This talking-animal action comedy from Lawrence Guterman, the co-director of
Antz (1998), follows on the heels of the
Babe and Dr. Dolittle films. Unknown to humans, a secret war has been raging between cats and dogs for eons, but a fragile truce has long held the order of the animal kingdom in place. Now the balance of power has tipped, as a researcher, Professor Brody (
Jeff Goldblum), is about to invent a vaccine that will erase all human allergies to dogs. This is too much for the autocratic Mr. Tinkles (
Sean Hayes), a white Persian kitty bent on world domination. The Brody home becomes ground zero for the renewed conflict between feline and canine, with a young Beagle puppy named Lou (
Tobey Maguire) caught in the middle as the new point man for his species' cause. Cats and Dogs co-stars
Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, as well as the vocal talents of
Susan Sarandon,
Alec Baldwin,
Jon Lovitz,
Michael Clarke Duncan, and
Joe Pantoliano. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide