    xxdebxx
    Sixteen year old Andi (Emma Roberts) and her younger brother Bruce (J.T. Austin) are orphans that have been bounced from foster parents to foster parents as most people want to adopt younger kids. This time they end up living with foster family Lois and Carl Scudder (played by Li... read moresa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon respectfully) who lock up the pantry, in case the youngsters want to snack, and serve the most unappetizing meals imaginable. The siblings also have to hide the fact that they have a dog, Friday, who comes home to sleep with them at night. Feeding him, however, is a problem and the kids turn to innovative stealing to keep his stomach full. They soon befriend a young kid at a pet store who provides them with dog food.

    One day they find an abandoned hotel and the youngsters realize it is the perfect hiding place for Friday. They even begin to collect a few more unlucky strays too. But, will they be able to keep this a secret forever, especially with the animal control workers constantly on their heels?

    Don Cheadle did a nice job as a social worker who tries to find them acceptable foster parents and give them a great home. The gadgets in this movie are pretty cool, as the kids create inventive ways to feed the dogs and elaborate toys to keep them occupied. Hotel for Dogs is a fun, cute film that is great for kids and those who love dogs.

View All Hotel for Dogs Reviews

Critic Reviews

Betsy Sharkey
January 22, 2009
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

All in all it's a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon with a bunch of kids. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
January 20, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

Will the kids like it? Yeah, probably. Will the parents tolerate it or enjoy it? Probably not. Full Review

Ben Lyons
January 20, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

Dog people will like it. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
January 16, 2009
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

It's sad to see a promising fantasy turn into yet another industrial-scale fantasy-delivery system that beats up on its audience with mindless intensity and undercuts its own humanity. Full Review

Claudia Puig
January 16, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

The human dramas are less involving [than the dogs'], and a pair of teen romances feel like something on the Disney Channel. Full Review

Bruce Demara
January 16, 2009
Bruce Demara, Toronto Star

Plot and character development are pretty much irrelevant in the sunshiny fantasy world of this movie. Full Review

Walter V. Addiego
January 16, 2009
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

It's no great shakes as a film, but its combination of mild comedy, slapstick, pathos, many photogenic canines and a positive message will make it irresistible to families. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
January 16, 2009
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

The crisp look director Thor Freudenthal brings to the visuals isn't matched in its story or its characters, all of whom, including the dogs, lack a special zip. Full Review

Stephen Cole
January 16, 2009
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail

It's like flipping through five years of dog calendars. Full Review

Ty Burr
January 16, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Friendly, formulaic, completely harmless. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Beverly Hills Chihuahua
    Beverly Hills Chihuahua (93%)
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
    Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (86%)
  • Stuart Little 2
    Stuart Little 2 (50%)
  • Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
    Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (100%)

More Movies like Hotel for Dogs

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Hotel for Dogs : Watch Free on TV

Hotel for Dogs Trivia

  • Which actor appears in these films? Aquamarine Nancy Drew Hotel for Dogs Wild Child  Answer »
  • What is Andy and Bruce's dogs name in Hotel For Dogs ?  Answer »
  • Who also helps Andi and Bruce and Dave run the hotel in Hotel For Dogs ?  Answer »
  • Which actor starred in these films: Hotel for Dogs Reign Over Me Hotel Rwanda Crash  Answer »
More Hotel for Dogs Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Hotel for Dogs Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Hotel for Dogs to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View Hotel for Dogs News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

maisam Skin by maisam
61 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins