Parents' Guide to

Treasure Buddies

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Popular pups stow away to Egypt; expect farts and slang.

Movie G 2012 93 minutes
Treasure Buddies Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 7+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Orw D.
Orw D. Parent
January 1, 2018
age 8+

Too much unbelievable stuff that is out of context with reality.

This is not really a kids film as a lot of the jokes are adult jokes and themes. As opposed to the original buddies film and snow buddies, the parents of the buddies (golden retrievers) and the (kid) owners of the puppies do not make an appearance. This removes a lot of the warmth that was in the other previously mentioned films. Also having puppies looking for treasure alla Indiana Jones just for their own sake seems like it is very far from reality. For example, I can imagine that dogs would look for their parents (original film), or pull a sled (snow buddies), maybe even, go to the moon (space buddies), as this is something that although far fetched, seems plausible at some point in the future. Also a lot of glamour seems to be put on the buddies as legendary, almost superheroes, as exemplified by the monkey talking to his nephew. None of which is really necessary. The puppies intrinsic values is that they are cute and innocent, and their relationships with their owners and the parents (which is mostly lost or gone from this film). Here they are portrayed as We are here to save the world. Wouldn't recommend this film as this teaches "values"of self adulation.
Hal H.
Hal H. Parent of 5-year-old
July 24, 2012
age 5+

Ok for 6 and up, some 5s.

Violence is mild, on the order of cats threatening to scratch dogs, and falling rocks, and ineffectual bad guy, etc., but still would *not* let a 3-yr-old watch it. And for me, not a 4-yr-old either. On the plus side, the gang cooperates. This isn't much of a movie -- your kid would be better off playing, but if you can't watch them, this will do. Storyline: B-, acting: C-, characters: C-, settings: B+.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the newest addition to the Buddies franchise, the pups are the grand-puppies of a famous archeologist's devoted dog, Digger. When retired archeologist Thomas Howard (Richard Riehle) and his grandson, Pete (Mason Cook), are asked to help a rich patron (Edward Hermann) travel to Egypt to find the legendary necklace of "Cleocatra," Cleopatra's once beloved but then banished cat, the Buddies -- Rosebud (voiced by G Hannelius), B-Dawg (Skyler Gisondo), Budderball (Tucker Albrizzi), Buddha (Charles Henry Wyson), and Mudbud (Ty Panitz) -- stow away on the trip. They discover that the Howards are being misled, so they join forces with a camel and a monkey to save the day before an evil cat dons the necklace to reclaim feline domination as "man's best friend."

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (13):

This installment in the intrepid puppies series is less frightening than Spooky Buddies and provides an interesting storyline that takes kids on a virtual adventure to Egypt. Although there's some expected potty humor (dog emissions continue to be the apex of comedy in these movies), canine shenanigans, and an obnoxious level of text speak (OMG!) and slang ("bling," "dude," "dawg"), it's got decent actors (Hermann and Riehle are fine character actors) and a fun voice cast.

The doggies-meet-Egyptian lore tale is more inventive than some of the other movies and offers an ancient dogs vs. cats basis for the story. Kids shouldn't consider the Cleopatra story to be historically accurate, but the Egyptians really did revere cats as sacred being. That could lead to a welcome fascination with ancient cultures or at least an interest in visiting a museum or two. Overall, TREASURE BUDDIES is a decent DVD pick for a lazy afternoon for kids old enough to handle live-action but still young enough to appreciate talking puppies.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why filmmakers take liberties with historical characters and events in order to make a story fit their needs. How is Egypt usually portrayed in movies? How accurate is that portrayal? What do you know about Egypt today?

  • How do the Buddies and Pete and his grandfather work together to defeat the story's villains? Who helps them along the way? What cultural lessons do they learn about Egypt?

  • Why are the Buddies movies so popular? Do you think the puppies should continue to go on various adventure, or should the series end? Are the talking animals funny when they use slang and catchphrases?

Movie Details

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