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Rock Dog | 2017 | PG | - 1.3.1
A Tibetan mastiff dog (voiced by Luke Wilson) goes against his father's (voiced by J.K. Simmons) wishes and travels to the big city to become a Rock 'N' Roll musician and meet a famous rocker (voiced by Eddie Izzard). Also with the voices of Lewis Black, Kenan Thompson, Mae Whitman, Jorge Garcia, Matt Damon and Sam Elliot. Directed by Ash Brannon. [1:20]
SEX/NUDITY 1 - We see a male sheep's silhouette while showering and hear that he takes showers all day; we see other sheep silhouettes also (nothing is evident).
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VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A large dog wearing a lion's mane wig punches and kicks wolves out of his village, sending one over a mountain with a ball of fiery Ki power waves; later, he sends another wolf over a mountain with a fireball of Ki. Two sheep slap each other with disassembled costume arms (no injuries are evident). A dog and several small sheep don fake wolf heads to scare another dog; they find an empty army costume that the sheep beat with clubs and the first dog scares the other dog in a house as other sheep run away, screaming and a large sheep stabs hair shears into the first dog's behind (the dog yelps, but we see no damage). Several wolves capture a cat and pick up ball bats when they arrive at an office; the wolves argue and the cat falls off-screen when one wolf raps him slightly on the head with a bat. A wolf shoots a bolo at a large dog, tying him up.
► A cat is thrown out of a car at his front gate. Wolves drive about 12 large cars at night, chase a dog and surround him, and they shoot the dog and his sitar full of tranquilizer darts; darts also hit all the wolves and all the characters fall asleep and the scene cuts to the dog tied to a two-wheeled hand cart in an office where a wolf smashes up his own desk.
► Four sheep wrapped neck to feet in ropes are held over a hot grill; a line of small sheep, a large dog, and an ox are also tied in ropes from neck to feet and a bus jumps a wall and lands in a plaza causing the sheep to be dropped away from the grill.
► A boxing match between an alligator and a pig shows the gator punching the pig out of the ring and off-screen. A boxing match between a small dog and a huge bear wearing boxing shorts takes place in a chain link cage match; the bear punches holes in one wall after punching the dog into it, and then falls through the chain link completely, allowing the dog to run away (no injuries are shown). A sign on a building is a neon animation of two animals punching each other.
► A lighted lantern overturns and burns down some walls in a yarn factory. A lighted firework rocket chases a sheep and explodes harmlessly behind a house (we see some smoke). A sheep walks through a dark and windy snowstorm. Thunder sounds and hard rain falls on a sheep in a scene and he jumps in a trash bin, which is dumped into a garbage truck.
► Two wolves use a large metal shooting claw to grab a sheep, but miss, and end up swinging from a rafter in a transit terminal; a tiny three-wheeled car hits the sheep (we see no damage), the sheep falls into a shopping cart and careens along a street sending sparks from a few parked cars that he clips. Wolves drive a large car erratically along a street and cause sparks to fly from cars they clip. Two wolves speed in a large car, drive up a skateboard ramp, and slide the car onto its roof; the air bags deploy and no one is injured. A dog plays an old guitar, the strings light up and a large power wave ejects and pushes a robot out a window.
► A large dog and his son protect sheep from possible wolf attacks by building large dog costumes for the sheep to wear. A large dog demands that everyone practice only sentry drills and locks up their musical instruments. A dog trains another dog to throw Ki power in a martial art move (Deadly Mastiff Paw); the first dog knocks over a dummy, but the second dog can only burn out a small eye on the dummy. Sheep send sparks of static electricity when they touch each other's sweaters. A cat's front gate shocks him with electricity, throwing him into a wall, from which he ricochets and hits a glass panel carried by two characters (no injuries are seen). A dog and a cat jump into a dumpster and the cat comes back up covered in garbage, squeals, and frantically licks his paws. A sheep kisses an electrified gate and is thrown across a street by the power and hits a building, ricochets and falls, without injury. A sheep's knapsack burns on an electrified gate as he jumps over and many large mechanical mice with glowing red eyes chase him. A sheep steps on a welcome mat that raises and tosses him onto the sidewalk. Wolves chase a small dog over rooftops (some of the wolves fall), the dog jumps onto a flagpole that breaks but stays at a 90-degree angle. A dog plays his guitar and the strings light up, hypnotizing all the characters with wide eyes, and a large power wave ejects; wolves and sheep float in the sky amid colorful light streaks and snowflake-like lights as the music plays.
► A dog argues with his son when the younger dog breaks into the instrument room and gets his sitar out. A dog tells his father he wants to go to the city; the older dog looks sad, but finally lets him go. A dog plays rock music on a sitar and floats into the night sky to radio rock music with colorful lights shooting around him as a voice on the radio says, "Play your guts out."
► A cat argues loudly with a male voice on a large mobile phone four times. A cat plays loud heavy metal music and slams his metal guitar onto a floor four times (no damage is seen). A cat pounds a piano keyboard with a paw and an old mobile phone. A bear roars at a leopard, blowing it off-screen.
► Fans of a cat chase him down streets cheering and squealing. A large dog shudders at the sight of photos of sheep with massive tangled wool.
LANGUAGE 1 - Name-calling (crazy, stupid, idiot, twit, stuffed twit, cockamamie, nut job, monkey, nutter, weirdo, thief, noisemaker, swamp fiddle, delusional, large lug, fool, lame, tin can), exclamations (shut-up, zip it).
SUBSTANCE USE - A goat is a musician with memory problems and a dazed look implying that he used to do drugs and these are the after effects. An ox orders two shots of weed-grass juice in a tavern (he does not drink them), a dog sits in front of eight shot glasses that once held a weed-grass juice (it is implied that he drank them), a cat drinks a glass of champagne but spits it back into the glass, a robot carries a bottle of champagne and a glass on a tray twice, and a wolf holds a martini in an office.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Power, throwing Ki, rural vs. city life, protecting one's friends and family, danger, gangsters, making music a career, plagiarism, determination, persistence, courage, expectations, disappointment, compromise, family, friendship, compassion, cooperation, respect, sharing fame, conscience, guilt, redemption, robots.
MESSAGE - Everyone's unique calling is equally powerful and can help others.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
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We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
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Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
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