Movie Review # 367: Hounded (2001)

Hey everyone! Welcome to yet another movie review! Today, we are going to be talking about one final Disney Channel Original Movie for likely a while. I guess we’ll see. Anyway, this Disney Channel Original Movie was one of the rare to few Disney TV films that I watched multiple times as a teenager. More on that shortly! Presenting to you all, the Disney Channel Original Movie, from back in 2001, Hounded.

Plot: A thirteen-year-old boy named Jay Martin (Tahj Mowry) tries to win a scholarship to an academy called the Peterson Academy by trying to compete in an event, where the winner wins that scholarship. However, circumstances occur, where Jay’s presentation falls into the hands of Headmaster Van Deusen (Ed Begly, Jr.), and his son, Ronnie (Shia LaBeouf), causing Ronnie to cheat by using Jay’s presentation to win the scholarship. While Jay tries to get his presentation back to show proof of the Van Deusen’s crime, Jay accidentally dog naps the Van Deusen’s prize show dog, a Pomeranian named Camille. With the help of Jay’s older brother, Mike Martin (Craig Kirkwood), can these two bring the dog back without being caught, as well as bring to light what the Van Deusens have done?

Okay, I don’t recall ever seeing advertisements for this film on TV. However, the story about how I heard about Hounded in the end may be an interesting one. Back in the springtime of 2001, I was getting ready for bed around maybe 8, or 9 at night, sometime like that. While doing that, the rest of my family was watching TV downstairs. At one point, I could overhear them cracking up about something all the way from upstairs. I then decided that I wanted to stop what I was currently doing, and go downstairs to see what was funny. Interestingly enough, my folks, and my sister Nikki, were all laughing their heads off about Camille becoming a psychopath, and wreaking havoc at the Martin’s home (apparently she would go crazy, if she went too long without her medication). We then nicknamed the movie, and the dog, “devil dog,” or “demon dog.” So, I sat down, and watched most, if not the rest of it. From then on, I would look at the TV guide, to see when it would come on next, and would plan to rewatch it whenever it would come onto Disney Channel. However, during those times, I ended up only watching either the first half, or second half of the film. That is, unless it would come on as late as 11:00 P.M., at which point, I would not plan to watch Hounded at that point in time. Really, it wasn’t until maybe a year later that I finally watched Hounded from beginning to end. In all honesty, that’s how much I loved the movie. In fact, this was another one of those times where I ended up creating quite a few memories over the course of a couple years in regards to this film. These memories would include say me drawing a scene from the movie. Not only that, but I remember this one time, my folks, my Aunt Cammie, my cousins Shannon and Breanne, and I went to breakfast one morning, and we played hangman. At one point, when it was my turn, I played “Demon Dog” for the word. Go figure! One other memory that I would like to mention is that there was this point in time, I want to say around spring or summertime 2002, where my family and I hung out with our friends Scott and Jeannie Lawrence, and there was a Pomeranian at that house, and I turned to my Mom, and said, “Look, Mom, that looks like “Demon Dog.””

After being absent from this movie for so many years, is it as good as I remembered it to be? Miraculously, Hounded is. In fact, maybe a little better than I remember it being. Okay, granted, because of the picture quality, and this film being made for TV, there’s no doubt that there will more than likely be more corny and cheesy moments like with other movies of this type. However, because of the story being really good, and the comedy that appears throughout this film, people are probably going on overlook the cheesiness factor, and enjoy the more good quality moments in it. Sure, it may not be quite as funny in the beginning. However, when Camille enters the picture, that’s when not only the dog, but nearly every other character shines when it comes to bringing in all the comedic moments that you see in Hounded. Also, this movie gets really imaginative, and possibly even more original (pun intended) with it’s comedy. Additionally, the characters are excellent, and well-written up too. So much so that, unlike with 1999’s Johnny Tsunami, where there were one or two characters that were stereotypical, each one of these characters in this film seem to stand out, and be more likable, and possibly even memorable. Even when it comes to the bratty teenager Ronnie, it’s almost like you love to hate this person with a passion. Does that mean that we classify him, and his Dad to be official villains, or just plain jerks? For a movie like this, jerks might be the better way to go, but still. What’s more is that the characters are genuine, and can be relatable to many people on an emotional level. The reason being is because we feel for them. Due to this, we as the audience have a very good idea of what their going through. As a result, these characters truly remind us of the saying that “You never know what a person is going through, unless you walk two moons in their shoes.” In addition to this, Hounded, will most likely help people to learn to think more critically of situations in terms of the whole deal of “think before you act.” Wow, and speaking of acting, the acting performances are phenomenal, most notably when it comes to the performances from Tahj Mowry, Craig Kirkwood, Ed Begly, Jr., and Shia LaBeouf. One other thing to mention is that the script for Hounded is excellent. I mean you guys will be surprised by some of the really good lines that the characters deliver in this film. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone were to have a favorite quote from this movie as a result. Finally, the movie delivers a good message about not letting your foes triumph over you. Sure, there will be times in life where you have to lose a battle. However, of course there are those times where you have to fight to the very end, you know?

And that’s my review for the 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie, Hounded. After rewatching it again after being absent from it for so many years, I do remember why I enjoyed this film so much many years ago. However, after seeing it again recently, I’ve discovered that there are other reasons to love it as well. Hounded is a fun film with excellent characters, a well-structured plot, despite the occasional cheesiness, a great deal of creative comedy, and some really good messages. Much like with Johnny Tsunami, I highly recommend that you find a way to watch this film as well. Even if you don’t have Disney+, definitely try to check this movie out from a library (if your local library is open again), or whatever else it takes. Hounded is a must-see. Please don’t miss it, if at all possible.

Final Grade: A+