Marmaduke is a 2022 animated comedy film directed by Mark Dippé, and co-directed by Phil Nibbelink, Youngki Lee, and Matt Whelan, based on the comic strip of the same name by Paul and Brad Anderson. It is the second feature-length film based on the strip following the 2010 live-action film. The film stars Pete Davidson as the voice of Marmaduke, along with J. K. Simmons and David Koechner. It was released by SC Films in international countries and on Netflix in the United States on May 6, 2022. The film was universally panned by critics and audiences, with criticisms going towards its animation, screenplay, story, characters, and humor.
Plot
Phil, his wife, and their two children Barbara and Billy live with their dog, a Great Dane by the name of Marmaduke. The film opens at Billy's birthday party. Marmaduke takes a cannonball dive from the second floor of the family home into the backyard pool, releasing a giant tidal wave. Barbara records it on her phone and the video goes viral. It comes to the attention of a world-renowned dog trainer, Guy, who offers to transform Marmaduke into a world-class show dog. At first, the family isn’t sure about Marmaduke entering dog competitions. When Phil learns there is a one million dollar top prize, he’s persuaded to make an agreement. Marmaduke goes into training and, after some initial resistance, starts to make progress.
Guy enters Marmaduke into a local dog show to test his skills. During the preliminary setup, Marmaduke encounters an Afghan hound named Zeus. Zeus entices Marmaduke to eat prior to the competition, making him bloated. Marmaduke does his best to conceal the matter and struts onto the field with Guy. Before one lap around the field, Marmaduke releases voluminous clouds of noxious flatus which envelopes the entire field. He soars through the air and lands backside down in the winner’s trophy and defecates in it, much to the horror of everyone.
Disgraced, Guy refuses to keep training Marmaduke. Deflated and dejected, Marmaduke runs away from home. As he runs down the street, he sees the family cat, King Tut, in the middle of an intersection. Marmaduke saves the cat but has difficulty connecting with his character. Persuaded by King Tut, Marmaduke embarks on a trip around the world, performing heroic stunts along the way. His circumnavigation convinces Guy to take Marmaduke back on track for the World Dog Championship. Marmaduke encounters Zeus again at the competition with many other dog breeds. The competition consists of three challenges, but right after Marmaduke passes the second challenge, he lands on Guy, who is hospitalized. Without a trainer, his owners end up stepping in to coach him, allowing him to tackle the final challenge.
In the third and final challenge, the dogs perform a unique act, with Marmaduke and Billy doing a cowboy act with King Tut, pleasing the audience. Later, the judge's final results reveal Zeus as the winner. However, Marmaduke uncovers that Zeus' owner rigged the scores, leading Zeus to be disqualified and resulting in the Zen-powered Japanese Chin Zhi taking the top prize. Zeus tries to take back the trophy, but Marmaduke stops him. He ends up knocking over a platform where a cameraman sits, causing Marmaduke to push his owners out of the way, getting crushed by the platform when saving the cameraman's life. Marmaduke is initially believed to be dead, but it is revealed that he is still alive, and he and his family live happily ever after. During the mid-credits scene, Zeus gets caught by security and is sent to the dog pound to get his fur shaved. As for Henri and his twin, they are arrested and put to jail.
On October 23, 2017, it was announced that a CGI Marmaduke film was in development, to be written by Byron Kavanagh and directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé, who would produce alongside Dan Chuba and Matthew Joynes and Simon Crowe.[2] In 2018, Andrews McMeel announced the involvement of cast members Pete Davidson as Marmaduke, J. K. Simmons as Marmaduke's rival Zeus, and David Koechner as Phil Winslow.[3] The film's animation was provided by Dippé's company WonderWorld Studios, currently known as StoryBerry, who has facilities in Toronto, Shanghai, and Seoul,[4] while main production was done by Legacy Classics in Los Angeles and One Cool Animation in Hong Kong.[5]
Release
The film was first announced for a release in the second quarter of 2019.[2] It was later slated for a release in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The film was acquired by Netflix in 2022. On April 8, 2022, Netflix released the film's trailer, and announced a May 6 release date.[7]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 0% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2.4/10. Aurora Amidon of Paste Magazine criticized the formulaic and predictable plot, but praised the voice acting of Davidson, Simmons, and Koechner.[8]
