In the lead-up to today’s film (which is technically still
happening, since it’s officially released on Boxing Day and I managed to catch
a preview screening), whenever the original Red Dog film got brought up in
conversation, it always ended on the same note: Don’t talk about it, it’s too
sad. Having now seen the original, I can kind of see why that is. An
unexpectedly iconic piece of Australiana, the original Red Dog is honestly
really damn good. A bit cheesy and occasionally unsure of who exactly it was
meant to appeal to (the kids in the audience or the adults), but overall pretty
good as a look into Australian culture and mannerisms. So, naturally, a
follow-up look at our four-pawed folk hero was something I was looking forward
to. However, for reasons I’ll get into, this film has plenty of reasons to be
initially sceptical about, and for other
reasons I’ll get into, it validates an awful lot of them.
