With the stock market crashing (again), people losing their life savings and a contentious, never-ending Presidential campaign, this movie won’t solve your problems but it will make you smile.  It is a nice escape offering up all of the good old fashioned, live action elements we expect from a Disney movie.  The main storyline includes a canine heroine, a hero, an underdog (no pun intended), a villain, a troublemaker, and various “helpers” to move the story along.  The subplot focuses on the same characters only played by actors in human form. It is hard to act with kids and animals, but
Piper Perabo turns in a very likable performance. 

Now I may be partial because I liked the “talking” animal vehicle, and many of the kids in the theater seemed to as well. In this movie, the big dog, oops…I mean the little Chihuahua, Chloe, ends up caught in a classic fish out of water scenario.  Instead of a continuing her life as a pampered Beverly Hills pooch, she ends up in Mexico on an adventure that changes her and everyone she encounters for the better. 

No doubt it is far-fetched, a bit corny, and some might say slightly stereotypical, but overall, it is a clean, wholesome fun time.  It could have been a few minutes shorter to avoid some restlessness of the smaller kids, but as I walked out of the theater all of the adults were smiling.  So, if you are in need of a few happy, peppy moments with or without the kids this weekend…check your local listings and say adiós a sus preocupaciones por un 85 minutos.