The target audience for the sequel Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore weren’t born when the first film, merely titled Cats & Dogs, opened in 2024. C&D operated on the premise that dogs are the good guys and cats the baddies. The Revenge of Kitty Galore has dogs and cats working together. It turns out that Kitty Galore is a rogue agent.

This film skews kids pure and simple; adults will only be interested if they have a borderline pathological addiction to cute trainable animals. True enough, Kitty Galore operates in the sub-genre of live-action talking animal films, a genre that usually offers stoner laughs (think Marmaduke). But in a film where the best line, I kid you not, is one canine to another muttering, “What’s up dog?” it’s best to walk on by.

The best thing about C&D:TROKG would be its adherence to a parody of James Bond films. The opening credits are a high point with silhouettes of kitties and pups creating a montage that mimics Bond’s stylistic beginnings. Bond references certainly appear in abundance in recent films, what with Inception’s visual homage to the snow fortress from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and one villain in The Girl Who Played With Fire being modeled after From Russia With Love’s Red Grant.

- Michael Bergeron