Plot
3-D animated-family adventure that tells the heart-warming, coming-of-age story of a man and his best-friend, a lovable and fearless dog named, Jock.
Release Year: 2011
Rating: 4.6/10 (76 voted)
Director:
Duncan MacNeillie
Stars: Bryan Adams, William Baldwin, Anthony Bishop
Storyline 3-D animated-family adventure that tells the heart-warming, coming-of-age story of a man and his best-friend, a lovable and fearless dog named, Jock.
Writers: Jim Cox, Duncan MacNeillie
Cast: Bryan Adams
-
Jock
(voice)
William Baldwin
-
Boatman
(voice)
Anthony Bishop
-
George
(voice)
Louisa Cerdan
-
(voice)
Philina Cerdan
-
(voice)
Ted Danson
-
Pezulu
(voice)
Rose Emanuel
-
Julien
(voice)
Ava Flutie
-
(voice)
Catherine Flutie
-
(voice)
Kim Hart
-
Little Puppy
(voice)
Makenzie Hart
-
Young Jock
(voice)
Mallory Hart
-
(voice)
Robert Hobbs
-
Seedling
(voice)
Helen Hunt
-
Jess
(voice)
Kira Karantonis
-
(voice)
Trivia:
The character of Jock, his antics, and the life lessons of the book are so famous and widely-known in South Africa, that statues are routinely erected in his honor and the first private lodge in Africa's wildlife reserve - Kruger National Park - bears his name.
User Review
Horrible!!!!!!!
Rating: 2/10
JOCK (2.4/10) Horrible, amateurish animation makes this a major
disappointment. The animation looks like the cut scene animation from
an elderly computer game, and any subtlety of lighting or background
animation is nearly entirely absent. The motion is often jittery and
jerky, and the facial animation of characters can be called basic, to
be charitable.
The direction of the voice acting often misfires as well, letting down
the pace of the story. The story is aimed to be young audience
friendly, but it lacks any real emotional involvement with its
characters, and the funny bits are, well, not very funny, so little
ones are likely to get antsy. As for adults, it is barely survivable.
The lyrics are surprisingly bad, coming as they do from Tim Rice, and
the songs are just average at best, seeming like first draft efforts
that should have been rejected. Come to think of it, the whole film
feels like a rough draft, with the voice actors reading through their
lines while looking at unfinished animation.
The life lessons are suspect as well: we are told that Jock has a big
heart, but in almost every situation he finds himself in, he survives
because of luck, or the actions of another character, not because of
his determination or courage.
This has to be one of the biggest letdowns in South African film
history, and must have set back the reputation of its film industry
globally, which is a grave disservice to the many talented people who
do work in the South African film industry. There is no excuse for
making a movie this lazy and sloppy other than either arrogance or
greed: this level of ineptitude cannot be explained in any other way.
Only the ghost of the source material occasionally shining through, and
the fact that animals are generally cute saved this from being a 1, but
that is no credit to the filmmakers.
0