Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue Movie Review

“Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue” is animated movie about two pets on an ‘incredible journey’.  During a move from one city to another, the pets get separated from the owners — and must travel ‘homeward bound’.  And if you think this is an original idea, Disney might like to have a word with you…

There is a family in Los Angeles with two adorable pets. A female Cocker Spaniel named Gracie (voiced by Claire Alan) is a pampered pooch, winner of many Shows. She has medals and ribbons for all of her success. Along with the dog, this family also owns a rescued stray cat. His name is Pedro (vocied by Cory Doran). Oil and water mix better than these two.

Mom and Dad have gotten the kids, Sophie and Gavin, ready for the move. Gracie and Pedro will be on the same flight with them going to Salt Lake City. They will bring one other pet, a smart (and smart-alek) goldfish named Laurence (voiced by Danny Trejo). The wild card will of course be Gramps (voiced by Al Franken). He can be forgetful sometimes.

At the airport, there is a massive failure of the luggage delivery track. The pet carrier that Gracie and Pedro are in falls off the conveyor belt and breaks open. Now they are afraid of what to do next. They both run out and see the plane for Las Vegas has already left. The two scamps get chased by a security guard and make it out the fence.

The two frazzled pets meet up with two rats. Wade and Rasptin (voiced by Ron Pardoas and John Stocker) offer some advice. But it comes with a price. The vermin want the shiny collars from Pedro and Gracie. The advice is to get on the bus and head east. But make sure it is right bus, because you don’t want to be stuck in Las Vegas…

Of course, they get on a traveling Magician touring bus to Las Vegas. Gracie and Pedro meet up with a fluffy white bunny rabbit. She is part of the Magician group. She wears sunglasses and her name is Shades (voiced by Susan Sarandon). She turns out to be full of tricks herself.

When in Las Vegas, the duo find themselves stuck in a penthouse suite. It happens to be well-stocked with food and drink. Gracie and Pedro bicker and fight, as they always do — up to the point where the entire top floor unit is trashed. Opps! Security is on the way. So they are able to hightail it out of there — to cross the dry, barren desert.

One part of the Security Squad is a guy in a yellow trench coat named Doyle (voiced by James Kee). Doyle does not work alone. He has a pet ferret named Sherlock (voiced by Mike Nadajewski). The ferret is the brains of the organization. The main mission is to track Gracie and Pedro, catch up to them, and bring them to justice.

Out wandering in the endless sand, Gracie and Pedro hear something odd. There is a rattlesnake, but odd thing is that it has two heads. The heads are called Sissy-Chrissy (voiced by Alicia Silverstone). This snake sees that there is dinner right in front of them. Pedro is scared and does not know what to do. Until the large rock falls down on the snake. Thanks — Gracie!

Gracie and Pedro find a place where there are some horses running wild and free. They talk to one horse named Willow (voiced by Brooke Shields). Willow knows that a train is about to come by and it will end up in Salt Lake City. She offers the pets a ride so they can get on the train. They are safe now!

Spoke too soon. There is a mean condor named Conrad (voiced by Bill Nighy). He thinks he controls the train and he will not allow anyone to ride for free. Conrad is able to lock up Pedro and Gracie. Conrad is evil, and he thinks he might have found his dinner for the night. But by now, Gracie and Pedro have learned to work together to get away from Conrad.

Over in Salt Lake, the kids are heartbroken that Gracie and Pedro have been lost by the airline. Sophie and Gavin come up with a viral video about how sad they are and how bad the airline treats people and pets. The CEO has promised to put up a reward to get Gracie and Pedro back home again. As long as the kids delete that video — the airline stock price has plunged…

Once off the train, the two traveling pets meet up with the crazy rats — Wade and Rasputin. But out of shadows comes Doyle and Sherlock, and these two are hot on the trail of Gracie and Pedro. They have a showdown in an old abandoned amusement park. Wade and Rasputin, even being greedy little rats who want the reward to find them — they decide to also help Gracie and Pedro.

The kids get involved with the final fight. Gracie and Pedro need all the help they can get, because Doyle and ferret named Sherlock can be cunning. But how will it all end?

Will the kids end up safe? Will Gracie and Pedro ever end up at the new home? Will Wade and Rasputin ever collect that reward? Will Doyle learn his fist name is Sir Arthur Conan? Will Sherlock find his way ‘Holmes”?

“Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue” is a vague echo of the plot from the Disney movie “The Incredible Journey”. That movie was years later turned into a comedy called “Homeward Bound”. Pets get misplaced at an airport, and take considerable risks to get back home. But biggest difference – those movies were good.

Everything about this animated retelling of the story feels a little off. The animation quality leaves a lot to be desired. The overall design is fine, but the movements, actions and backgrounds are fairly weak. The dialog is another dull point. There are a couple of cute jokes every once in a while.

There were a number of pretty big actors involved with the movie, but they were given next to nothing to do or say. It is quite a list having voice work doe by Susan Sarandon, Alicia Silverstone, Brooke Shields, and Bill Nighy. But really? At least give them some funny lines or something!

“Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue” is a pretty weak animated redo on the old Disney movie “Homeward Bound”. That movie rules, and this one drools…