In the history of film, we’ve seen a lot of presidents. Smart presidents, dumb presidents, wise presidents, selfless presidents, scheming presidents, sharing presidents, selfish presidents, and presidents who order you to “get off my plane!” This one was a first for me. I know we’ve had greedy presidents before but until now, I cannot name a depiction of a president who used the office to get rich … and that was their only motivation. Not to get rich and take over the world, just “to get rich.” Period.
This is why all art matters, even bad art, even forgettable art, even art few will ever see. Because art reflects the reality we live in and until there was a President Trump, I don’t think anyone could truly envision a president who just wanted to use the office for monetary gain. In fact, the rules of being president are fairly clear that shouldn’t be a thing. And, yet, here’s a throwaway cartoon of no standing that will not be watched by anybody other than a sick child who has run out of options … and it depicts a president who is out to make a buck (in this case off investing in superdog dog food). And, of course, there is no controversy here because obviously Trump is using the office for personal gain. That’s all he cares about.
If we ever get back to a place where “President of the United States” is a title of respect by itself, I will not miss these days.
The film today is Charlie the Wonderdog (Voice of Owen Wilson, the dog guy … say, why isn’t Jennifer Aniston “the dog gal,” huh?). In short, aliens grant Charlie superpowers and rejuvenation, and -in return- the scheming cat next door (Ruairi MacDonald) sets him up for PR implosion, because of course. A greedy selfish president and an AI nightmare creating a fake reality? If nothing else, I cannot fault Charlie the Wonderdog one bit for not being in touch with the times. However insipid or inane this film is, it definitely figured out how to comment on the world of Trump.
Charlie is some sort of retriever mix and on his last legs when the bratty alien abduction process begins. It’s fun seeing the dog and the evil cat next door mixed in with mammal-like life-forms from other planets while the child decides which gets to be his pet. Bottom line is the dog and cat are returned to Earth in superior condition. The dog uses his newfound powers of flight, strength, speech, and youthful vitality for good; the cat uses its newfound powers of telekinesis 
for evil. Because of course.
This all is fine until the cat decides it’s time to frame the dog. And here’s where the movie shines again in knowing that an audience will turn on those motivated by altruism far faster than it will on those motivated by hate and selfishness. Yup, that’s the America I know. It’s a little heavy-handed and sloppy, but Charlie the Wonderdog is deliberately set-up to be enjoyed your five-year-old. It isn’t supposed to catch AI mistakes that adults won’t catch. This film is for you dog-lovin’ five-year-old sleuth.
Will your dog lovin’ five-year-old sleuth love Charlie the Wonderdog? Um, sure. Why not? Aas I said above, this film is only going to land in your lap if you lack for other options. I doubt it will ever get a lot of attention from any venue and, hence, as a parent, you likely will ever watch this film only once, if ever. Will you like one viewing? Not sure. But there are worse films to think about when your child returns to Cars for the 58th time. They may even wonder why Lightning McQueen and Charlie sound the same. Might.
There once was a receiver named Charlie
Voiced by the “me” in Me & Marley
The dog got superpower
Which might eat up an hour
Before your kid changes back to “iCarly“
Rated PG, 95 Minutes
Director: Shea Wageman
Writer: Steve Ball, Raul Inglis, Shea Wageman
Genre: More superpets
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Boys who really, really love their dog
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Cat people
