37
Intermittently diverting as it may be, the movie bears all the earmarks of a cobbled-together, made-by-committee product, poorly aimed at its tween-and-younger target audience in look, tone, music and story.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
The A.V. Club by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
With a product this generic, one at least expects it to do what it says on the tin.
50
Los Angeles Times by Katie Walsh
It doesn't gel and lacks the kind of visual kinetic energy we’ve come to expect from films of this ilk.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
Although the plot is thin, Rock Dog nevertheless charms with its engaging central characters and unencumbered storyline.
70
The New York Times by Neil Genzlinger
The title character of Rock Dog isn’t likely to end up on anyone’s Top 5 list of animated heroes, but the film does have a thoroughly enjoyable rocker in it. And an appealingly nasty wolf, too.
50
San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Hartlaub
Too lackluster to be praised highly, yet too benign to be excoriated, “Rock Dog” is the perfect family film for a rainy day with no other options. It does not deserve mention in any animation history book; and yet it’s completely satisfactory in the moment.
40
Rock Dog stays firmly in the realm of the pleasant but unremarkable, an air-guitar effort when a stab at virtuosity might have yielded something more memorable.
25
Director Ash Brannon (“Surf’s Up”) and a slew of credited co-writers could not uncover a laugh in this material. Not a one-liner, not one single sight gag that pays off. The animation is generic, but pretty enough. The music? Sort of a Chinese market research idea of “rock.”
75
Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard, director Ash Brannon (“Surf’s Up”), and crew combine these ingredients into something that’s uniquely likable, and even unique-looking at times.