Cats & Dogs (PG, 2001)

Back in the days of ancient Egypt, cats ruled. But with the help of dogs, humans took over, and cats have been trying to regain their position ever since. An evil rogue cat named Mr. Tinkles has a plot to foil the development of an injection that would cure allergies to dogs. If he can get the formula, reverse its effects, and expose every human in the world to it, then everyone would become allergic to dogs, and cats could take over.

CATS AND DOGS is silly fun, a throwback to the classic Disney days of The Absent-Minded Professor and The Shaggy Dog. It moves along swiftly thanks to a brief running time (less than 90 minutes) and spectacularly seamless special effects work. It also benefits from outstanding voice talents: Tobey Maguire (Lou, the young pup called upon to save the world), Alec Baldwin (Butch, the senior agent, using some of the same world-weary courage and avuncular twinkle that he gave to James Dolittle in Pearl Harbor), and Susan Sarandon (kind-hearted canine femme fatale Ivy), as the good guys, and Sean Hayes (enjoying the role of evil villain Mr. Tinkles), and Jon Lovitz (his sidekick) as bad guys. Live action duties are undertaken with good spirits by Elizabeth Perkins, Jeff Goldblum, and Miriam Margolyes, who does a funny twist on her role as the Nurse in the Leonardo DiCaprio version of Romeo and Juliet.

All of this is aimed at 8-year-olds, so expect some PG-rated litter box humor, a couple of mild references to whether a male dog has been fixed, and a lot of slapstick pratfalls and head-bonks -- always a hit with kids.They'll also get a special kick out of the ninja cats (with a now-obligatory Matrix joke). There are a couple of good moments for parents, too, including a dog who explains that she is not homeless, just "domestically challenged," a canine news commentator named (of course) Wolf Blitzer, and having the dogs read the Miranda warnings to thousands of arrested mice. The movie comes down on the side of loyalty and families. And Mr. Tinkles' punishment is both funny and (literally) fitting.