Utilising the same mix of live action, puppeting and CGI technology employed for Babe, but to infinitely more farcical effect, Cats And Dogs drags our cutesy domesticated pets into a Cold War-like conspiracy (replete with Home Alone-style cartoon violence) to highly original and amusing effect.

Plot: for many centuries now, unbeknownst to humankind, a war has been waged between cats and dogs for control of our planet. An Iron Curtain-style truce has held the warring parties in check for a few years, but the work of Professor Brody (Goldblum) is about to bring all that to an end. On the verge of finding a cure for people who are allergic to dogs, the Professor’s dog and top agent is put out of commission, only to be accidentally replaced by a rookie Beagle puppy named Lou (Maguire).

The latter’s inexperience may jeoparise a highly incendiary situation created by evil fascistic feline Mr. Tinkles, something of an Adolf Hitler figure with whiskers, who is determined to capture the secret formula and reverse it, thereby enabling cats to gain the advantage over their canine counterparts, and ultimately take over the world. Help is at hand for Lou, however, in the form of experienced sheepdog operative Butch (Baldwin) and the obligatory bitch-he-once-loved (Sarandon). Still, given the cats’ army of kamikaze kittens, this may not be enough to save dog-and-mankind...

With an array of exotic breeds from both species on display, Cats And Dogs has surely secured a market among the animal-lovers – particularly those of us who have always regarded cats as downright sinister. Unquestionably, the film successfully plays with a novel concept, and the film-makers have incorporated all the necessary generic points of reference (high-tech gadgets, assassins, Russian agents and unlikely political alliances) while never neglecting the entertainment.

It never quite measures up to Babe in the pulling-at-heartstrings department, but it’s a highly appealing and well-executed slice of comedy which should ensure the film has crossover appeal beyond the built-in kiddie market. The poor pussies aren’t exactly given the best press, but then, cat lovers can take solace from the fact that Mr. Tinkles gets all the best lines.