Featuring the vocal talents of Bill Nighy, Susan Sarandon, Alicia Silverstone, Danny Trejo and Brooke Shields, here is a new animated family adventure, in which prim pup Gracie and wisecracking cat Pedro travel cross-country to reunite with their loving family after being misplaced during a relocation … sounds OK, right? Maybe not the most original, but some good names there. We all like Nighy. Sarandon, what a legend. Alicia Silverstone! What’s she been up to lately? And so on. In truth, the big names are all appearing in minor character roles that seem likely to have appealed due to how little time they would take to complete – a quick session in an audio recording booth, send in the invoice, boom, done.
But the actors voicing lead characters Gracie and Pedro are less well known, and most of the story is taken up with their interactions. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – animated films always used to be voiced mostly by talented but not particularly A-list voice actors to splendid effect. But even the most accomplished voice actors need something to work with, and for the majority of the runtime, we’re stuck with the supremely unlovable cat-and-dog duo, who are incredibly annoying and charmless. The mismatched pair are a typical example of 1990s sitcom style insult humour, whereby almost everything the characters say to each other is a would-be comic putdown. It can work well when the dialogue is witty or original, but unfortunately in this case is more like being trapped with two bickering children on a long and fractious road trip.
Nor can their adventure be described as a visual treat: the cheap-looking CGI animation has zero allure, with by-the-numbers character design contributing to the overall feeling that this lacklustre film was made almost entirely in order to prise money from the fingers of tired parents. You kind of suspect that Nighy, Sarandon et al will have skipped even watching the finished product.
• Gracie and Pedro is in UK cinemas from 9 August.
