Summary
Pete Davidson seems to be having the time of his life as Marmaduke is a solid little animated film.
This review of the Netflix film Marmaduke (2022) does not contain spoilers.
I’ve got to be honest with all of you about to read this, I love Pete Davidson, but I am not a huge fan of animated movies. However, the upcoming Netflix animated film, Marmaduke, is on today’s menu. The movie is about a legendary dog trainer who believes he can help Marmaduke (Davidson) become the first Great Dane in history to win the Westminster Championship.
We start at a birthday party where we find out that Marmaduke doesn’t listen very well and isn’t allowed to celebrate with everyone at the party. He doesn’t list, chases after animals, and is very fond of digging into the trash to get some food. As Marmaduke gets frustrated with not being able to be at the party, a bee flies into the house and makes him so annoyed that Marmaduke crashes out the bedroom window and causes everything to be a complete mess. Finally, the parents decide that maybe obedience school isn’t the wrong choice for him. Funny enough, as they discuss this, her kids come into the room and Marmaduke has gone viral and he is all over the news.
There is a champion inside of Marmaduke.
Next, we meet the infamous trainer Guy, who plans on taking on the task of training Marmaduke. He doesn’t believe he can do it but loves the idea of the challenge. Although Marmaduke’s family is hesitant about it, they find out there is $1 million involved and are all in. The training begins and Marmaduke wants no part of it.
With no choice in the matter, Marmaduke begins his training with Guy. I did love the montage of training that they gave us here. It wasn’t a lot of monologues but more of a bunch of packed-together sequences showing him failing at the training but beginning to pick it up and more and more eager to get it right. This entire sequence showed sometimes less is more. I loved it.
Believe you are a winner.
As Marmaduke begins to learn, training and showing up to the competition are two totally different things. When he arrives, he realizes these dogs are much more mature and bred differently. So first, we meet Zeus (J.K. Simmons), the big dog on campus. Next, he suckers Marmaduke into doing something he shouldn’t and eat a big feast before the competition. Sadly, Marmaduke falls for his trick, fills up on all of the food, and messes up his chance of winning the competition.
Because Marmaduke made a complete fool of himself during the competition, it takes a toll on the family. The kids are being made fun of during school and Guy sends a HUGE bill for his training, the family is fed up and Marmaduke takes it to heart. He is on a mission to prove the world and Guy wrong. After being called out for not doing his job, Guy gives Marmaduke another shot.
The cast is fun. It felt like Pete Davidson was living his best life as Marmaduke during the entire movie. There is something about his comedy approach that always has me laughing. Plus, you sprinkle in a little J.K. Simmons, the villainous dog in the movie. You really couldn’t go wrong when these two hit the screen together.
I’ll be honest. I quite enjoyed the majority of this movie. It was more in line with how easy of a watch the movie was. It never tries to be anything more than it should be, a funny, charming little animated movie with a good little message. I watched this one alone and enjoyed it and I expect if you got a little family, the kids would enjoy it too.
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