DVD review : Red Dog - The Early Years

Forget Clifford the Big Red Dog - there's a new copper-coloured canine companion in town, and this time he's a real dog, not a cartoon ! 

Red Dog : The Early Years - or Red Dog : True Blue, under its international title - is the sequel (or, more precisely, prequel) to the 2011 Red Dog film, but it really doesn't matter if you haven't seen the first one. We loved the clever opening sequence which shows characters from the film watching the original 2011 version in the cinema.

 The story is told by adult Michael Carter (played by Jason Isaacs, from the Harry Potter series and The OA), who recounts the story of his eleven year old self (played by Levi Miller) being shipped off to his grandfather's cattle station in the back of beyond in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia. Once there, he prepares himself for a life of dull hardship, but instead finds myth, adventure and a friendship with a scrappy, one-of-a-kind dog that will change his life forever.

It's often hard to find a film that will appeal to the whole family, rather than something that the parents endure for the sake of the kids, but this ticks all the right boxes - an exotic setting, a heartwarming tale, some eccentric characters and funny moments, along with a cute four-legged star. The Madhouse kids found it hard to understand some of the broader Aussie accents (you can tell they weren't brought up on a twice daily TV diet of Neighbours and Home & Away in their formative years !) but they loved the story and the madcap humour of certain scenes.

It's an uplifting, family-friendly, coming-of-age tale about a boy and his dog, with some great panoramic views of the outback and references to Aboriginal culture thrown in for good measure. It'll make you laugh but I bet it'll make you shed a tear too !

• Actors: Jason Isaacs, Thomas Cocquerel, Bryan Brown, Levi Miller, Hanna Mangan Lawrence
• Directors: Kriv Stenders
• Classification: PG
• Studio: Signature Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: 24 July 2017
• Run Time: 88 minutes
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Disclosure : We received a copy of the dvd.