(rated PG, 99 mins.)
A throwback to those ’70’s Disney flicks the guy and the dog(s), in the story of Ted Brooks (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), a successful Miami dentist who suddenly finds himself in Alaska for the reading of a will. Greeted by a continuous string of gruff characters, he learns that he’s adopted and his mother left him a cabin with a dog sled team. But it gets worse when he learns his biological dad is Thunder Jack (James Coburn), a white man. Next thing he’s letting the dogs out (woof-woof) and learning to mush with this lovable team of snow-pooches. Gooding’s enthusiastic humor is irresistible with arms flapping, bug eyes bulging and overdone tumbles to appease the wee ones with doggie wee-wee jokes. Director Brian Levant (“The Flintstones”, “Jingle All The Way”) who had doggie success (“Beethoven”), again successfully manages an adult premise delivered to young children in a satisfying family manner that crosses the finish line.