Stars: John Ratzenberger, Michael Teigen, Jason Earles
Directors: Robert Vince
Rated: G (General Audience)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Run Time: 81 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A
I have been a fan of these talking puppies since the Buddies Series starts back with “Air Buddies”. Since then there has been five other films including “Snow Buddies”, “Space Buddies”, “Santa Buddies: the Legend of Santa Paws”, “Spooky Buddies” and “Treasure Buddies”. Sure they are cheesy but they are just great family fun. And most importantly my daughter loves them. “Super Buddies” is a family friendly send-up of “The Avengers” and other superhero films. It features our favorite pups including Rosebud, B-Dawg, Budderball, Buddha and Mudbud as they become caped crusaders and embark on their biggest adventure ever. Filled with great jokes, action and some great new characters, “Super Buddies” is super family fun.
Official Premise: An ordinary day at Fernfield Farms turns extraordinary when Budderball, Mudbud, B-Dawg, Buddha and Rosebud discover mysterious rings that grant them each a unique super power. Before you can say, “Buddies, assemble,” the pups unleash their amazing abilities and race to the rescue when a shape-shifting bully from outer space threatens the planet. But can they succeed in kicking major tail without revealing their new secret identities?
“Super Buddies” stars John Ratzenberger (“Cars”, “Cheers”), Michael Teigen (“TRON: Legacy”), Jason Earles (Kickin’ It”, “Hannah Montana”). In terms of voice stars, the legendary Tim Conway voices Deputy Sniffer. The “Buddies” voices include Cooper Roth (“Are you Faster Than a 1st Grader), who voices B-Dawg; Tenzing Trainor (“Stevie TV” ) who voices Buddha; Jeremy Shinder (“Louie,” “Newlyweeds”) who voices Budderball; Ty Panitz (“Because I Said So,” “How To Eat Fried Worms”) who voices Mudbud; and G. Hannelius (“Good Luck Charlie”, “Sonny With A Chance”) who voices Rosebud. So there is no shortage of great talent here!
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment delivers this film as a 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy). Disney has recently crossed over into the world of digital streaming, which is fantastic news. I know my daughter is going to re-watch this release over and over on the iPad. The 1080p transfer works with the action and visual effects and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track also is very impressive and delivers a mainstream feel despite this direct-to-DVD release. These films are well made, like I said cheesy but still pretty sharp. The downfall here is that there are no additional special features for the kiddies. I could have seen some fun extras included for the kids included. Can’t see what is in store next for the “Buddies”!
