14/27
A spoiled show dog and a street cat embark on an exciting journey to find their family after being separated during a cross-country move. Gracie: If you touch my ear again, I’ll castrate you again. Production Toddler: Raiden by Abimana Khoirian. Gracie and Pedro are two beloved animals who aren’t exactly friends and must put their differences aside to return to their two-legged friends in Salt Lake City after an airline error leaves them stranded. Embarking on an unexpected cross-country adventure through unfamiliar and unfamiliar lands to return home to their loved ones is a theme that’s been explored for decades in films like 1963’s The Incredible Journey and, more recently, 2019’s A Dog’s Way Home. It’s an interesting concept, allowing the characters to explore unfamiliar territory and situations and see how they react to it all. Gracie (Claire Alan), a purebred and sophisticated dog, and Pedro (Cory Doran), a homeless cat rescued from a dumpster, are opposites in many ways. From their origins to their species, they are different from each other internally and externally. The reasons that keep them busy are playing pranks on each other, fighting, etc. Gracie and Pedro literally embody the saying “Like cats and dogs,” which adds to the adventure, as they are an unlikely pair who will have to work together if they want to get back home. The story, which relies on the differences and interactions of the characters to produce comedy, but there is also a lot of slapstick, such as when you are driving at high speed and different objects collide with someone’s face over and over, or bodies breaking the laws of physics in the style of Looney Tunes. This, even if overused, makes many scenes funny. When the pair laugh, they are genuinely cute and funny, and the film is funnier than ever, especially considering that the object of the laughter is often right in front of them. Other characters are also funny in their own way; for example, the rats, whose greedy personalities are evident in small details. It is not clear whether this was intentional or not. The cinematography is good, and some POV shots during the action scenes increase the adrenaline, as well as providing an interesting way to get into their roles. Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue! finds its weakest points when the companions are not on screen, as the rest of the characters are not exactly funny or interesting, not to mention the unnecessary musical numbers, fortunately only two, that slow down the narrative and create a growing desire for them to end. Something similar to Leo (2023), a film with unnecessary songs, not because the inclusion of songs necessarily lowers the quality of the film, but because they are simply not good and therefore in no way justified. Gracie & Pedro is a movie that’s better when it’s entirely focused on its characters, because they’re the ones who brought us here in the first place, an interesting and funny duo who share a special bond that grows as the story progresses, and one that, as part of the audience, wants to see more of.
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