Hotel for Dogs Preview

Courtesy of Paramount

When orphaned siblings, Andi and Bruce (played by Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin) move into a “pets prohibited” foster home, their dog, Friday, is on the outs—but with some quick thinking and a lot of wacky inventions, the innovative siblings manage to revamp an abandoned hotel into a doggie paradise for Friday and his pals—and he has a lot of them!

Fetching Friends

Georgia the bull terrier constantly wants to play fetch, so Bruce invents a perpetual fetching machine to keep her entertained. Creating the invention wasn’t easy: the machine uses a bicycle wheel and a mannequin hand rigged so that when the wheel spins, the hand launches the ball across the room—then lucky Georgia can fetch to her heart’s content.

Impressive Inventions

Bruce invents other gadgets too—a vending machine that dispenses old shoes for chewing, a fully automated canine commode (the toilets flush!) and even a car ride simulator, since every dog loves to feel the wind in his ears, even if the wind’s blowing from mechanical fans.

Hush the Hounds

All the dogs are content except for Lenny the Bull Mastiff, who howls whenever the hotel windows are closed. Some nearby neighbors hear his loud cries and are bothered by the noise. The local dog catchers are especially suspicious since they might be out of a job if all the stray dogs stay off the streets. It’s up to Andi, Bruce and all their friends to hush those hounds and keep the hotel a secret.

Hotel for Dogs is based on the book by Lois Duncan and also stars Don Cheadle (Ocean’s Thirteen), Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Kevin Dillon (Entourage) and Kyla Pratt (Dr. Dolittle 2). The canine actor playing Friday was a rescue dog and so were most of the other 70 dogs used during filming.