- Released: 1 Februari 2011
- Directed by: Alex Zamm
- Running time: 1 h 40 min
- Rating 2.5/5
Synopsis
Chloe and Papi are having trouble keeping their five pups in check, while Papi's human family is facing financial difficulties.
My Thoughts
Last time we looked at the first movie of the BHC-trilogy, so now let’s delve into its sequel, which came out a few years after the first. Not much to say here, let’s just delve in.
So, yeah, okay, it’s a pretty standard plot. Parental issues and house troubles. Maybe not as grand-scale a journey as the first movie, but that doesn’t have to make it bad. The story does have a real heart to it, and you do really feel for Sam and his family. The messages of family not being those who you’re related to but those you carry in your heart are also very good. So yeah, I can’t be too mad at it story-wise. It’s kind of generic, but it does have its heart in the right place.
The characters are a bit mixed. Whereas Chloe was one of my favorites in the first movie, she became a bit too naggy here for me to like her as much. She does still have scenes where she shows her first-movie curious personality, but there’s also just though where she keeps nagging at Papi, even if it’s well-meaned. Papi hasn’t changed much at all, but he does eventually get over his father struggles. Delgado is back (yeah, all the way from Mexico) just to visit some of his sons.
Yep, that’s a new reveal: Delgado has sons and they’re somehow in LA. I do really feel bad for Delgado’s arc, as he really deserves to just be happy, but this literally came right out of nowhere. I’m not saying it’s unlike Delgado to bury this past very deeply, but it just is kind of weird that this dog from Mexico somehow delivered his pups across the border to LA, went back to his homeland for years and now suddenly is in LA again? And his sons do know who he is, despite being too young when he abandoned them? It’s just very confusing and feels like they pulled it out of thin air, but you do just want him to reunite with them.
As for the human characters, Viv and Rachel are barely in here, but Sam and his family do a good job as (new) main human cast. They are such likable people and you really don’t want to see this family torn apart. We also have Pedro, who ultimately doesn’t do much, and the pups, who all have blank slate personalities except for Papi Jr. As villains, we have the bank dude, who is one of the most unlikable douches you can imagine. He’s also not funny, which they try to make him seem. Then there’s the bank robbers who are just there. They don’t even have a personality, they’re just last-minute villains added to the story.
So how does the rest hold up? Most of it isn’t very good. It is very obviously direct-to-video sequel material.
Out of pretty much all the actors of the first movie, only one returns that I can tell, Papi’s voice actor. The human actors have all been replaced, and they didn’t even try to get people that looked like the first movie actors a lot of the time. I was so confused when I first saw this as a kid because everyone looked so vastly different. The acting in and of itself isn’t bad per se (except the bank dude, fuck that guy) but it just feels lacking.
The CGI hasn’t improved much, but thankfully it was used here less than in the first movie. There’s also less action scenes so it wasn’t needed as much, but still. The mouth effects look okay still.
The music and scores were just generic, I don’t think I remember a single one of them.
The humor in this one was way off. The first one wasn’t horribly funny, either, but by God, does it suck in this one. Every time the bank dude was on screen with his pens I just wanted to smack the guy, and there’s too many potty jokes for my taste. I know the first joke the original ever did was one of these, but it’s a bit overkill over here.
The rest, such as the sets, were usually just average or below average. There’s also the whole detour of the dog show which makes me wonder what the whole point of it was. They didn’t win, so it is like 10 minutes dedicated to this show that ultimately didn’t add much in the long run.
The climax feels very forced and out of left field, too, so that definitely could’ve used some rewriting.
There’s also a continuity error regarding Papi’s origins. In the first movie, it’s mentioned he came from a pound, yet in the sequel it’s mentioned that he was rescued directly off the streets by Sam (and has a brother named Pedro).
Overall, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 is a subpar sequel when compared to the first, but it’s bit far not as bad as I remembered. It’s a very mixed bag and I don’t think a lot of people will like it, but if you wanted to know what happened after the first one, it wouldn’t harm to put this on.
It is what it is, a lowbrow talking dog movie sequel for kids. Make of it what you will.
So how does the rest hold up? Most of it isn’t very good. It is very obviously direct-to-video sequel material.
Out of pretty much all the actors of the first movie, only one returns that I can tell, Papi’s voice actor. The human actors have all been replaced, and they didn’t even try to get people that looked like the first movie actors a lot of the time. I was so confused when I first saw this as a kid because everyone looked so vastly different. The acting in and of itself isn’t bad per se (except the bank dude, fuck that guy) but it just feels lacking.
The CGI hasn’t improved much, but thankfully it was used here less than in the first movie. There’s also less action scenes so it wasn’t needed as much, but still. The mouth effects look okay still.
The music and scores were just generic, I don’t think I remember a single one of them.
The humor in this one was way off. The first one wasn’t horribly funny, either, but by God, does it suck in this one. Every time the bank dude was on screen with his pens I just wanted to smack the guy, and there’s too many potty jokes for my taste. I know the first joke the original ever did was one of these, but it’s a bit overkill over here.
The rest, such as the sets, were usually just average or below average. There’s also the whole detour of the dog show which makes me wonder what the whole point of it was. They didn’t win, so it is like 10 minutes dedicated to this show that ultimately didn’t add much in the long run.
The climax feels very forced and out of left field, too, so that definitely could’ve used some rewriting.
There’s also a continuity error regarding Papi’s origins. In the first movie, it’s mentioned he came from a pound, yet in the sequel it’s mentioned that he was rescued directly off the streets by Sam (and has a brother named Pedro).
Overall, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 is a subpar sequel when compared to the first, but it’s bit far not as bad as I remembered. It’s a very mixed bag and I don’t think a lot of people will like it, but if you wanted to know what happened after the first one, it wouldn’t harm to put this on.
It is what it is, a lowbrow talking dog movie sequel for kids. Make of it what you will.
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