the subject matter is perhaps a tad grown-up for the smallest children, but there's enough heart and canine soul here for genuine cross-generational appeal
in this fluffy, sappy sequel, it's heroine CJ who goes on the journey while the canine antics feel mostly extraneous; These antics are all very adorable, but they are hardly crucial to the plot -- and that could the screenplay's major flaw
Gail Mancuso seasons the teary moments with some warm, fuzzy humour and it's unashamedly sentimental, but it's not meant to be subtle and has old-fashioned charm to spare
fans of the first film will be delighted to find the formula pretty much untweaked, with a steady stream of corn-syrup sentiment binding what would otherwise amount to a feature-length montage of adorable doggy reaction GIFs
