Comic Strip Dog Marmaduke Comes Alive

Marmaduke, a single panel comic strip drawn by Brad Anderson and appearing in daily newspapers since 1954, follows the antics of Marmaduke, the Winslow family's Great Dane, as he interacts with his family and others in a small Kansas town.

This summer the Great Dane comes alive in the 20^th Century Fox movie, Marmaduke. This live action movie with computer generated animation opens on June 4th.

The plot of Marmaduke is simple. The Winslow family, including Marmaduke, moves from Kansan to Orange County, California. It's a completely new lifestyle for Marmaduke. But he's as mischievous as ever as he tries to make friends and fit into his new surroundings. For a sneak preview of Marmaduke on the official website, click here.

Several canine actors share the role of Marmaduke, but they are similar enough that it is unnoticeable. The Marmaduke of the comic strip rarely, if ever, spoke; the one liners were usually attributed to the humans that were interacting with him or observing him. But in Marmaduke, movie-goers will hear the voice of Marmaduke as supplied by actor Owen Wilson.

But Marmaduke is not the only dog with his own voice; all of Marmaduke's new friends are talking dogs in this movie. The actors providing their voices are: Emma Stone as Mazie, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Guiseppe, Kiefer Sutherland as Bosco, Sam Elliott as Chupadogra, Stacy Ferguson (better known as Fergie) as Jezebel, Steve Coogan as Raisin, George Lopez as Carlos, Ryan Devlin as Deuce and Damon Wayans Jr as Thunder.

Marmaduke's owners, Phil and Debbie Winslow are played by Lee Pace and Judy Greer. The Winslow children, Barbara, Brian and Sarah are played by Caroline Sunshine, Finely Jacobsen and Milana and Mandy Haines. Winslow family friend Don Twombly is played by William H Macy.

In Marmaduke, human emotions and abilities are credited to the Great Dane and his dog friends. The mischievous Marmaduke is viewed in the film as an average American teenager. Although the movie is all in fun, dog owners should keep in mind that this is an unrealistic portrayal of actual pet dogs. For example, how many dogs do you know that have the ability to speak the English language or dance together in the park?

Will the dog-loving public enjoy Marmaduke? So far, many of those watching the sneak preview available on the internet have given Marmaduke less than favorable reviews. Criticisms of the film include poor writing, terrible jokes and inferior acting.

To watch the sneak preview of Marmaduke on the official website, click here.