Marmaduke is a 2010 feature film based on a comic strip of the same name.
Plot[]
Synopsis[]
A dog travels to California with his owner. His owner learns there is more to life then work and the dog learns there is more to life then popularity.
Detailed Plot[]
The film opens up with the narrator talking about high school and the trouble of fitting in while we see a tall kid having such difficulty before we learn that the narrator is in fact Marmaduke, a Great Dane who proceeds to introduce the viewer to Winslows while stating his relationship with each member of the family. Including the family cat, Carlos who he knows to be his best friend. The Winslows consist of Phil who works for Bark Organics, a California based pet food company, his wife Debbie Winslow; their oldest daughter Barbara, middle son Brian, and youngest daughter Sarah. The family resides in Kansas but due to Phil getting transferred will be moving to 'the O.C.' (Orange County, California). After the family arrives Phil meets Don Twombly, his boss, at a dog park to discuss closing a deal with PetCo which would put Bark Organics into stores nationwide.
Phil's assignment is an ad campaign to win PetCo over on the deal. While at the dog park Marmaduke meets some of the locals; Mazie, an Australian Shepherd tomboy, and her pals Giuseppe a Chinese Crested Dog who is afraid of everything and Raisen, an intelligent but tiny dachshund. Mazie shows him around the park explaining the various 'cliques' before arriving at the Pedigrees who reveal that Marmaduke is among the Mutts when they call Mazie and the others out for being mixed.
Marmaduke had previously caught sight of Jezebel, a Rough Collie who strikes his fancy. It's revealed in this exchange that she's Bosco's girlfriend and that the pedigrees are having a pedigrees only party that night. Bosco is the Alpha of the Pedigrees. He warns Marmaduke to stay way from his girl. After things calm down Mazie invites Marmaduke to an 'O.C Rager' at her place that night. Marmaduke sneaks out of the Windslow's house that night to attend Mazie's party. He doesn't find it too impressive as it's just the four of them but he does compliment Mazie's toy (an oinking-cow doll) which the others find strange. He's talked into giving the dance floor a try and being the big clumsy great dane he is he ends up breaking Mazie's owner's stereo. He apologies and suggests that they crash the Pedigree party. Mazie agrees but only because she feels he's gonna have to learn the hard way how things work in the O.C..
On their way to the party they spot Chupadogra, a feared legend in Orange County who is said to have killed and eaten his owner before running into the wilds as a mad dog. Giuseppe is thankful Chupadogra leaving them alone. At the party Marmaduke notices the Pedigrees harassing a cat and begins to approach on the cat's side but runs into Jezebel. This provokes Bosco to acknowledge him and belittle him in front of the others. Jezebel puts a stop to it before things get out of hand.
The next day Marmaduke is in a company car with Phil Winslow who is talking via a headset with his boss who is reminding him about the deadline. Marmaduke is scared by a bee and Phil stops the car in front of a beach where he finally comes up with an ad campaign. Meeting with Don at the dog park Phil proposes that since Bark Organics is a California based company it should embrace that- with a dog surfing competition. Don is skeptical as he was hoping for an image that would appeal nationwide but agrees to give it a shot to close the deal with PetCo. At the dog park Marmaduke asks Mazie for dating advice regarding winning a girl over to which she makes a few suggestions regarding hygiene and gives him her oinking cow toy saying that it'll give him comfort. She then when assured that the advice isn't for anyone specific tells Marmaduke her dream date hoping that he's interested in her.
Latter feeling burdened by Mazie's dietary advice and hygiene talk Marmaduke hatches a plan to win over Jezebel by staging harassment of a cat- with his friend Carlos. Carlos agrees to help him out but didn't expect so many dogs at the park and doesn't prove effective at acting. In a rush of the moment Marmaduke bites down on Carlos' tail and swings him away from the other dogs in the process causing Carlos to loose much of his tail hair. Carlos is a bit hurt by this.
Latter at the Bark Organic's first annual Dog Surfing Competition Brian confides in Marmaduke that he hasn't been going to soccer practice, and Barbara catches the eye of a local surfer much to Phil's concern. The PetCo executives attend and suggest that seeing Marmaduke surf would be hilarious since he's from Kansas - Marmaduke is hoping Phil recognizes that they are just joking but hoping to further his rapport with the executives agrees. Marmaduke proves rather effective at surfing even though it's his first try and ends up beating Bosco, who is the local dog surfing champion. This angers Bosco who begins to chase Marmaduke disrupting the event but when Marmaduke decides to fight back it's he who gets the blame with the executives finding the whole ordeal appalling.
Phil hires a trainer for Marmaduke while Marmaduke becomes the Alphadog having won over Jezebel as a result of the contest. Marmaduke even takes Jezebel on Mazie's dream date- which she witnesses breaking her heart. As he grows in popularity he loses touch with the Mutts with them confronting him at the dog park for taking Jezebel on Mazie's dream date. He iterates that they where just tossing ideas back and forth and says that Mazie should be glad he used one of her ideas. The Mutts leave him be. That night Marmaduke hosts a party at the Winslow's place while the family attends a sailing trip with the Twombly family (where Don and Phil are to discuss the new pitch to PetCo after what happened at the surfing contest). The Pedigree's thoroughly wreck the house while Mazie and the other Mutts watch from a distance. Bosco arrives and recognizes Carlos from the park and reveals to the others that what happened at the park was staged.
The pedigrees leave, including Jezebel who sees Marmaduke as a liar. The next morning the Winslows return with Phil very angry at Marmaduke for what's happened at the house- he chases Marmaduke because Marmaduke refused to come to him and in the chase his laptop falls into the pool- destroying his pitch to PetCo. At a low, made to sleep outside in the rain as punishment Marmaduke decides to runaway from the Winslows but not before placing Brain's unused soccer jersey and Barbara's cell phone in front of Phil who is asleep. After he leaves the house he drops Mazie's toy off at her place and continues on. Mazie thinks it's just a peace offering and isn't going to let him off that easily so she goes to the Winslows with the toy only to learn from Carlos that Marmaduke has run away. Mazie decides to look for him.
Latter that same night Marmaduke goes into some bushes to get out of the rain and comes face to face with Chupadogra and profusely apologies for trespassing and begs for his life but as Marmaduke begins to leave Chupadogra asks him what he's doing out and Marmaduke explains that he's running away. Chupadogra tells him what actually happened; that Chupadogra ran away to be the alpha dog and then his supposed friends turned on him and by then he'd lost track of home. Marmaduke thanks him as 'Buster' after spotting a food bowl with the name and Buster thanks him, for he's not been called buster in a long time. He appreciates it. When someone from the pound comes to the bush Buster stays behind so Marmaduke can get away to return to his family; something Buster himself was unable to do.
The next morning Phil reads the texts on Barbara's phone and sees Brain's jersey and realizes that he's not been listening to his family but has been caught up in work. He expresses this realization to them but shortly after Sarah realizes that Marmaduke is gone. Phil remembers he has to present the pitch (which has been destroyed) at a meeting that day - it's his last chance to keep the job. Debbie starts to organize the search without him but Phil decides to go with them- to show that he's putting his family over work- that he meant what he said.
Mazie is the one to find Marmaduke but she falls into a sink hole that opens up and Marmaduke jumps in after her. After various mishaps it's Phil who rescues Marmaduke with the aid of the California fire department. The next day at the dog park Don, having heard of the rescue and noticed how many views (over 680,000 views) it got on YouTube rehires Phil - having fired him previously for missing the meeting. He states that he needs someone who loves their dog that much working for him.
Marmaduke goes to the Pedigrees and convinces them to share their special spot with the other dogs much to Bosco's disbelief- thankfully it's revealed that Bosco is - like Marmaduke -afraid of bees and he runs off before he can confront Marmaduke while the Pedigrees- not aware of Marmaduke's own phobia stop backing Bosco. Mazie and Maramaduke start dating, Jezebel and Marmaduke are just friends and Don turns to Phil and says "Do you think they can dance?" and the dogs start dancing which turns out to be a commercial. Bark Organics wins the PetCo deal and all is good.
Changes from Source Material[]
The film alters some characters and adds quite a few. Phil's wife in the comics is Dottie and the family's youngest, Sarah isn't present in the comic strip. The other cat character from the comic strip, King Tut (who also belongs to the Winslows) isn't present in the film.
Production[]
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Cast[]
In order of character appearance;
- Owen Wilson as Marmaduke
- Finley Jacobsen as Brain Winslow
- Caroline Sunshine as Barbara Winslow
- Judy Greer as Debbie Winslow
- Milana Haines as Sarah Winslow
- Lee Pace as Phil Winslow
- George Lopez as Carlos
- William H. Macy as Mr. Twombly
- Fergie as Jezebel
- Steve Coogan as Raisen
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Guiseppe
- list incomplete
Crew[]
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Post-Production[]
(Deleted scenes and who handled the post production editing and cutting)
Reception[]
"Dull and unfunny, Marmaduke offers family film goers little more than another round of talking animals and scatological humor." - Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus
"... it's all a tad contrived, but young and old alike will get something from it — even if the lip movements take a bit of getting used to." - Radio Times, Marmaduke film review 8/25/2010
Much like the comic strips the film has been described as mediocre for while meant to be a comedy its writing matches the comic's tone and thus what should at times be amusing is not amusing at all. The film actually has a heartwarming casual yet serious demeanor to its presentation with most jokes falling flat. It's endearing in a way; sweet though typically failing to produce laughs (until perhaps the second viewing. In regards to the Marmaduke fandom the character of Mazie, Marmaduke's tomboyish love interest introduced in this film, has been well received being one of the most fleshed out characters in the film.
Trivial Notes[]
- Despite the pedigrees being proud pure-bred examples of their breeds they never voice any negative feelings about Bosco, a Doberman Pinscher, having Jezebel, a Rough Collie, as a girlfriend. Potentially as they don't wish to oppose the Alpha dog and thus he can get away with whatever he wants just as Marmaduke, once the Alpha, does in having Jezebel as his girlfriend before Bosco revealed Marmaduke's cat act as a staged event.
Category Clarification[]
- Fiction set in the 2000s - During the scene where Phil decides to go look for Marmaduke, instead of work up a quick ad for BarkOrganics, to show that he is putting his family first there is a calendar expressing the date.