Marmaduke

Almost 60 years after it was first published, Brad Anderson's comic strip about the misadventures of a clumsy Great Dane comes bounding into CGI, lip-synched life in this kids' adventure. The Winslow family, originally from Kansas, have upped sticks and plonked them down again in sunny California, thanks to Dad's new job at a pet-food company that's run by Don Twombly. Despite the lovely weather, the family's having a tough time fitting in to their new environment, none more so than their massive pet dog Marmaduke, to whom our full attention quickly switches. And so, via the aforementioned electronic trickery, the Dane learns to bear life's slings and arrows via a series of daft adventures with his canine friends (including surfing and breakdancing competitions), replete with slapstick and, yes fear not, fart jokes. Oh, and they talk, the dogs. Not to the film's human contingent, obviously (that would be silly), but to each other and - showing scant regard to the fourth wall - us. Anyway, it should keep children who love dogs quiet for 90 minutes. Steve Coogan and Kiefer Sutherland provide the voices for some of Marmaduke's chums, and there's also a brief cameo from David Walliams.