Customer Reviews

Spooky Buddies (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

This is the first Buddies movie I have watched, so I can't compare it to the others. The first thing I have to say is that the puppies are adorable, the kids are charming, and the set is colorful. The second thing is that (at the risk of sounding picky) this movie is basically a remake of the Disney movie Hocus Pocus with a few minor changes, different actors, and of course adding the puppies. Hocus Pocus has always been one of my very favorite holiday movies, but I am genuinely shocked that Disney produced this Buddies movie with basically the EXACT same story line. Were they short on writers or short on creativity? If you have seen Hocus Pocus, you will be amazed at the similarities.

The story opens in a big old house in the past, just 75 years ago vs. 300 years, and sets up the whole story for present day Halloween in a small town. Instead of three witches who are brought back to life by a candle, it's a warlock brought back to life by a mirror. Instead of sucking the life out of children, the warlock needs the souls of 5 puppies (not as scary as it sounds). People are turned into little talking animals, just like Hocus Pocus, and the warlock wanders the streets filled with trick-or-treaters searching for his stolen spell book (sound familiar). All of the town's clueless parents are at the town Halloween dance and don't believe the children when they come looking for help. Seriously, I think they must have used the same script and just replaced the teenaged children with this younger group (more akin to the Goonies clan) and the Buddies. The children seem to be the main characters is this movie, with the Buddies as an aside. I really expected this movie to be more centered around the puppies.

Okay, now that I have complained enough about the fact that Disney took a major shortcut by copying Hocus Pocus, I have to say I am at least glad that they copied a GOOD movie and that it was their OWN movie that they copied, not somebody elses. I also have to wonder if it's possible that they did this intentionally because the story from Hocus Pocus was so successful and felt that it was worth redoing for a slightly younger set. Guess I can't blame them for that. Don't get me wrong, this movie can't compare to Hocus Pocus which had an all-star cast and was overflowing with humor. Spooky Buddies is obviously intended to give us an opportunity to watch some adorable little puppies in cute costumes outwit the bad guys with the help of some equally adorable kids. They were successful in doing just that. The opening of the movie is the scariest if you are concerned about your little ones, but the rest of the story lightens up and of course has a happy ending.

So why did I buy this movie? I have grandchildren who have several of the other movies and loved them and were eager to see this one as well. I like to have movies for all the holidays on hand for sleepovers, so I bought this one for Halloween. They haven't seen it yet, but I'm pretty sure they will enjoy it for a number of reasons. First, the children in the movie are their age and that is always a big plus when it comes to whether or not they can connect with the characters. Second, the movie is just scary enough to make it fun (after all, it is Halloween) but not scary enough to give them nightmares. It may be a little spooky for really small children. And third, everyone loves adorable puppies. I will try to do a follow up with "reviews" from my grandchildren after they see it.

Now, I am no prude when it comes to movies, but this was unreal. This movie is literally FILLED with the occult. It talks about , "eating your souls" and "drinking your blood", (this is repeated throughout the movie). There is a scene where a medium is using a ouija board to summon spirits from the dead. They talk about, "sprits from the netherworld", etc... Nothing that I can say can possibly explain how truly dark this movie is. It is the occult wrapped up in 5 cute, little, talking puppies. You may already be familiar with this film, but if not, You may want to watch it so that You can form your own opinion, BEFORE You show it to the kiddos. This is not something that You will want your children exposed to, especially at a young age. This is not, "Casper the Friendly Ghost". I was shocked.

The first 5 minutes of this movie had my 7 year old in tears. It was way too scary and while we watched for 5 more minutes to actually see the buddies and see if she may like it... she was too freaked out and didn't want to watch them anymore. Do NOT get this movie if your kids get a little scared at spooky things - it will not be enjoyable for them at all!

We have loved all the other Buddies movies, but this one was very scary and dark. We ended up turning it off midway through. It deals with ghosts, warlocks, ouija boards and fortune tellers. We were very disappointed.

This movie was a huge disappointment. Children aged 4 and 8 were so terrified by the soul-stealing character that we had to turn the movie off. What were the producers thinking??

My kids have enjoyed all the other buddy movies and couldn't wait to see this one. Unfortunately, they walked away scared and I left the room annoyed. The subject matter did not deserve a G rating and wasn't appropriate for little kids.

I really can only rate this movie based on the first ten minutes. It took only 10 minutes to scare my 5 year olds before we turned it off. I'm very surprise that this movie is rated G!!!

If you are looking for a cute, entertaining Buddies movie, skip this one. A Disney movie about talking dogs on an adventure would be suitable for 3 to 6 year olds, but within two minutes I needed to explain what souls and ghosts are while blocking out images of an extremely scary dog from Hell. The movie does little to redeem it self from there. There is too little interaction with the Buddies, and it just seems like the writers created just enough material to make a trailer look interesting and didn't care about making a light, entertaining family movie. Air Buddies and Space Buddies both have entertaining, thought out stories and witty dialogue for both kids and parents. Save your money and let's hope Treasure Buddies gets some of the original magic of the Buddies movies back.

After seeing (and really enjoying) all the previous Buddies movies, this was a huge disappointment. First of all, it is much too sinister and scary for the demographic that would likely be drawn to this movie, i.e. preschool-early elementary. Stealing puppies' souls to draw out the spirits of the netherworld??? That is just a little too dark. The other Buddies' movies had elements of peril and suspense, but they were much more age appropriate and lighthearted. They also were balanced with lots of humor and a good story line, both of which are in limited supply in this movie. If you are expecting a film with the same tone and character as the previous, very cute Buddies movies, skip this one. No one in our family liked it.

Typical Buddies movie - if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Nothing of particular note about this one... but both my 9yo and 6yo LOVED it. The 9yo thinks it's the best of the Buddies movies.