The premise is that dogs and cats are waging a secret war for supremacy, and the centre of their efforts here is mad Professor Brody (Goldblum), who's working on a formula that would cure people's allergies to dogs, thereby giving canines the leg up, as it were. But the Brody family (frazzled mom Perkins, neglected son Pollock) has adopted a naive puppy named Lou (voiced by Maguire) instead of the top agent they were supposed to get. So it's up to the other agents--veteran Butch (Baldwin), shaggy Sam (Duncan), wiry Peek (Pantoliano) and slinky Ivy (Sarandon)--to help. Meanwhile, the evil cat Mr Tinkles (Hayes) is plotting world domination ... and planning to send in both the ninjas and the Russians.

Continual action and a steady stream of hilarious gags helps paper over the seams. The script isn't as tight as it should have been; the whole thing feels rushed and unfinished. The animals run the entire range from state-of-the-art computer animation to cheesy sock puppetry. Some of it looks great; much looks cheap and cheerful. But who cares when we're having such a good time? The increasingly embarrassing indignities piled on Mr Tinkles are hilarious ... and quickly give away the filmmakers' dog-loving sensibilities.