Marmaduke (film)

Marmaduke is a 2010 American family comedy film adaptation of Brad Anderson's comic strip of the same name. The film is directed by Tom Dey, produced by John Davis, and written by Tim Rasmussen and Vince Di Meglio. It voice stars Owen Wilson, George Lopez, Emma Stone, Lee Pace, Judy Greer, William H. Macy, Steve Coogan, Sam Elliott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kiefer Sutherland and Fergie. The film was released on June 4, 2010, to 3,213 theaters nationwide and grossed $83.8 million on a $50 million budget. It has a 9% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which called it "dull and unfunny". Marmaduke was released on August 31, 2010, on DVD and Blu-ray, two and a half months after its release in theaters.
== Plot ==
Marmaduke (voice of Owen Wilson), a Great Dane, lives in rural Kansas with his best friend, a cat named Carlos (voice of George Lopez). His owners, Phil (Lee Pace) and Debbie Winslow (Judy Greer), work for Bark Organic dog food. Phil is very strict, from Marmaduke's perspective. Phil is transferred to Orange County, California. Phil's boss, Don Twombly (William H. Macy), wants to sell Bark Organic in nation-wide Petco stores. Phil and Don meet at the dog park to discuss Phil's assignment, an ad campaign to win over Petco. There, Marmaduke meets Mazie (voice of Emma Stone), who develops a crush on Marmaduke. He also meets Giuseppe (voice of Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a Chinese Crested dog who is afraid of everything, and Raisin (voice of Steve Coogan), a very smart but minute Dachshund.
Later, Marmaduke meets a Rough Collie named Jezebel (voice of Fergie), whose boyfriend is Bosco (voice of Kiefer Sutherland), a violent Beauceron with two Miniature Pinscher minions named Thunder (voice of Damon Wayans, Jr.) and Lightning (voice of Marlon Wayans). Bosco intimidates Marmaduke, who does not want to fight. Marmaduke and the mutts get together at night and crash Bosco's pedigrees-only party, only to be scared away. Marmaduke asks Mazie to help him get a girl, whom she presumes is herself but is Jezebel.
Marmaduke has Carlos pretend to be lost in the dog park, and the two stage a fight in front of all the dogs to boost Marmaduke's popularity. Marmaduke enters a dog surfing contest put together as a promotional stunt by Phil to sway Petco and beats Bosco, who is the reigning dog-surfing champion. They get into a fight, which appalls the Petco executives. As a result, Phil hires a dog trainer named Anton (David Walliams) to help him control Marmaduke, albeit with little success.
Marmaduke takes Jezebel on Mazie's dream date, which the latter watches from afar. While the Winslow family are on Don's boat, Marmaduke throws a party; most residents of the dog park attend, save for Mazie, Giuseppe, and Raisin. Bosco crashes the party and discovers it was Carlos at the dog park. He exposes Marmaduke, who loses his friends. When the Winslows return and Phil discovers the house in a wreck, he locks Marmaduke outside. Marmaduke runs away and leaves Mazie a toy she had given him earlier. Mazie goes to Marmaduke's house, and Carlos tells her Marmaduke never returned. As she looks for him, Marmaduke meets Chupadogra (voice of Sam Elliott), a wise, elderly English Mastiffwho is feared for presumably eating his owner. In reality, he ran away to lead a pack, but they abandoned him. He has spent the time alone in the woods with nothing but a blanket and his old water bowl, which reads "Buster". Buster tells Marmaduke to return to his family while he still has one and distracts a dog catcher. Marmaduke leaves but gets lost.
In the morning, the Winslows discover Marmaduke missing and search for him. Mazie and the family find him simultaneously on the streets, but Mazie falls into a subterranean rainwater conduit after the street below her collapses. Marmaduke jumps in after her; Phil and the fire department attempt to retrieve him. The fireman saves Mazie but loses Marmaduke in the raging water. By this time, Phil has been fired for missing his last chance meeting with Petco. He follows the aqueduct and finds Marmaduke in the raging waters. Phil begs Marmaduke to let go of the branch he is holding onto and let the waters carry him to Phil. He reluctantly does and is saved. Several kids record it on video and put it on YouTube. When it proves popular, Phil is rehired and Petco stocks Bark Organic. Phil discusses moving back to Kansas, but the Winslow family wants to stay in California.
Marmaduke convinces the pedigrees to share the park, and they turn on Bosco, who leaves, after revealing his fear of bees (which Marmaduke also fears). Meanwhile, Phil and Don think of new commercials while considering whether dogs can talk to each other or dance. Marmaduke, Jezebel, Mazie, Giuseppe, Raisin, and Buster, among others, dance and sing "What I Like About You", which turns out to be the commercial. Marmaduke and Mazie date, Marmaduke and Jezebel are friends, and all is well. That night, Marmaduke farts in Phil and Debbie's bed as he winks at the camera.
== Cast ==
=== Humans ===
* Lee Pace as Phil Winslow
* Judy Greer as Debbie Winslow
* William H. Macy as Don Twombly
* Raugi Yu as Drama Trainer
* Finley Jacobsen as Brian Winslow
* Caroline Sunshine as Barbara Winslow
* Milana Haines as Sarah Winslow
* Frank Topol as Bosco's Owner
* Michael Teigen as Gray
* Sydney Imbeau as Little Girl (uncredited)
* Glenn McCuen as Bodie
* David Walliams as Anton Harrison
* Heather Doerksen as Jessica
=== Animals ===
* Owen Wilson as Marmaduke: a Great Dane who is the main protagonist of the film. A large dog, he loves Debbie's cooking and tries to get Phil to listen to Brian and Barbara.
* Emma Stone as Mazie: an energetic Australian Shepherd tomboy who has a crush on Marmaduke. She welcomes him into the local gang to make him feel at home in LA.
* George Lopez as Carlos: a Balinese who is Marmaduke’s "stepbrother" and best friend.
* Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Giuseppe: a nervous, stylized Chinese Crested Dog.
* Steve Coogan as Raisin, an intelligent Dachshund.
* Fergie as Jezebel: a kind-hearted Rough Collie.
* Kiefer Sutherland as Bosco: a Beauceron who is the main antagonist of the film. He becomes jealous of the other male dogs in the gang, including its newest arrival.
* Damon Wayans, Jr. as Thunder: one of Bosco's sidekicks, a Miniature Pinscher.
* Marlon Wayans as Lightning: Thunder's twin brother and also Bosco's sidekick.
* Sam Elliott as Chupadogra: an elderly English Mastiff who they believe got rabies and ate his owner. His real name is Buster.
* Ice-T as Slick, a tough as nails German Shepherd.
* Todd Glass as Doberman and Shasta
* Randall Montgomery as Sweater Dog
* Devon Werkheiser as Drama Dog #1, Shroom Dog #2, Golden Dog and Cocker Spaniel
* Chris Colfer as Drama Dog #2, Shroom Dog #1 and Beach Dog #1
* Ryan Devlin as Deuce and Beach Dog #2
* Jeffrey Garcia as Beach Dog #3
* King Kedar as Surfing Award Dog and Beach Dog #4 (as King 'AB' Kedar)
* Jennifer Louise La Voie as a Teacup Poodle
* Daniel Bruce as Devil Dogs
* Hope Levy as Afghan Hound #1
* Anjelah Johnson as Afghan Hound #2
* Josh Gad as Bandana Dog
* Francisco Ramos as Purse Chihuahua #1
* Bernardo de Paula as Purse Chihuahua #2
* Eddie 'Piolin' Sotelo as Purse Chihuahua #3
* Jack McGee as Dalmatian
* Hudson Tahmes as Delinquent Dog
* Jason Congeryman as Doggy
== Release ==
Marmaduke was released on June 4, 2010, by 20th Century Fox to 3,213 theaters in the US. The film earned $3.4 million on opening day, landing in sixth place behind Sex and the City 2, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Killers, Get Him to the Greek, and Shrek Forever After respectively. The film remained in sixth place over the weekend, with $11.6 million earned for a $3,608 average from 3,213 theaters.[5] In its second weekend, it had a 48% decline to just over $6 million and descending to seventh place.[6] The film closed on September 16, 2010, after grossing $33.6 million in the US and an additional $50.1 million overseas for a worldwide total of $83.8 million.[4] Marmaduke was released on August 31, 2010, on DVD and Blu-ray, two and a half months after its release in theaters.[7]
== Reception ==
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 9% of 99 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 3.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Dull and unfunny, Marmaduke offers family filmgoers little more than another round of talking animals and scatological humor."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 30 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[10] Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two out of four stars, and wrote in his review, "The moment I saw Marmaduke's big drooling lips moving, I knew I was in trouble."[11] The Radio Times was quite positive, saying "it's all a tad contrived, but young and old alike will get something from it—even if the lip movements take a bit of getting used to."[12][dead link]
Marmaduke was nominated at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie: Animated.[13] George Lopez was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his roles in Marmaduke, among others.[14]
==References==
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