Five talking Golden Retriever puppies stow away aboard a high-tech spaceship and inadvertently travel to the moon, and then come back to Earth again.

That is basically the plot behind 'Space Buddies', the latest direct-to-DVD sequel to Air Buddies, a 2006 spin-off of 'Air Bud' which was a 1997 Walt Disney flick about a Golden retriever that could play professional basketball (the Air Buddies are his offspring, see).

Is it fair for a full-grown man to criticise a movie so blatantly aimed at the six years old and younger crowd? Probably not, which is why I let my six-year-old daughter, who is a dedicated fan of the buddies watch it with me. (How dedicated is she? Not only does she know the all the puppies’ names, but can actually tell them apart – a feat which I could not accomplish no matter how hard I tried. The puppies, by the way, are: Buddha, Mudbud, B-Dawg, Budderball, and Rosebud. Memorise these names and impress the toddler in your life today!)

Yup, the plot is pretty thin; the acting is bad and even though the movie is about talking dogs (come on!) I still found myself wondering about stuff like: why does the Russian cosmonaut have a hammer and sickle emblem on his spacesuit when the Soviet Union has been dead for more than two decades now? Why bother oxygenating a spaceship’s cabin if it is an unmanned flight? I know it’s stupid of me, but I still couldn’t help myself!

So here’s the low-down: by all means buy this DVD for your kiddies. My daughter grew restive and fidgety whilst watching it, but that didn’t prevent her from nagging me to watch it again in a few days’ time. Go figure! But be warned: this is one of those kiddies movies which parents watch with their siblings at their own risk. To be honest it’s on the dull side and you’d be better off washing the dishes or performing some other household chore whilst your little ‘uns sit transfixed in front of the TV screen.

Extras: Let Disney’s FastPlay function do its thing and play some extras after the movie has finished. Not only is there an educational short film about space travel, but also a fake “blooper reel” which the kids will like. There is also a trailer for Santa Buddies! Be afraid!

» James O’Ehley is a freelance journalist and content editor of The Sci-Fi Movie Page, an international entertainment web site.