Review: 'Arlo' brings home the bacon and the laughs
Posted Tuesday, November 15, 2016 at 2:24 PM Central
by John Couture
When you have two little ones at home, it's really difficult to find live-action family friendly entertainment that doesn't make you wish for a lobotomy after it's over. Thankfully, Arlo: The Burping Pig isn't one of those films.
There's nothing wrong with animated films, and quite frankly they have come a long way since I was a child, but you can only watch so much before you start yearning for real humans. The real challenge as I mentioned above is finding something that will hold the attention of both a three-year-old and a five-year-old without reducing your brain to mush.
Given that my children are on the cusp of starting school, the idea of change that permeates throughout the film is one that they related to. In fact, my daughter recently shared her fear of starting kindergarten next year and being able to make new friends. As we sat down to watch Arlo: The Burping Pig, I was pleasantly surprised that her fear would play out with a positive resolution over the film's 80 minutes.
The film follows a family that moves into a new home. With two older daughters and a much younger daughter, the younger sibling feels a bit left out and vulnerable, especially when confronted by a bully at school. Enter the film's namesake and the young Talia has found a friend that allows her to gain the confidence that she needs to fit into her new situation.
As the film came to an end, my daughter was beaming ear-to-ear after giggling throughout at the outrageous burping from Arlo. I don't think it took her more than 10 seconds to ask if she could have a pet pig.
While Arlo was indeed cute, that was not a conversation that I was ready to have, but thankfully her attention span quickly moved on before I committed to adding any new pets to the household. My kids watched the film a couple of more times last weekend and they continued to giggle each and every time Arlo burped.
The cast is serviceable in that way that TV movie acting is acceptable in the Lifetime movie of the week, but the real star is Arlo and his voice Drake Bell. I'm not that familiar with Drake Bell's work, but he adds a great deal of personality to Arlo.
It's also nice to see Joey Lawrence get some work in a role that is slightly different than his time on Blossom. While he's conveniently off-screen for large parts of the film, his performance is one that I hope leads to more work in films like this. Of course, it's also a reminder that I'm no longer a young man, as if the two kids sitting in front of me weren't reminder enough.
It's not going to win any Oscars and there are a few painful flaws in the film, but Arlo: The Burping Pig is a good film that the whole family can enjoy. It also sends a good positive message to children going through change, although, I will caution that it might lead to an unexpected purchase of a teacup pig