Barking at the Big Screen: Air Bud: World Pup

Air Bud takes on the soccer pitch in the third film of the series.

I grew up obsessed with sports, and only slightly less obsessed about stories and animals. So it was pretty much inevitable that I’d love the Air Bud series of films, and since I played soccer, that includes Air Bud: World Pup. 

World Pup is the third in the series, made in 2000, following Golden Receiver and preceding Seventh-Inning Fetch.

Storyline

Jackie Framm (Chilton Crane) just married her veterinarian boyfriend Patrick Sullivan (Dale Midkiff), so that’s a bit of an adjustment for Josh (Kevin Zegers) and Andrea (Caitlin Wachs) to get used to.

After the wedding, Andrea and her best friend Tammy (Tom’s little sister, played by Chantal Strand) use a soccer game to get away from an annoying boy from their class.  Meanwhile, Buddy meets a pretty acquaintance in a fellow Golden Retriever named Molly.

Andrea and Tammy are learning soccer, and their practice is led by a British girl named Emma Putter (Brittany Paige Bouck), whom Josh is instantly smitten by.

At Fernfield High’s first soccer practice of the season, Josh, Tom (Shayn Solberg) and Buddy join the team because they need three more players. At this point, any breathing student would do, and it doesn’t matter that none of the three newest Timberwolves have ever played the game before – everyone’s terrible anyway.

While Josh and Buddy walk Emma and Molly back to their house one day after practice, she invites him to a party and he accepts.

The Timberwolves’ first game is a nightmare, though because it’s soccer (where no one EVER scores), they only lost 3-1. Still, it’s bad enough for the coach to declare an emergency practice immediately following the final whistle.

Curious about where Buddy’s been sneaking off to at night, Andrea and Tammy decide to tail him and learn his attraction to Molly by crashing Emma’s party, where Josh rescues her dad from a locked room and then accidentally causes mayhem with a dog whistle, both events courtesy of the pocketknife Patrick gave him.

A few weeks later, the Timberwolves handily defeat his team, an opposing coach for Springbrook makes plans to flag Fernfield’s use of ineligible players; meanwhile, Tom gives Josh terrible dating advice, which causes a date with Emma to go horribly.

Emma continues to give Josh the cold shoulder, and the conference threatens to kick Fernfield out if they continue to play Buddy.

Buddy and Molly have six puppies, and Emma and Josh reconcile. Fernfield makes it to the championship game (against Springbrook, naturally).

The inept dognappers who’ve been unsuccessfully trying to kidnap Buddy and Molly finally succeed in taking the puppies just before the title game.

Josh, Emma, Andrea, Tammy and Mr. Putter all search for the puppies, while the Timberwolves – with only eight players – take on Springbrook’s Spartans in the title game. The puppies get rescued, and Buddy scores the game-winning goal.

Several months later, Briana Scurry, Brandi Chastain and a few other members of the US Women’s National Team play around with Emma’s soccer team one night.

Plot holes

For as well-known around Fernfield as the Framms are, there sure aren’t many people at the wedding. That’s got to be a little disappointing. And no matter how good a dog Buddy is, would you really send him across town alone to retrieve the ring?

Fernfield loves all Timberwolves sports, but the crowds at the games look a little on the high side. Also, until I looked it up just now, I didn’t know that it’s a fall sport in Washington State.

A dog isn’t a student, so Buddy would technically be ineligible to play. So I can totally understand the conference’s reasoning there. But throwing Fernfield High out of the conference seems excessive.

Why is US Women’s National Team goalie Briana Scurry at a high school game?

Quotable

Tammy, while spying – “Does this make us Peeping Toms?” Andrea – “No. Only boys can be Peeping Toms, that’s why they’re called Toms.” “Aha….”

Their radio call signs are Kibbles and Bits, haha.

Josh – “Hey, uh….would you want to go out to a movie sometime?” Emma – “We’re in the middle of a game!” (Ref’s whistle blows, ending game.) “Oh. Yes, that would be lovely.”

Dognapper 1 to dogs – “Sit!” Dognapper 2 – “They’re already sitting.” “Well, then, STAY sitting!”

Summary

Air Bud: World Pup feels like it’s about three movies stitched haphazardly together – a sports movie, a dog movie and a teen romance. Somehow it kind of works, though.

It’s not very well-edited and many plot holes leaving you going crazy if you try to unravel them, but it’s a fun movie. And there’s tons of pretty dogs running around doing tricks, so that helps.

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