Snow Dogs bite BO!

Arthur Pais

Entertainment Weekly described the film as a 'distressing comedy', New York Times called it 'lame' and New York Post said it "...represents the latest dubious career choice by the talented Cuba Gooding Jr..."

Among a handful of critics who were sympathetic, Los Angeles Times said that the film was 'lightweight but inoffensive'.

Let the critics bark to their heart's content.

The canine comedy Snow Dogs is turning into a formidable family hit.

Judging by the laughter and warm applause at a number of previews, one had expected the film to be a modest success. But it is on its way to become a huge hit. Hollywood insiders admit that they are surprised at its sustaining popularity.

The PG-rated Snow Dogs concerns a Miami dentist Ted Jones (Cuba Gooding Jr), who travels to Alaska after discovering that he has been named in a will. He, obviously, hopes to be rich but his life changes drastically when he realises that apart from a log cabin, his mother has left him racing dogs.

It becomes even more complicated when he confronts Thunder Jack (James Coburn), a crusty and volatile mountain man, who wants him out of town.

Soon Ted finds out that Thunder Jack is his father and he returns to Miami, trying to put the bad memories behind him.

But fate has more adventures in store for him. And soon Ted finds himself back in Alaska, saving Thunder Jack's life in the midst of a dogsled race.

The appeal of the film lies in its harmless comedy and sentimental twists. The performances, especially by Gooding and Coburn, are engaging. But it is the dogs, including an animatronic Demon created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, that are the real winners.

In its second weekend, it vied with A Walk To Remember, for the second position at the box office. Each film scored about $16 million.

While A Walk To Remember -- starring singer Mandy Moore as an ill-fated schoolgirl -- cost $9 million, Snow Dogs was made for $26 million.

Its gross from the first weekend came down by just about 24 per cent, taking its total to $39 million in ten days. Last week's chart topper Black Hawk Down, while still wearing the box office crown, tumbled by about 36 per cent. With $62 million in the till, it is on its way to $100 million benchmark.

On the other hand, Snow Dogs, might wind up with a profitable $85 million for producer-distributor Disney. It will also become the first solo hit for Gooding Jr whose hits include As Good As It Gets in 1997, which fetched him an Oscar in the supporting role category.

The durability of Snow Dogs is not a small story considering that it held on despite several new releases last week.

Among them, The Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere, as a newspaper reporter on the trail of the supernatural forces, was expected to appeal to older audiences.

Count Of Monte Cristo, which was expected to appeal to teenagers, cost about $29 million. It was distributed by Disney and opened to average collections. The film stars Jim Caviezel, in the latest update of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale. Count Of Monte Cristo and The Mothman Prophecies seized about $11 million each.

Snow Dogs is also a comeback film for director Brian Levant whose hits include Beethoven and The Flintstones. A sequel to the latter, The Flintstones in Vive Rock Vegas flopped two years ago.