Jul 30, 2010 Directed by Brad Peyton. With Bette Midler, Chris O'Donnell, Jack McBrayer, James Marsden. The on-going war between the canine and feline species is put on hold when they join forces to thwart a rogue cat spy with her own sinister plans for conquest. Follow Little Friends: These adorable puppies and kittens can’t wait to meet you in the first pet training game for Nintendo Switch! Play with up to 3 pets at once and own up to 12. Get to know their personalities and feed them their favourite food. Little Friends: Dogs & Cats - Nintendo Switch It's time to meet your new Little Friends! These adorable puppies and kittens can't wait to meet you in the first pet training game for Nintendo Switch! Play with up to 3 pets at once and own up to 12. Get to know their personalities and feed them their favorite food. The Truth About Cats & Dogs is a 1996 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, starring Janeane Garofalo, Uma Thurman, Ben Chaplin and Jamie Foxx, and written by Audrey Wells. The original music score was composed by Howard Shore.

• Nintendogs Nintendo Switch
• Little Friends Dogs And Cats
• Little Friends Dogs And Cats Breeds

It’s 11 PM and I’m waggling my Joy-Cons at my TV, desperately trying to improve the hygiene of my virtual Shiba Inu by brushing its head. I am rubbing the dog so vigorously that, if this were in reality and not the pet simulation game Little Friends: Dogs and Cats, the friction would have set it on fire by now. This is one of a very limited number of ways in which I can interact with my pets, or “Friends” as the game insists on calling them, and it is as tedious a process as it is needlessly lengthy.

Little Friends: Dogs and Cats aims to fill the void in the Nintendo Switch‘s library that Nintendogs isn’t occupying. With Nintendo still leaving its bank-rolling DS series on an indefinite hiatus, Imagineer has stepped up to the plate with its own pet simulation game, offering a bunch of cute animals for players to groom, take on walks, and outfit in a variety of ridiculous clothes.

However, unlike Nintendogs, Little Friends isn’t a meditative game in which you joyfully play with and e-cuddle a bunch of adorbs animals. Instead, it’s a laborious slog in which strengthening your bond with your virtual pets takes too long, and the end results aren’t worth the time invested.

Little Friends Dogs and Cats Review | I sigh with a little help from my Friends

Six breeds of dog are available to choose from including Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, and French Bulldogs. Three breeds of cat can also be unlocked, though they’re only available after you reach level 15 with your dog. Absurdly, you can only level up each pet 10 times per day. This meant that on my first day with Little Friends, after reaching level 10 there was little else to do aside from turn off my Switch and wait until the next day. There is no reason why this level cap is in place aside from pointlessly increasing the number of days you spend with the game.

There are fewer than a handful of activities you can take part in with each pet. Friend Walk, in which you take your dog on a long plod through a park and get them to urinate a few times for cash, sees you guiding your canine using the Joy-Con as a lead. Toy Throwing has you lobbing a ball or bone and then petting your dog when they return it, with you able to buy new things to throw from the store. These toys each have different properties, such as making noises when they’re thrown, and certain dogs will prefer certain toys.

Finally, there’s Flying Disc, where you throw a frisbee and your dog catches it. Imagineer has gone all-in on this particular mode, presenting five different Flying Disc competitions that players can take part in to earn extra cash. It is the most involved of the activities, though that isn’t saying much.

Nintendogs didn’t exactly have the most complicated mini-games, but Little Friends firmly places players in the backseat of all of its activities. If you’re playing with your Switch in TV mode, all of these activities are completed by way of lazily moving your Joy-Cons around. You have no real control over what your dog does, so when you throw a Flying Disc in a competition, you’re reliant on the dog making the catch of its own accord. Playing in handheld mode further nullifies the players’ involvement, as I was relegated to repeatedly pressing A and hoping for the best.

Apparently, playing with your dogs more improves their catching ability, though this isn’t reflected by any in-game statistic. My dogs would spend some rounds catching 90% of what was thrown at them, but spend others struggling to catch the disc even a handful of times through no fault of my own. Each round lasts for 3 minutes, though given how dull the activity is, it felt like time had stood still waiting for my mutt to return the disc to me.

This mini-game isn’t exciting enough to rightfully be featured in five competitions, yet here we are. Ranging from a beginner Flying Disc competition to master difficulty, there are no changes between these competitions other than your dog becoming increasingly worse at disc-catching as you progress.

After each round, you’re awarded a bunch of coins and a handful of tickets, which are also used to purchase items in its store. There are no less than four in-game currencies in Little Friends, but nowhere near enough customization options to warrant all of them.

Little Friends Dogs and Cats Review | Who cares about cats, anyway?

You can personalize your pet by way of giving them new clothes, ranging from oversized hats through to polka dot skirts, and unlike real animals, they won’t mind if you strap a pair of sunglasses to their head for comic relief. Your home can also be customized, though the options in this department aren’t exactly plentiful.

You get some furniture options that your pet can interact with, such as beds or scratching posts, and you can change the floor/wallpaper. It does help to brighten up your surroundings when you’re watching your animals, but there’s nothing overly extravagant to choose from.

But while you can dress your pets up in appropriately garish outfits, it’s difficult to feel anything remotely approaching a “bond” with them when Little Friends only allows you to sparingly interact with them. While there aren’t exactly a plethora of options to choose from when it comes to playing with the game’s dogs, its cats still get the shorter end of the stick.

There’s only one cat-specific activity to choose from in the form of the Cat Wand Game, which revolves around waggling a wand and then avoiding your cat’s paws when it attempts to bat it. If any of Little Friends‘ animals had any discernible personality, I would have felt bad leaving my cat to prowl around an empty home while I took my dogs outdoors to play catch. Fortunately, I didn’t have to concern myself with any pangs of guilt, as my cat was a blank canvas of emotion.

Little Friends: Dogs and Cats isn’t the competent Nintendogs alternative many were likely hoping for. While putting a summer hat on a Shiba and listening to its adorable howls is pleasant enough, there isn’t enough to do with any of its animals aside from throwing objects and petting them.

Despite its lack of substance, Imagineer has made every task in Little Friends unnecessarily lengthy, dragging out already tedious objectives until they become mind-numbing. While this may be simplistic enough for younger gamers who aren’t allowed real dogs and cats to get a kick out of, for everyone else, you’re likely better off revisiting old Nintendogs games or waiting for Nintendo to reinvigorate its far superior series.

Nintendogs Nintendo Switch

Little Friends: Dogs and Cats was review on Nintendo Switch. A copy was provided by the publisher.

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The Truth About Cats & Dogs is a 1996 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, starring Janeane Garofalo, Uma Thurman, Ben Chaplin and Jamie Foxx, and written by Audrey Wells. The original music score was composed by Howard Shore. Upon its release, the film garnered favorable reviews, with many critics describing its theme(s) as a modern reinterpretation of the Cyrano de Bergerac story.

Plot[edit]

Abby Barnes (Janeane Garofalo) is a veterinarian and host of a radio show called The Truth About Cats and Dogs. Photographer Brian (Ben Chaplin) calls into her show for advice, and unexpectedly sends her a gift and calls her at work to ask her out; she agrees to meet. Her insecurity about her appearance leads her to lie to him over the phone and describe herself with the physical features of her neighbor Noelle (Uma Thurman). She stands him up. After intervening in an argument between Noelle and her abusive boyfriend Roy (James McCaffrey), the two women become friends. Brian shows up unexpectedly at Abby's work at the same time as Noelle, and Abby convinces her to pretend she is Abby.

Abby adopts the persona of Donna, friend to Noelle (posing as Abby) and the two begin spending time with Brian together. They invent a story that Abby uses a different voice on the radio than in real life. He is physically attracted to Noelle, but notices that 'Abby' has a distinctly different (and decidedly less intellectual) personality in person than on the radio and phone. When he calls the real Abby to ask her out again, he asks her to use her 'radio voice' and the two spend nearly seven hours on the phone getting to know one another.

The two women decide to tell Brian the truth by way of Noelle showing up at his home while Abby is live on the radio, but when Noelle arrives, she is entranced by the many kind things he says about her personality and intelligence (even though he is actually talking about Abby). She fails to tell him the truth, which nearly causes a rift between the women, but ultimately Noelle realizes that flattery about someone else may feel good in the moment but isn't authentic. She takes a two week modeling gig out of town in order to put space between herself and Brian.

Noelle returns and tells Brian to make a list of the things he loves about Abby, and to meet at Abby's apartment that night. He does, and reads the list to 'Donna'. The first few things on the list are about Noelle's appearance, but then the list evolves into more important things about Abby that Brian has truly fallen in love with. He professes his love through the bathroom door thinking 'Abby' is bathing inside, but gets no response. He then notices flyers for a charity event Abby is attending, complete with her photo, and realizes the truth.

Abby later approaches Brian at his bar, apologizing for her deceit and explains what really happened. Although initially dismissive, he eventually meets with Abby again and admits he has fallen for her and was only attracted to Noelle because of their deception. He suggests they start again, and Abby happily agrees.

Cast[edit]

• Uma Thurman– Noelle Slusarsky
• Janeane Garofalo– Abby Barnes
• Ben Chaplin– Brian
• Jamie Foxx– Ed
• James McCaffrey– Roy
• Richard Coca– Eric
• Stanley DeSantis– Mario

Themes[edit]

Many film reviewers found a similarity to the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, with Abby as the talented but 'ugly' Cyrano, Noelle as Christian and Brian as Roxane.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Uma Thurman said about the ugly-versus-beautiful theme, 'We probably keep going back to that idea because there's a whole industry that needs to sell a lot of products that wants us to think that the outside is the important part. There's a war going on. The inside's not as commercial as the outside. People are so affected by how they're received in the world, and some or all of our first experiences are based on how we're externally judged. The conflict between the inner and the outer is a constant battle everybody experiences on lots of levels.'^[8]

Reception[edit]

The film received positive reviews from critics. It has an 85% 'fresh' rating at Rotten Tomatoes from 47 reviews. The site's consensus states: 'Sharp, witty, and charming, The Truth About Cats & Dogs features a standout performance from Janeane Garofalo.'^[9]

The reviewer for The State Journal-Register (of Springfield, Illinois) wrote that the film...

is a modern-day fantasy, to be sure -- a movie based almost entirely on one long, not particularly credible misunderstanding. But don't think too hard, or you'll underestimate this fragile little movie's bite, which is... The stubby, feisty and, of course, not at all unattractive Garofalo and gangly, not-as-dumb-as-she-seems Thurman make for very appealing odd fellows as they inhabit the sunny Santa Monica landscapes and chic apartment settings... Cats & Dogs gets a little goofy, but stays within its limits. For actress Garofalo, who confidently spits out words like 'misogynist' and 'biosphere,' it should be nothing short of a launching pad. When the skeptical, challenging Abby confronts one of those laminated, condescending, jargon-spouting cosmetics saleswomen, we see a star in the making. Holly Hunter, watch your back. And short, smart and just-regular-looking girls everywhere, rejoice.^[10]

The Boston Herald reviewer named the film 'the romantic comedy of the season.'^[11]The Fresno Bee called it 'an offbeat charmer.'^[12] The Hartford Courant said, 'This movie asks all kinds of questions about the defenses people put up and what they really have hiding inside.'^[13] Many reviewers criticized the idea that Garofalo's character was expected to be viewed as unattractive, finding it unrealistic due to the actress's natural beauty.^[10][14][15]

Although the film was a decent commercial success, in later years Garofalo was not proud of the film, saying...

I think it's soft and corny, and the soundtrack makes you want to puke, and everybody's dressed in Banana Republic clothing. The original script and the original intent was very different than what it wound up being when it became a studio commercial film. It was originally supposed to be a small-budget independent film where there would be much more complexity to all the characters, and Abby and the guy don't wind up together at the end.'^[16]

Several years after the film's release, Garofalo became an actual radio talk show host — something she'd maintained for years in interviews that she wanted to do^{[citation needed]} — when she co-hosted The Majority Report on Air America Radio.

Box office[edit]

The film recouped its budget.^[17] It grossed about $34,073,143 in the United States by 11 August 1996, and a bit more overseas.^[18]

Soundtrack[edit]

The Truth About Cats & Dogs is the soundtrack from the 1996 film The Truth About Cats & Dogs, released by A&M Records in 1996. The album features a variety of music such as rock, R&B, and pop.

Track listing[edit]

Little Friends Dogs And Cats

1. 'For Once in My Life' – Dionne Farris
2. 'Caramel' – Suzanne Vega
3. 'The Bed's Too Big Without You' – Sting
4. 'Angel Mine' – Cowboy Junkies
5. 'This Road' – Squeeze
6. 'Give It Everything' – Al Green
7. 'I Can't Imagine' – Aaron Neville
8. 'Run-Around' – Blues Traveler
9. 'Well I Lied' – Robert Cray Band
10. 'Where Do I Begin' – Jill Sobule
11. 'You Do Something to Me' – Paul Weller
12. 'World Keeps Spinning' – Brand New Heavies
13. 'Bad Idea' – Ben Folds Five
14. 'Cats & Dogs' – Howard Shore

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Guthmann, Edward (September 13, 1996). 'Garofalo's a Find in Cats & Dogs'. San Francisco Chronicle. p. D18.
2. ^Cornell, Christopher (September 13, 1996). 'THE TRUTH Will Set Cyrano Free'. Lexington Herald-Leader.
3. ^Toppman, Lawrence (April 26, 1996). 'Cats and Dogs is CYRANO Light (and Bright)'. The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina: The McClatchy Company. p. 4E.
4. ^Connelly, David (April 26, 1996). 'Cats and Dogs reverses genders in Cyrano classic'. Mobile Register. Mobile, Alabama. p. E1.
5. ^Peterson, Deborah (April 26, 1996). 'A Sassy, Sexy Switch On the dynamite'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3E.
6. ^Ebert, Roger (April 26, 1996). 'This Version of Cyrano Has Humor As Well As Sweetness'. Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. p. W6.
7. ^Abedon, Emily (April 25, 1996). 'Cats and Dogs takes a bite of Cyrano'. The Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina: Evening Post Publishing Company. p. E6.
8. ^Kopp, Craig (April 25, 1996). 'M-m-m-m-m- - Uma - She's in a new movie with a moral'. The Cincinnati Post. p. Metro 12.
9. ^Rotten Tomatoes
10. ^ ^abPovse, Paul (May 2, 1996). 'IN TRUTH, IT'S MAINLY THE PLAIN JANE WHO REIGNS'. The State Journal-Register. Springfield, Illinois: Walt Lafferty.
11. ^Verniere, James (April 26, 1996). 'Cats and Dogs unleashes a new star'. Boston Herald. p. Scene 3.
12. ^'Best Bet'. The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California: The McClatchy Company. September 13, 1996. p. G1.
13. ^'THE TRUTH ABOUT MEN, WOMEN, PETS'. Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. September 8, 1996. p. G10.
14. ^Beale, Lewis (April 25, 1996). 'Not-So-Plain Janeane Garofalo THE TRUTH Is, This Standup Kinda Woman Is Looking Good In New Film'. New York Daily News. Manhattan: Mortimer Zuckerman. p. 55.
15. ^Pearlman, Cindy (May 2, 1996). 'The Truth About JANEANE GAROFALO - It Hasn't Been Quite a Dog's Life So Far, But The Actress-Comedian Is Ready To Shed Her Chubby-Chum Image For Better Movie Roles'. Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Tribune Company. p. E1.
16. ^Robinson, Tasha (2003-12-24). 'Janeane Garofalo'. The A.V. Club.
17. ^''The Craft' Has the Knack for Scaring Up an Audience'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
18. ^'Box office / business for The Truth About Cats & Dogs'. International Movie Database. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
19. ^The Truth About Cats & Dogs at AllMusic

External links[edit]

• The Truth About Cats & Dogs at IMDb
• The Truth About Cats & Dogs at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Truth About Cats & Dogs at Box Office Mojo
• The Truth About Cats & Dogs at AllMovie
• 'The 'Truth' About Stardom', a 1996 Entertainment Weekly article about Garofalo, Thurman, and the making of The Truth About Cats & Dogs.

Little Friends Dogs And Cats Breeds