Arlis Fuson
You guessed it...it's soccer this time. Little Sister Andrea has grown up and her new English female coach intrigues young Josh so he and his buddy Tom join up with the soccer team, only to learn quick that Buddy is a great player. Would you be shocked to find that there is someone trying to dog-nap Buddy..wow! yes, a dog catcher is trying to steal him, for some strange reason. Buddy has met soccer girl Emma's dog Molly (the dogs real name is Emma - hmmm weird)and he knocks that bi-atch up (hey thats not a curse word she is a female dog). Anyway 6 puppies come along and the dog nappers are in Heaven. The kids go on a mission to save the doggies and just like parts 1 and 2 Buddy comes last minute to save the team and take them to the championship...awe how sweet.This was horrible, Kevin Zegers is the only reason to watch it. All of the rest of the cast has been replaced anyway except the referee's and his sidekick Tom played in all 3 films by Shayn Solberg. Shane returns later too, but this is Kevin's farewell to fur film. They even have a different house here, which might be because Patrick is in the picture (but in later films you will see the old house is back and a whole different story told as if this film didn't even happen). I hate how cheesy this film is. It's so much like those crappy Disney TV shows with kids that can't act and bad music and cheesy songs that even Miley Cyrus would gag at. The direction was so basic and dull and the dog can't play soccer and the editor must have had to work like crazy to make it look like he could be a goalie. The whole game scenes are ridiculous, the people playing doesn't even try, it's so cheesy. At least in the first two films they tried to make the games believable.All three are basically the same movie with minor differences. This movie was silly, it ripped off 101 Dalmatians AGAIN. The whole dog catcher side story was stupid. At one point the dog catcher is setting outside the mansion wanting a dog and Josh blows a dog whistle and dozens of dogs come to the mansion and the catcher doesn't even notice them. Another stupid thing was when everyone was looking for the missing dogs and the kids were missing their game to look, the parents go on to the game...umm yea, you just know the dog's gonna come and join the team the last few minutes and win don't you? Oh wait thats right you have seen this happen before at the basketball as well as the football game..my bad! Kevin Zegers is the only reason to add this film to your collection, he is an amazing actor, most of the cast are once again a bunch of nobodies, Miguel Sandoval did do a great job as the coach..worst of the three, just for kids, nothing new....2/10 stars
gymgirl1330
I really enjoyed this movie. I have seen most of the other air buds and am wondering what sports they will come up with next. Tennis, Gymnastics? well i am a soccer player and really did like it, especially as a kid. In the movie it also makes a point that no matter what you are you can do anything. Out of all of the Air Buds, this is by far my favorite. I suggest it for family's. Also another good Air Bud movie I liked was Air Buddies. Some people may not like that one because the dogs talk but that was my other favorite. It is more for kids than adults but some may still enjoy it. i don't know what to write so i am just typing stuff sorry. I hope you enjoy this movie and find this helpful.
Brandt Sponseller
At least if you're a Disney fanatic (well, of the variety who loves their live-action films as well as the animated stuff), if you're a kid, if you're a kid at heart almost to the extent that you hardly realize you're an adult, if you love absolutely any film that features animals, especially when they're doing tricks, or if you're just not too demanding, Air Bud: World Pup is somewhat enjoyable to watch. I'm a Disney fanatic. I enjoyed this film enough, and I'll gladly watch it again.But boy does it have a lot of problems. The main flaw arises from a combination of too many characters, too many plot threads and not enough time to take care of them all. In the space of 82 minutes, we've got adults getting married, teens falling in love and trying not to be awkward at it, teen competition for love and jealousy, preteens playing spy games, dogs falling in love, dogs playing soccer, dogs having puppies, manipulative parents who'll do anything to make their kids win being taught a lesson by their kids, housekeeper dilemmas, and crooks cooking up and executing elaborate plots. I'm probably forgetting something, but that's 10 big plot issues to be dealt with, with less than 10 minutes per thread to deal with them, and presumably weave them into a coherent whole that's both not too complicated--this is a kids' film, after all--and that's also humorous and heartwarming. Not surprisingly, director Bill Bannerman, on his first turn being completely in charge (he has a lot of previous second unit experience), wasn't quite up to the task. I'm sure it didn't help that there were at least three screenwriters involved, and probably dictating producers, as well.The end result is that Air Bud: World Pup is extremely choppy. Events occur with little justification, and worse, often little explanation. People figure out and do things primarily because they need to--and fast--so that everything can arrive where it needs to arrive in less than 90 minutes. From one cut to the next, time might jump ahead six months or so. We have both adults who seem like maybe they're mentally disabled and kids who just intuitively figure out what a dog is thinking and rush into some unexpected action. Some of the threads should have simply been removed, because it's difficult to become too engaged in the film when as soon as you're introduced to an idea, it's already passed you by.Also not helping is the fact that one of the threads is basically a rip-off of One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), minus a Cruella De Vil character. And another problem is that given the way the film is edited, I have to assume that the dog, Air Bud, probably couldn't do much with the soccer ball. Unlike the first two films, a dog playing a sport is almost an afterthought here, and when we see him, it's in very quick glimpses; every once in a while, these snippets appear to be even aided by computer animation.Yet, for someone like me, there's a cheesy charm to Air Bud: World Pup. The script and performances often teeter between ridiculous, hokey and kinda clichéd. I tend to like that combination. It makes the film both a bit predictable and subtly bizarre. And at times, like the ending, when the film completely abandons consistency and basically becomes a commercial for the U.S. Women's Soccer Team, Air Bud: World Pup is so blatantly tacky that you can't help but love it.
