The only explanation for the events of this movie is that the dog is actually a demon and just fully messing with this poor kid. Or that this kid is just deeply delusional. Either way this was a wild movie to watch while drunk. Its terribly written, terribly acted, and terrifying when you have no clue what's going on at any given moment.
9 Reviews
I Usually Enjoy Family Films...
ice ruby red28 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
... but this one was hard to sit through!
The special effects were very cheesy and the magic was unimaginative, except for the moon part, which was pretty cool.
The acting was abysmal overall. The actress who played the mom was superb, but the actor who played the starring role was just awful! I can see him in a smaller part, but to cast him in the starring role...? Who thought that was a good idea?! No disrespect towards the lad; he's still young, and with experience might be a fine actor someday, but his performance in this movie was as wooden as a fence post. Better casting in the lead role might have made a significant difference. The evil magician was no better, but at least he wasn't the main character and thus was tolerable.
Spoiler warning ....
There is an obvious hole in the plot at the end when Bobby puts his dog's service vest away because he no longer has the need for a crutch. That goes completely against the whole time-change arc! If the accident never happened, then Bobby would never have developed agoraphobia and the need for a service dog.
I don't have any small children, and I imagine that a young child might actually enjoy this movie, but if you are over the age of 10 you will probably be disappointed. It's truly one of the blandest films I've seen in some time!
The special effects were very cheesy and the magic was unimaginative, except for the moon part, which was pretty cool.
The acting was abysmal overall. The actress who played the mom was superb, but the actor who played the starring role was just awful! I can see him in a smaller part, but to cast him in the starring role...? Who thought that was a good idea?! No disrespect towards the lad; he's still young, and with experience might be a fine actor someday, but his performance in this movie was as wooden as a fence post. Better casting in the lead role might have made a significant difference. The evil magician was no better, but at least he wasn't the main character and thus was tolerable.
Spoiler warning ....
There is an obvious hole in the plot at the end when Bobby puts his dog's service vest away because he no longer has the need for a crutch. That goes completely against the whole time-change arc! If the accident never happened, then Bobby would never have developed agoraphobia and the need for a service dog.
I don't have any small children, and I imagine that a young child might actually enjoy this movie, but if you are over the age of 10 you will probably be disappointed. It's truly one of the blandest films I've seen in some time!
PROTECT THE BOOK
nogodnomasters9 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The film starts out like a bad Rene Perez film. (If you never heard of Rene Perez there is a reason for it.) Bobby (Will Spencer) in addition to being a very bad child actor, loses his father. He later discovers he is "The Chosen One" and must guard a big book with glass jewels in the cover or else the world will fall into the hands of evil. Now the fact that the book spent years in a book store and Bobby leaves it at home when he is out, doesn't mean the bad guy can get it easily and take over the world. Nope, for some reason he must confront Bobby and his occasional talking dog, a dog that was low on charisma and stage presence.
The film seems to hit the 5-8 year old set. You would be better off watching Harry Potter or Percy Jackson again.
The film seems to hit the 5-8 year old set. You would be better off watching Harry Potter or Percy Jackson again.
The Not So Amazing Wizard of Paws
steveog171 June 2015
I'm honestly stunned that this script got approved and was actually made into a "movie"! Outside of the terrible acting from basically every cast member the story was incredibly weak with more holes in it than Swiss Cheese! The special effects looked like they were done by a high schooler working on a class project. As the movie progresses (if you can even call it that) it looks like the cast and crew started giving up on the movie and just threw random clips in and used non experienced actors to play small roles. This is very obvious in the Million Dollar Talent Show segment. It's almost too hard to watch! I can't image this movie doing well at all unless the budget was $10,000 and someone forced a bunch of people to go see it. Hopefully nothing like this ever gets made again!
It took magic to make something this bad
benjaminweber13 March 2018
Terrible CGI and special effects: Check
Meandering plot: Check
Blatant filler scenes: Check
Bad acting: Check
BONUS POINT, Actor trying to impersonate a more famous actor: Check
Ridiculous set-up: Check
On their own, each of the above is excusable. They can even occur in good films, and some of them can even aid their film if done correctly. However, when stacked up on each other like they are in this film, they result in a bad film. Watch it if you enjoy laughably bad films.
Postscript: A lot of people will defend bad children's films on the basis that children enjoy them. This is not an acceptable excuse, it either implies that children should be left alone to watch films, or that parents should be made to watch bad films. This negligent attitude to children's cinema is why studios produce films like The Emoji Movie, and why we now have a generation of cinema-goers that pays to watch Transformers films.
On their own, each of the above is excusable. They can even occur in good films, and some of them can even aid their film if done correctly. However, when stacked up on each other like they are in this film, they result in a bad film. Watch it if you enjoy laughably bad films.
Postscript: A lot of people will defend bad children's films on the basis that children enjoy them. This is not an acceptable excuse, it either implies that children should be left alone to watch films, or that parents should be made to watch bad films. This negligent attitude to children's cinema is why studios produce films like The Emoji Movie, and why we now have a generation of cinema-goers that pays to watch Transformers films.
Beats Harry Potter
byson518622 July 2017
To start off, this is a movie I hadn't heard of. One time while I was at the gym on the treadmill, one of the T.V.s had this movie on. It was on mute with closed captioning. It looked like a kid movie, yet it was more entertaining than the other things on T.V. like sports and the news. I was entertained with how much of it I saw while running the treadmill, and decided to rent it.
I saw this movie, and even as an adult I loved it. Too bad it doesn't have the best reviews. I'll be a person that gives this movie a positive review. But, first I want to compare this to a story involving magic that we're all familiar with, Harry Potter. I've read the Harry Potter books and enjoyed them. I think they're clever, and I think the story of how J.K. Rowling didn't have the book originally published, but didn't give up and is now the second richest woman in England is very inspirational. At the same time, I think Harry Potter is extremely overrated and has its flaws in the book. One of the flaws, is I feel like the book focuses too much on the wizarding world, and not enough on the real world, and doesn't leave us with enough good messages, which I felt that this movie was inspirational, relatable, and left us with good messages.
Now saying how Harry Potter is about a boy that's a wizard, this movie is about a boy named Bobby. The movie starts when he's 5, but we mostly see him as a 12-year old. He isn't considered a wizard, but a boy that is interested in magic, wanting to be a magician. Also, a shy boy who has a dog named Ozzy. He got that dog early in the movie, when it was stray not knowing the dog is very old and part of the wizarding community. Bobby walks everywhere with Ozzy, even places that you think normally wouldn't allow dogs. While Bobby looks for a book on magic, he really becomes a magician, and Ozzie immediately becomes more real. However, the main wizard villain is after the book too, and Bobby quickly learns that he is the chosen one.
This movie has wizarding action. The kind of action we like to see in movies that involve wizards and action. This action to me, felt more realistic than the action we see in Harry Potter. The magic tricks felt like real magic tricks that we could imagine seeing in a magic show. I'll say that in the Harry Potter Universe, the magic in it doesn't feel much like magic, but just part of the wizarding world. What the wizards have and are capable of. This movie gave more of a feel of what we think of as magic.
Another thing to say which I feel like this scene alone beats Harry Potter. I'd say the scariest scene in the movie, was a scene involving a suit of armor. I don't want to spoil it and say what happens, but that scene felt too real while watching it. It was very well done!! It could make you imagine being in the same situation.
I feel like this movie could be even scarier than Harry Potter, because a lot of the things felt more real. I'm not saying this movie was too scary, definitely not. But, it did have scary scenes, especially the scene I mentioned above. You also really feel for the characters, and you hope Bobby can succeed at magic, along with getting money to help his mom who is having trouble paying for the house.
I don't see why people don't like this movie? It's family friendly and at the same time has scary scenes. But, it really offers a perspective and good message. Sometimes, we have to believe in ourselves, along with getting ourselves out, not just being so shy. To me those messages came to me more than the messages from the Harry Potter books. I'd consider this a completely different story than Harry Potter, and a little better. I'd recommend this to you. But if you're like most of these other people reviewing the movie, you might not like it. If you're like me, and if what I posted above makes this movie sound interesting, you'll like it.
I saw this movie, and even as an adult I loved it. Too bad it doesn't have the best reviews. I'll be a person that gives this movie a positive review. But, first I want to compare this to a story involving magic that we're all familiar with, Harry Potter. I've read the Harry Potter books and enjoyed them. I think they're clever, and I think the story of how J.K. Rowling didn't have the book originally published, but didn't give up and is now the second richest woman in England is very inspirational. At the same time, I think Harry Potter is extremely overrated and has its flaws in the book. One of the flaws, is I feel like the book focuses too much on the wizarding world, and not enough on the real world, and doesn't leave us with enough good messages, which I felt that this movie was inspirational, relatable, and left us with good messages.
Now saying how Harry Potter is about a boy that's a wizard, this movie is about a boy named Bobby. The movie starts when he's 5, but we mostly see him as a 12-year old. He isn't considered a wizard, but a boy that is interested in magic, wanting to be a magician. Also, a shy boy who has a dog named Ozzy. He got that dog early in the movie, when it was stray not knowing the dog is very old and part of the wizarding community. Bobby walks everywhere with Ozzy, even places that you think normally wouldn't allow dogs. While Bobby looks for a book on magic, he really becomes a magician, and Ozzie immediately becomes more real. However, the main wizard villain is after the book too, and Bobby quickly learns that he is the chosen one.
This movie has wizarding action. The kind of action we like to see in movies that involve wizards and action. This action to me, felt more realistic than the action we see in Harry Potter. The magic tricks felt like real magic tricks that we could imagine seeing in a magic show. I'll say that in the Harry Potter Universe, the magic in it doesn't feel much like magic, but just part of the wizarding world. What the wizards have and are capable of. This movie gave more of a feel of what we think of as magic.
Another thing to say which I feel like this scene alone beats Harry Potter. I'd say the scariest scene in the movie, was a scene involving a suit of armor. I don't want to spoil it and say what happens, but that scene felt too real while watching it. It was very well done!! It could make you imagine being in the same situation.
I feel like this movie could be even scarier than Harry Potter, because a lot of the things felt more real. I'm not saying this movie was too scary, definitely not. But, it did have scary scenes, especially the scene I mentioned above. You also really feel for the characters, and you hope Bobby can succeed at magic, along with getting money to help his mom who is having trouble paying for the house.
I don't see why people don't like this movie? It's family friendly and at the same time has scary scenes. But, it really offers a perspective and good message. Sometimes, we have to believe in ourselves, along with getting ourselves out, not just being so shy. To me those messages came to me more than the messages from the Harry Potter books. I'd consider this a completely different story than Harry Potter, and a little better. I'd recommend this to you. But if you're like most of these other people reviewing the movie, you might not like it. If you're like me, and if what I posted above makes this movie sound interesting, you'll like it.
The cutest and best movie ever
anasunn28 August 2015
This is the cutest movie I've ever seen and it's so heartwarming. I think that all ages would enjoy this short film. It includes plot twists and an enjoyable ending. As well them movie shows how such a passionate child even going through bullying and a loss of an important family member can push through and succeed in their dreams with a helpful companion. It shows how being kind to someone and showing that you care can really make a difference in a world that is cold hearted and unfriendly sometimes. The movie has a good message and is intriguing enough for everyone to enjoy the movie. I think that even though the graphics are not so great at times, It is important to look past that and understand the simple message. It is the best movie ever and although it may seem silly it truly reflects how small things can really make a difference.
Mostly pleasant and inspiring family film
vchimpanzee30 May 2017
This is a mostly pleasant family movie, one appropriate for the entire family, though a few parents may be concerned about some minor details. It is kind of scary at times, and there is the loss of a parent (which is handled about as gently as it could be) but there is nothing particularly harmful.
Will Spencer is quite good as 12-year-old Bobby and while there is sort of a formula here, this movie offers plenty of surprises.
Jacob Whitkin does an impressive job as both the psychiatrist and the man who looks like Merlin.
Numerous annoying inspirational songs from different genres show up from time to time. There was one song even I could like. I would describe the style as somewhere between Karen Carpenter and Feist.
The visual effects are pretty impressive but not groundbreaking.
It's pretty obvious more than one dog is used for Ozzy, and that some of the dogs may not be real. In fact, Ozzy generally looked kind of weird and unrealistic. Just use your imagination.
The ending is not the expected one but it is quite satisfying.
It's a good family film with nothing really harmful.
Will Spencer is quite good as 12-year-old Bobby and while there is sort of a formula here, this movie offers plenty of surprises.
Jacob Whitkin does an impressive job as both the psychiatrist and the man who looks like Merlin.
Numerous annoying inspirational songs from different genres show up from time to time. There was one song even I could like. I would describe the style as somewhere between Karen Carpenter and Feist.
The visual effects are pretty impressive but not groundbreaking.
It's pretty obvious more than one dog is used for Ozzy, and that some of the dogs may not be real. In fact, Ozzy generally looked kind of weird and unrealistic. Just use your imagination.
The ending is not the expected one but it is quite satisfying.
It's a good family film with nothing really harmful.
Harry Pawter meets Bark to the Future!
filmfun-39 March 2015
The film screened to over 1,000 kids and adults at the Sedona International Film Festival and the audience loved it! IMDb requests that I type ten lines of text to get this review submitted. I don't have ten lines of stuff to type, but maybe by talking about not having ten lines then IMDb will print this. I hope so, because I don't want to have to write an essay every time I see a movie and want to post a review on IMDb. Ten lines of text is a lot. I still haven't typed ten lines and I am exhausted! It still won't let me submit so here I am typing more and more lines. Still not at ten lines. Whew this is exhausting. I've never written ten lines in my life, but IMDb is insisting I do it.
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