For those that either have forgotten or missed the movie when it first was released, Air Bud: Golden Receiver was the 1998 sequel to the original Air Bud. The film stars Kevin Zegers as Josh, who begins the film incredibly angry at eir mom for dating Dr. Patrick Sullivan (Gregory Harrison), the town’s premiere veterinarian. Without anyone to really talk to, it soon becomes apparent that Buddy, Josh’s dog, is incredibly good at football. After more and more of the town start to see exactly how talented Buddy is, a duo of Russian mobsters look to take Buddy to the premiere circus in their home country. The two that began the film at odds with each other (Josh and Dr. Sullivan) have to bond together to get Buddy back.
Air Bud: Golden Receiver originally made it to DVD back in 2000, and had gradually fallen out of the public’s mind until Disney decided to re-release the title. The colors here are as sharp as all get out, representing not only an advancement over the original VHS but the first edition of the DVD as well. Voices are clear and crowd noise is broken up well enough to allow various exclamations and noise to be heard, while the featurette on the film provides viewers with an additional two or three hours of runtime for this title.
This edition is done up quite well, giving purchasers a special dog whistle along with an additional feature that extends throughout the entirety of the film. This new featurette is a play by play description of the action going down by the Buddies, which act as a running commentary that is just as informative as those seen on any other film. Make sure to pick up this re-release of Air Bud: Golden Receiver if you have not seen the film for a few years, or if you want to show a new generation of moviegoers exactly what Air Bud was all about.
Rating: 8.0/10
Air Bud: Golden Receiver Special Edition (DVD) / 2010 Disney / 90 Minutes /