This is one of those movies that I somehow missed during my childhood. I just ended up seeing it and my god, this movie is excellent. Like all great family friendly movies, it manages to be a very wholesome and accessible movie to children while also being a movie with surprisingly sophisticated themes and character work when you look at it with adult eyes.
I was so impressed that this cutesy little animal movie managed to deliver some very salient points about biases and class injustice. I loved the part where the dogs go "We have to speak slowly because all sheep are obviously stupid." And then it goes "the sheep spoke slowly because all dogs are obviously ignorant."
And even though the movie doesn't come right out and say it in the text, I couldn't help but feel that the movie was HEAVILY implying some kind of vegetarian message in it. Or maybe a better way to phrase that it is the movie implicitly asks questions about our treatment and eating of animals that even adults find hard to answer.
Not trying to sound preachy. I eat and love BBQ. But watching this movie it is very hard to avoid asking myself "Why is it okay to eat pigs, but it's not okay to eat the dogs or the cat?" Which I was suprised to see in a movie where the target audience is children.
And also HUGO FUCKING WEAVING is in this! I had no idea! I know it sounds stupid, but I'd easily put this right next to Matrix and LoTR for how much I enjoyed it and I will fight anyone over this.