User reviews

I knew it was a kids movie and didn't expect much, but wow. It is really bad. The acting by all of the adults is horrible. The only good thing about it, and the only reason i gave it any stars at all, is that my nine-year-old had a big smile on his face whenever i looked over at him as we watched this movie. He really liked it. But wow. Not good.

Sometimes you see something that looks so absolutely bad that you just have to check it out. Going in with the bar set to it's lowest parameters I found myself vaguely interested and not miserable. An oddly charming and cute cast with a very adequate soundtrack but everything else is pretty mediocre lol It's feels like a stageplay with stilted lines, overacted posing and behaviors, and it's all shot directly forward, no cinematic angles or interesting shots. The main kids of the central story, Scott and Emily are very cute and well played and made the movie worth the bad points. Without them I wouldn't have endured the 80 minutes but they really outshined the rest of the cast. There's a bunch of cutaways as the movie is told via a grandpa reading a book to some other kids and honestly all of that could have just been thrown out. It's boring and feels like it's just ripping off other movies. The animation isn't great but it's cute and absolutely acceptable for a kid's adventure movie. It fits the bill for an afternoon background flick to help fill the void of quarentine blur.

Easily one of the worst movies I've ever sat through, acting was incredibly cringey and story was a mess, don't waste your time

My gosh... no acting... no nothing... waste of our family time. Avoid at all meanings!!!!

If you want your grade school child to be go through life exposed to minimal, paltry, vacuous, substandard educational material then this movie more than fills that role. Plot: Grandfather takes screen viewing time devices away from grade school grandchildren (actually a good idea for lots of educational/psychological reasons) to instead read them a fantasy tale. Unfortunately movie quality does not match intent. Even the children, at one point, remarked, "predictable". Grading: Voicing choice for our "Guardians of the Galaxy" raccoon was unimaginatively bad (D-); raccoon & other fantasy creature animation quality - flat w/no detail (D); animation of electrical force fighting magical wands - cheap & overused; storyline of magical amulets & spells (witchcraft?) book w/usual latin incantations in a stereotypical evil vs. good battle for possession (an unimaginative ripoff, D); acting or lack of (D-). Summary: Unfortunately cheapness makes money so they wrote in a sequel. Suggestion: Find fantasy that requires creative imagination w/thinking.

Rarely am I compelled to write a review but for this movie I must. It had us laughing hysterically behind our hands from the first magical fight scene, while our 10yo son sat enthralled. He loved it for some reason!! Probably because of the comic, non- threatening 'action' and awfully contrived 'romance' between the young characters. The only good actor in the whole movie was the young girl playing the love interest for the terribly weak male lead. Poor girl. I can only hope she goes on to better things as she deserves. But the rest of the cast and indeed the extras, (hilarious library scene) were so far out of their depth they were suffering the bends. Might explain the faces they were pulling.. Overall, the plot was awful, and frighteningly derivative. Perhaps even litigiously so. The special effects were second rate. The dialogue was hilariously bad and they even had the cheek to leave my son thinking there'd be a sequel.

If Narnia and Harry Potter has a baby on a slightly smaller budget! That is what this movie is, a good distraction for the kids.

It was hard to watch with these actors. The story seemed like it should have been better with much better actors.

Watched this earlier this week, and after reading reviews all over the board, I'm not sure what there isn't to like about this flick. "Adventures of Rufus: The Fantastic Pet" is a GREAT deal of fun, has a lot of heart, and is appropriate and has something for all ages. In this day and age, that's rare; all the movies aimed at families are either TOO edgy or TOO kid friendly. This film lands in the sweet spot in the middle. It reminds me a lot of the Disney Channel Original Movies I watched growing up... "Halloweentown" comes to mind. Totally appropriate for all ages, but peppered with reasons to keep parents watching.

A furry creature named Rufus from another world becomes trapped in the attic of an old woman's mansion on Earth after he and his master, the wizard Abbott (Cory Phillips), are separated during a scuffle with Abbott's nemesis, the sorceress Lilith (Leah N.H. Philpott), who also becomes trapped on Earth as a result of the fight. Two years later, the old woman's grandson Scott (Kyler Charles Beck) comes to visit the mansion, where Rufus has been hiding since that fateful night and Lilith now works as the maid of the house. Scott and his friend Emily (Madelyn Kientz) soon begin to uncover Rufus and the secrets of the mansion, and enter a race against time to find Abbott and rescue Rufus's world before Lilith gains control. The whole thing is bookended by a cute Princess Bride-esque wraparound.

The cast in this flick is great. Young audiences will have no problem connecting with Scott and Emily, both likable tweens played well by Beck and Kientz. Rufus is equal parts sweet and courageous, apparently voiced by the film's director - Ryan Bellgardt, and Cory Phillips has the perfect amount of over-the-top charisma as the often humorously confused, but noble Abbott. The adults in the family will undoubtedly appreciate the deliciously evil and funny standout performance from Leah N.H. Philpott as Lilith the most. She is supported by her goons played by Topher Owen and Nicholas Simon, who feel like they were pulled from one of the hilarious early Ernest movies, or another 90s screwball comedy. If anything, I would've like more of Lilith and her goons in this movie. They all have great chemistry on screen.

The movie is captured well and looks and sounds great. The heroes encounter a good number of CG monsters that stand in their way, including a giant t-rex skeleton that comes to life and a dragon the kids will love. The film pays homage to a number of big titles including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, which audiences of all ages will enjoy. The fantastic score by David Stone Hamilton moves the film along nicely and is also full of references and homage to other properties.

The negatives are few and far between, as far as I can see. While the CG monsters are solid for the most part, they do have a few imperfect moments, and the actress playing the grandmother leaves a little to be desired at times. But that's it, and its a small price to pay for a family-friendly film that is enjoyable for all. Like I said at the top of this review, movies like this are a dying breed. We NEED more movies like this. Without spoiling the film too much, it's definitely left open for an "Adventures of Rufus 2," and we can't wait to see what happens next.

For the right age this is an entertaining story. However,, for other people used to tons of expensive CGI, cinematography, & seasoned actors, it will fall short. For kids' who want to see an adventure story coming to life, it's fine. Adults who don't like this, go watch I Am Dragon.

I wasted 15 minutes of my life. That's the time you need to understand that this movies is trash.

Sure it is a kids movie, but there also good kids movies.

This movie is a lie. Rufus is not a pet, it is a side-kick. So he is not even the "hero".

I do not understand how people can say the kid actors were "good" actors. Every single actor was awful. Ether over-acting or not at all. The kids in the movie did nothing. Like nothing at all. Why were they even there? Oh yea, target audience. The action is boring. The effects are so bad I laughed out loud multiple times. This was supposed to be an adventure, but it has only 3 locations. ALL IN A STUDIO!

Leah Philpott as the villain was bad, BUUT I think she could be a good villain with good directing. In the end it is the lamest movie I have ever seen, but this movie is a movie. It has a clear story and events that happen.

First things first... this is definitely a kids' movie, so if you're coming here expecting to find an outstanding plot with compelling characters, find another movie, as you'll see all sorts of kids' movie cliches throughout the film.

The storyline is simple. Kids find Rufus. Rufus finds his wizard friend who has to regain his powers and spellbook. Rufus and co. go on a quest to retrieve MacGuffins for creating magic dust to heal their world from various locations: some magical, some mundane.

During the library part, they try to hide Rufus in a baby carriage, but before the magical forest, they aren't hiding him in public anymore. And after the library, why aren't the police and/or some others searching for Rufus by the time the movie ends?

The story also ends on a blatant sequel hook... so expect there to be other loose ends that will hopefully be tied up by the time the second movie comes out.

Character-wise, the majority are either unlikable (yes, even Rufus falls victim to this), or just don't really stand out. The only characters I kinda ended up liking were Blade and the great wizard Abbott (I think that's how you spell it?).

The CGI animation is easily the weakest part of the film if you ask me. The movements and visuals feel more like they're from a video game than something that's apparently occurring in the real world. The magic itself is hit-or-miss visual-wise. Sometimes, the particle effects make it interesting to look at, but other times, like the magical shield, it feels like a Clipart image imposed in front of the protagonists.

Overall... this is definitely a kids' movie that doesn't really stand out. If your children do really enjoy stories about magic and stuff, I'd put it on for them.

Even though this is definitely a kids film, my three kids 8,11 and 13 were not interested in it at all.

I started watching this movie with great anticipation for an adventure, magic, and overall fun. The story itself is a good one. Unfortunately, the acting and the special effects are dismal at best. I had to force myself to watch this movie to the end because I wanted to turn it off about 2/3 of the way through. I enjoy all types of kids movies whether it be regular or animated or a combination. I could not, in my best conscious, give this a good rating. The only reason I gave it a 6 is because the story is good but everything else is lacking. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this movie is not worth watching. 😚

It's absolutely horrible. There was no plot at all, all the characters were bland and there was nothing about the antagonists or protagonists that made me want to root for them. It felt like it was written by someone so disconnected from youth. They spent more effort on the CGI and the plot. Everytime you expected a climax it just gave a boring "action scene". My family hated it.

Very entertaining with a cute storyline. Theres a couple plot holes but most movies have those but I still enjoyed it a lot. My husband and I really liked several parts of it (dont want to give splilers) and im recommending it to my friends who have kids. We are looking forward to the sequel.

I think when we hv wfh , this is the answer we around the whole family make a unity to watch this movie..n we enjoy it ..

Just after 10 minutes of watching this film, I've already had enough of the bad acting, poor story plot... Not sure if I can put my eyes or mind though the whole film.....it's a shame as the info written about this film, made it sound like it was going to be a fab film, what a complete let done...

This movie starts with a grandpa confiscating his grandchildren's smartphones. Very good. At the same time: What universe do you live in?! That would never happen in real life! No (modern) child will ever surrender its smartphone/minecraft/youtube/etc. Still, it makes a boomer dream. The rest of the movie is a cultural and political mess. Politically, it speaks against global warming but at the same time, it goes against metoo and supports harassment and toxic masculinity. Which privilege does outweigh the other? I need a black ex-president or a white ex-first-lady to tell me what to believe in this case. Culturally, it's not so bad. Princess Bride, Narnia, Hobbit, Harry Potter, Seventh Son, etc. - all merged together, absolutely no problem here. Did I enjoy this movie? Yes! Did I cringe? Yes! Did I laugh while I was cringing? Yes!

My 4 year old loved this and I enjoyed watching it with him. It's no Harry Potter or Lord of the rings, it's cheesy to the extreme. But it's well made, looks good and fun.

Older kids might be disappointed compared to the blockbusters, but this will be a family favourite for a while I think.