I probably shouldn't have watched Sgt Stubby on the heels of Isle of Dogs. While Isle of Dogs had some flaws, it was a better "dog-lover" film than Sgt Stubby. Both have redeeming qualities, but my expectations were a bit to high.
The United States was a late entrant into World War I. Sgt Stubby begins with the training of the "Yankee Division" (the 26th Infantry Division) which was primarily based in New England. As the Division begins to form up, a stray dog wanders into the camp of the 102nd Infantry Regiment which had set up training grounds at Yale University. The dog befriends a young soldier named Private Conroy (Logan Lerman). When the mutt is discovered by Sergeant Casburn (Jason Ezzell), it is decided that the unofficial mascot might be good for morale. The dog trains alongside the troops as they prepared to deploy to France. When it comes time to ship out, the dog is left with the camp cook.
Sgt Stubby has different plans. He manages to secret away on the train and ship, revealing himself when the Division is halfway across the Atlantic. The Commanding General (Brian Cook) gives his blessing to the mascot and orders the troops to get the mutt a set of dogtags. As the battle rages, Sgt Stubby proves himself to be valuable in locating injured Americans as well as chasing vermin from the trenches. He distinguishes himself, earning more meritorious decorations than any other pooch in World War I.
Sgt Stubby is based on a true story. Although the cartoon dog is far more adorable than the real Stubby. My biggest issue with the story was the use of contrivances. It is a true story told by way of letters home from Private Conroy. While the letters may certainly have been embellished, the broader story was not. This dog is well documented as a war hero. The heroics of the dog seemed lost in the broader story. I can't put my finger on it, because the film covers the major points of heroic acts attributed to Stubby. It may be the choppiness of the story that seemed cobbled together like an animated version of the wikipedia. But it felt flat.
There were some redeeming qualities to this film. The look of the film was excellent. For 25 million dollars, I guess we should expect excellence. The film did well with flying debris, smoke and water effects. There was nice attention to detail with the animation as well. The actors did a good job of breathing life into the film, but there were a couple that irritated me. Most notably was Jordan Beck as Conroy's battle-buddy Olsen. His voice-over work felt hammish even when it wasn't intended to be. The film did a good job of creating war din, although it was evident the film wanted to shoot war scenes without any blood. That was an odd choice, but probably meant for a very young audience.
It is not surprising that Sgt Stubby earned a PG rating from the MPAA. In fact, it should probably get the almost impossible G rating. The film is about war. There is the suggestion of a death, there are a couple of injuries and there is some shooting. But no blood. Not even one drop. The film goes to great pains to be vanilla on that front. It suffered from that decision. The film manages to tug at heartstrings and create tension, which is surprising based on that decision, but I would have liked to see a tad bit more realism in the film. Particularly with careful attention paid to other details. The film is somewhat short at one hour, 25 minutes.
Sgt Stubby is the true story of a four-legged war hero. The film appears to be intended for a young audience based on its mild treatment of war action. The real Sgt Stubby was injured twice, to include losing his leg. I guess that may have been too much for young audiences. Although I thought it might have had greater impact. The animation was solid and the characters interesting, but the story felt flat most of the time. I am not sure if it is the "letters home" aspect that didn't connect or just the lack of realism that hurt this film. It is a solid movie. But I was expecting more and I think this film could have delivered more. This is a film that can wait for video. I doubt it will recover that 25M investment any time soon. 6.5/10.
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