Parents' Guide to

Super Buddies

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Popular puppies turn into superheroes, with mild action.

Movie G 2013 81 minutes
Super Buddies Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 5+

Based on 8 parent reviews

ClaireRabbit
ClaireRabbit Adult
May 1, 2023
age 13+

Go! Callie but they're dogs and the villain graphically dies

I watched this at school when I was younger. The Drex death scene at the end scared me to death. I literally covered my eyes when it zoomed to space in the end part bc I thought they would show Drex's corpse!! Also, Drex looks creepy!! If they showed his corpse at the end, then it will be even worse! Plus, this movie is basically just Go! Callie! The Buddies are Callie & Friends and Drex is Zim! It's Go! Callie but with dogs instead of cat-aliens and making the antagonist die! Go! Callie does a better job! Zim never dies in Go! Callie, who'd want a memorable, funny, and cute long-running antagonist to die in a show aimed at little kids?? Zim's defeats are rather comedic and he never dies, just gets badly hurt or something (no blood 'cause it's a kids show!) Killing off Drex is too scary for kids!

This title has:

Too much violence
brooklyn_mom
brooklyn_mom Adult
June 7, 2021
age 5+

Awful female characters

I got about 20 minutes into this one with my 3.5 year old before turning it off. In the group of kids and animals, there is just one girl, and she is dressed as a pink princess and says lots of OMGs. Her dog's interaction is with two girl ponies, and their conversation is nothing but empty phrases about "girl power!" while the boys are adventuring. Bad message for my son about the role of women and girls.
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Tween Bartleby Livingstone (Trey Loney) loves comic books so much, his Gramps (John Ratzenberger) throws him a special superhero-themed 12th birthday party. Bartleby's favorite comic series (written by a local author-illustrator) is about a young boy and his super-dog, Captain Canine (Colin Hanks), who's really an alien hidden in the body of a dog. On his fateful 12th birthday, Bartleby and his friends (each of whom has his/her own Golden Retriever puppy) discover that the comics are actually all true, and that they must help defend the peaceful alien nation against the evil Commander Drex, who has landed in Bartleby's town in search of the "rings of Inspiron." But the kids find the rings first, put them on their dogs, turning them into SUPER BUDDIES.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8):
Kids say (7):

There's enough slapstick and silliness here to make the kids giggle. The Buddies movies have taken on plenty of genres, so it's no surprise that this latest direct-to-DVD story is an alien/sci-fi adventure. Grown-ups and kids used to alien movies will probably find the movie's representation of extra-terrestrials obviously just humans with giant computer-generated heads. But for the youngest Buddies fans, the aliens are non-threatening enough not to give them nightmares.

As tends to be the case with talking animal movies, the puppies all have sassy catch-phrases and accents, but this movie is just as much about their kid owners as the dogs themselves. The children save the day by figuring out that the comics aren't just pop fiction but an illustrated non-fiction account of an alien race's most treasured artifacts -- the very rings that turn the puppies into superheroes. Parents who look beyond the awful alien depictions can rest assured that another Buddies movie will entertain their little ones.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the continuing popularity of these Buddies movies. Why do you think the studio keeps making them? If you like them what other adventures or genres should the Buddies franchise tackle?

  • Comic books are an important part of the story. How does reading the Captain Canine comics help Bartleby figure out what's going on? What are your favorite comics?

  • How do the aliens in Super Buddies compare to those in other movies? What are some other films with peaceful, kid-friendly aliens?

Movie Details

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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