So-so “rock Dog” Settles Into A Groove

Too lackluster to be praised highly, yet too benign to be excoriated, “Rock Dog” is the perfect family film for a rainy day with no other options. If all of the above sounds like faint praise, then I have succeeded in my goal. All of the “Ice Age” sequels, both “The Smurfs” movies and three out of four entries in the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” franchise. Based on a Chinese graphic novel, “Rock Dog” borrows from “Kung Fu Panda” and “Ratatouille” so heavily and equally that it feels like those movies gave birth to a slightly underachieving cinematic child. [...] his true love is music to his father’s shame; and he heads for the city to seek tutelage from aging rock star Angus Scattergood (Eddie Izzard) — who is in need of his own creative jumpstart. “Rock Dog” has some of the quirky touches of that film, including enjoyable early scenes in the mountains, where the sheep dress up like dogs to fool coyotes, and Bodi gets a rock education from a radio that falls from the sky. There’s less success once Bodi arrives in the city, and the TV commercial-quality visuals and character design start to show their seams. (A leopard voiced by Matt Dillon never escapes the prison of his resemblance to Chester Cheetah from the Cheetos advertisements.) The last act forces together a moral about artistic expression and a save-the-village battle, as if the filmmakers couldn’t decide whether to crib the resolution of “Kung-Fu Panda” or “Ratatouille,” so they just tried to do both at the same time.