Dr. Donna's Review

About the Film

One Saturday morning, while Arthur is getting ready to feed his dog, Pal, Buster comes by to remind him that it is the day of the Big Water Balloon Fight and that they are already late. Arthur gets so excited that he forgets to feed and walk Pal. He even forgets to give Pal his heartworm medicine! He leaves the unopened can of dog food on the kitchen counter and takes off with Buster to join the fun. The other members of the family go off to their own activities and Pal is left behind. Not only is he hungry, he has to go to the bathroom in the worst way!

Pal tries to make his needs known and when that doesn't work, he tries to get himself on to the toilet and ends up falling in. Eventually, he gets out of the house (we don't know how he does so until the end of the movie), and he sets of on a grand adventure of freedom as he runs around town by himself. Over the course of the movie, Pal finds and eats an ice cream cone, chases butterflies, gets frightened when someone comes at him on a riding lawn mower, stows a ride in an ice cream truck, get trapped inside the truck yard overnight, gets chased by the guard dogs in the truck yard and has a harrowing experience inside of the ice cream factory with the guard dogs chasing him through the ice cream making machinery.

Meanwhile Arthur is having a great time with his friends when he suddenly remembers that he forgot about Pal. When he returns home, he discovers that Pal is gone. Arthur and Buster enlist all of the kids in the neighborhood to mount a search for Pal. Buster sees the situation as an opportunity to practice his detective skills. He starts recording clues in his notebook and makes a cast of Pal's paw print. The neighborhood kids have no luck finding Pal and Arthur is getting worried. Now he is afraid that because he forgot Pal, Pal will forget him.

Using Buster's detective skills, the boys track Pal to the ice cream factory where they convince Mr. Kone, the owner of the factory, to let them watch the surveillance video. They see Pal being chased through the factory by the guard dogs and they see that he managed to escape through an open window and run toward the highway. With help from Arthur's dad, they head toward the highway. When they stop at a diner to make an inquiry about Pal, they learn from the cook that one of the delivery truck drivers, Rosie, came in to the diner with a dog she found near the highway. The cook identifies Pal from the picture and tells them that Rosie decided to keep him since he had no collar and was such a “sweet dog.” Arthur is devastated. He goes home and begins to pack up all of Pal's things. He recalls how mean he was to Pal and calls himself a “bad owner.”

Meanwhile Arthur's mom and his little sister, DW, have gone to the Merry Moo Cow Show where DW is disappointed in the performances of costumed characters on ice skates. Toward the end of the show, DW hears a dog barking. She is certain that it is Pal but no one believes her. She calls Arthur and tells him about the truck driver and that she heard Pal's bark. It turns out that Rosie's job is to deliver materials for the Merry Moo

Cow Show and she has brought Pal along in her truck. Pal starts barking when he sees DW but Rosie doesn't know why he is barking. Rosie finishes her job and packs up to drive the materials to the next site of the Moo Cow show. Arthur and Buster figure out that Rosie is headed to the next town on the Moo Cow show performance list.

Once again, Arthur and Buster enlist the help of the neighborhood kids in an effort to stop the truck before it gets out of town. The truck is stopped near Muffie's house when Muffie's limousine blocks its path. Arthur and Pal reunite but Arthur admits that he has not been a good caretaker for Pal. He gives Rosie Pal's heartworm medicine and expects that Pal will want to stay with her. Rosie sees the love between Arthur and Pal and tells Arthur to keep his dog. Everyone in the family is glad to have Pal safely back home.

The only piece of the puzzle that they have not figured out is how Pal got away in the first place. DW confesses that when she found Pal in the toilet, she pulled him out and he started to shake off the water. DW was so horrified at the thought of being sprayed by toilet water that she thought she was going to die! She was the one who let him out and started the whole adventure.

About the Kids
This film will appeal to both boys and girls and to all age groups from 3 to 9. Most children know Arthur and his friends from the popular television series. This movie has all of the popular characters in a longer, richer story than the half hour television programs. The storyline is accessible by younger children but has enough depth and humor to keep school-age children engaged, too. Younger children will relate to DW, Arthur's pesky younger sister who comes through for him when the chips are down and demonstrates that she, too, has some good ideas to contribute. The lesson that Arthur learns about being responsible for his dog is a lesson that all children can relate to; and, the lesson is conveyed softly through the context of the story.

Film Content and Features
“Arthur's Missing Pal” is a straightforward dramatic story told through appealing animation with a few age-appropriate songs that highlight story themes. There is some tension when Pal is threatened by the lawn mower and the audience doesn't know for a while that he escaped unharmed. The scenes in which Pal is chased and threatened by the guard dogs at the ice cream factory are a bit scary but will be manageable by most children.

Things to Talk About
There are many themes that parents can discuss with children after seeing the film. They include:

• What job did Arthur forget to do one Saturday morning? How did his forgetting affect his pet, his family, and his friends?

• How did Arthur feel when he realized what he had done?

• Did Arthur get punished for forgetting to take care of Pal? Do you think his parents should have punished him?

• Arthur and Buster found a lot of clues when they were searching for Pal. What were some of the clues? What clue do you think was the most important?

• Both Arthur and Buster had times when they felt bad about themselves. Buster thought that he was “a bad detective.” Arthur thought that he was a “bad dog owner.” They talked to each other about their bad feelings. Did talking help? Do you think they were really bad at these things?

• It was DW who let Pal out of the house in the beginning of the story. Why didn't she tell Arthur and Buster what she had done?

• Arthur and Buster asked all the kids in the neighborhood to help in the search for Pal. Have you ever had a time when you asked your friends to help? Did they help you? How?