Trouble
Trouble, also known as Dog Gone Trouble in its re-released, is a 2019 computer-animated, comedy, family film made by Netflix.
Plot
Trouble is a pampered dog, living the good life in a mansion with his wealthy, elderly owner, Mrs. Sarah Vanderwhoozie, under the care of her loyal butler, James, and famed animal trainer Cesar Millan. One day, after his owner dies due to natural causes, he is left alone and unaware in her mansion. Claire and Norbert, Mrs. Vanderwhoozie's niece and nephew, arrive to claim their inheritance. While discarding of her belongings and planning to sell other items that are priceless, they accidentally and unknowingly get rid of Trouble, whom they show instant dislike and apathy towards. Nevertheless, in order to rightfully inherit their aunt's fortune, Claire and Norbert must first be willing and able to bond and take care of Trouble within three days, until they can sign the contract entrusted by their aunt's lawyer, Mr. Macbain, much to their reluctance. Realizing that Trouble is missing, they hire Thurman Sanchez, an expert animal tracker, to find him in time before the deadline.
Having made it out of the truck carrying away his owner's belongings, and after learning the truth about her death, Trouble accidentally messes up a group of red squirrels' nut storage in their tree. As payback, the squirrels steal his collar and run off, leaving Trouble lost, alone, and looking like a stray. In the city, Trouble meets a stray dog named Rousey while trying to get a meal from a meat truck, which results in a chase through a restaurant owned by famed chef Ludo Lefebvre; a wannabe-singer pizza delivery girl named Zoe Bell also loses one of her pizzas. After another encounter with the squirrels while spending the night with Rousey outdoors, Trouble enters a dog park where he meets domestic dogs Norm, Gizmo, Bella, and Tippy, who somewhat help him find a home by having him play in traffic, where he gets picked up by Zoe, and is taken to her apartment. Though only temporary until she can find where he belongs, and hoping to avoid her landlord finding out, Zoe and Trouble begin to bond. Zoe writes a song for a singing competition she plans to enter, and fashions a new collar for Trouble.
The next day, at the dog park, despite some rocky first impressions, Norm and the other dogs willingly help Trouble when they find out that the squirrels took his old collar while confronting him again. During the struggle, Thurman, having found Trouble at last, accidentally snatches the leader of the squirrels, with whom he offers to make a deal – a pile of nuts in exchange for their help in retrieving Trouble for him. After Zoe momentarily leaves Trouble at her apartment, the squirrels try to flush him out, causing a huge mess, which results in Zoe being evicted by her landlord upon returning. Trouble is sent to the dog pound, where he meets Rousey again and befriends three other strays: Snoop, Otis, and Caramel. Trouble learns from Rousey that, like him, she was once an indoor dog. However, one day, after saving her owners' child from a traffic collision, they mistook her heroic behavior for aggression and dumped her at the pound, which explains Rousey's distrust of humans.
On the day of the deadline, rather than enter the singing competition, Zoe decides to go to the pound and retrieve Trouble. However, Thurman has already beaten her to it. Zoe rides off, looking for Trouble all over the city. Realizing how much Zoe truly loves and cares about Trouble, Rousey decides to help the others escape and help Zoe find him. They use Trouble's discarded new collar to track him and with the help of the domestic dogs as well. Returning Trouble to Claire and Norbert at the mansion, Thurman secretly vows retaliation with the squirrels' help after the twins refuse to pay him as promised.
Having mislead Mr. Macbain that they bonded with Trouble, Claire and Norbert are about to claim their inheritance when Zoe suddenly arrives, revealing what really happened. Demanding his money, Thurman enters and further reveals the situation to Mr. Macbain. Having learned the truth, Mr. Macbain denies the twins' inheritance. Still wanting his money, Thurman summons the squirrels to hold Trouble for ransom, until Snoop, Otis, and Caramel enter, having followed Rousey; a battle ensues. While Trouble is held against a fan by the squirrel leader, Rousey arrives just in time to save his life. She demands Trouble's old collar back before the squirrels exit. Trouble is then granted permission by Mr. Macbain to decide whom he wants his owner to be. Trouble joyfully chooses Zoe, which allows her to inherit Trouble, the mansion, the assets, and his owner's fortune after signing the contract, much to the twins' disgust. They and Thurman leave. Rousey is also adopted by James, much to her joy.
Zoe uses the money to revitalize the dog park, renamed the Vanderwhoozie Dog Park, and dedicated to both Mrs. Vanderwhoozie and Trouble. She also begins living her dream as a singer, attracting the attention of famed singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. Snoop – having probably been adopted by Zoe, along with Otis and Caramel – proceeds to sing in dedication of Trouble, much to the dogs' joy.
Why This Film Is Pure Trouble
- The plot of the film is an extreme rip-off of previous 3D films that centers around dogs, mainly films such as Disney's Pixar's Bolt and Pets, but lacks any of the creative charm that those films have.
- This film is infamous for how mean-spirited it is, as Trouble (the main protagonist) is treated horrible though out the whole film, he first gets lock in a truck before being flung out, gets harass by squirrels four to five times, gets in a traffic area by Norm, Gizmo, Bella, and Tippy, gets thrown out by Zoe when first meeting her, later on gets frame for something that the Squirrel Leader did to Zoe's apartment, gets sent to a pound and later on gets threaten to be killed by Fan Blades during the climax, and this treatment is incredible unwarranted as Trouble (despite being the run-of-the-mill rich-type character) did nothing wrong.
- While previous films have similar plots where the main/major character that was rich/famous lose everything and/or get mistreated (E.G the two Disney films, Emperors New Grove and The Princesses & The Frog, and the Netflix film, Klaus, which came out the same year that Trouble came out and was also created by Netflix), the main differences, those characters acted like total mean-spirited/argent jerks and also get character development, thus making their fates somewhat justifiable, while in the case with this film, Trouble was acting none of that.
- The film has WAY too many characters, with a total of 20 characters, some of which disappear and are never seen or mention again.
- Rousey's backstory (while understanding) is super depressing and out-of-place, Rousey's was treated like a "bad dog" by her owner all because she you know.....rescued their child from being ran over by a car.
- Plot-Holes:
- Why does no one in Mrs. Sarah's mansion tell Trouble of what happen to Mrs. Sarah before he found out?
- Why can't the Squirrels just recollect the nuts?
- Instead of having the squirrels frame Trouble, why couldn't Turman just tell Zoe that he(Trouble) original belong to Mrs. Sarah and then take Trouble back?
- Why didn't Rousey's owners notice that Rousey was CLEARLY rescuing the boy? This is especially noticeable since they turn around just as Rousey rescues the boy from the traffic.
- Why didn't the Pound Owner just tell Zoe that the one that took Trouble was Thurman?
- On that note, why couldn't Zoe just ask the Pound Owner of who took Trouble?
- Really confusing on who the main antagonist of the film is, while the twins are the primary villains, they barely do anything though out the majority of the film and just stay in Mrs. Sarah's house, and Thurman Sanchez has no reason to be evil as he just wants to be paid, thus making the Squirrel Leader a villain.
- At one point in the film, James gets a small suspicion about Claire and Norbert, you would think that James would look into this and see the truth behind the twins, but it never gets brought a pone for the rest of the film.
- While not bad, the soundtrack is rather out-of-place, and does not fit with the ecstatic of the film.
- EXTREMELY unlikable characters, most of which goes to some of the villains.
- Claire and Norbert are extremely selfish brats who only care about selling Mrs. Sarah's stuff for money, and don't show any care about what happen to Mrs. Sarah, who you know, is their Aunt.
- The Squirrel Leader is a derange and psychopathic maniac who goes on an annoying spare agents Trouble for something that was an accident though out the entirety of the film, and even goes so far as to threaten to kill him with the Fan Blades near the end of the film.
- Zoe's Landlord unfairy kicks Zoe out for something that was not her fault, insults her singing career and later on sends Trouble to the pound.
- Random references to other films, such as Norm saying "Cone of Shame", which is a call back to the "The Cone of Shame" scene from Disney's Pixars "UP".
- One of the earlier posters for Trouble looks SUPER outdated, looking like something out of the 1920s or 1940s.
- Annoying Gross-Out Jokes and Toilet Humor, one example goes to the scene were Norm, Gizmo, Bella, and Tippy sniffs Trouble's butt when he first appears in the park.
- In addition to the plot being a rip-off, it is also SUPER predictable, as its very easy to tell how this film's plot is gonna be like as its is a basic "dog gets lost, but later on gets found by a owner who at first is trying to find him a home, before deciding to adopt him", even its first part of the ending is super predictable, as during the sequence of who Trouble picks to be his owner after the Squirrels leave, you can tell that he's gonna pick Zoe due to his bound with her pier to Zoe attempting to find Trouble a home.
- The "climax" is incredible bland and boring, as its nothing more then all of the characters going on a rants about who keeps Trouble all the while the Squirrels chase after Trouble, it doesn't help that it takes place in Trouble's Mansion, which is where the film started.
- While the ending is heart-warming, it feels somewhat unfinished and rushed, as after Trouble picks Zoe to be his owner, Claire, Norbert, Thurman and the Squirrel Leader all leave and are never to be seen again for the rest of the film or even get a mention, we don't even know the outcomes of what even happens to Claire and Norbert after they lost the rights to be in Mrs. Sarah's house, Thuman after not being paid, the Squirrel Leader if he's still gonna go after Trouble or not, or the Landlord if he has decided to give Zoe another chance to be back at her apartment, nor do we even know if they get comprehends for their hassy actions, thus making the film's ending also feel like sequel-baiting.
Redeeming Qualities
- The animation is impressive.
- Some likable characters like Trouble, James, Rousey and Zoe.
- The voice acting is decent.
- There are some funny moments.
- Some heartwarming moments, such as the bound between Trouble and Zoe.
Reception
Trouble was critically panned by Critics and Fans alike.