disney 's " air bud " tells a boy - and - his - dog story with a twist -- the pooch is quite an accomplished basketball player .
granted , for a family comedy , it 's not a very funny or successful idea to begin with , but it does n't seem to matter -- " air bud " is surprisingly solemn .
save for occasional moments of forced slapstick , the movie wags its tale with a straight face -- not a very enjoyable approach .
if " air bud " had realized its own absurdity , then it possibly could have been better .
here , we 're actually asked to cheer a moment when the dog marches out to save the big game , clad in two pairs of sneakers and even a jersey .
its number ? k9 .
yeah , whatever .
the movie opens as golden retriever buddy ( as himself ) escapes from his current owner , abusive clown - for - hire norm snively ( michael jeter ) .
he ends up in fernwell , washington , where mopey new - kid - on - the - block josh ( kevin zegers ) is trying to cope with the move and the recent death of his father .
buddy , kevin .
kevin , buddy .
once the dog proves his on - court prowess , kevin 's self - esteem rockets .
they both win places in the school 's basketball team , with the animal as their mascot .
but before they can make it to the finals , snively surfaces to reclaim buddy .
everything plays out just as one would think : heavy on predictability , light on an actual story .
the movie follows a calculated chain of events -- kevin 's gloom fades , snively gets his comeuppance and buddy contracts rabies and must be executed old yeller - style .
okay
, that last one 's a lie , but at least it would have been a quicker send - off than " air bud " 's courtroom climax -- no joke !
there 's even a faux - cute musical montage where a reluctant buddy gets cleaned - up to " splish splash .
"
paint cans are spilled and newspapers are buried ,
all in the name of formula .
the end credits note that " no special visual effects were used in the basketball sequences of this motion picture .
"
that very well may be true , and although to see a dog sink shots is quite a sight , a movie can not exist on feat alone .
but " air bud " does n't seem to be interested in anything else .
a friend of mine insists he saw buddy a while back on a segment of david letterman 's " stupid pet tricks .
"
i ca n't think of a more appropriate connection -- this movie is a stupid pet trick .
not a very enjoyable approach heavy on predictability yeah , whatever . forced slapstick it 's not a very funny or successful idea all in the name of formula a stupid pet trick