Beverly Hills Chihuahuaa.k.a. “Le Chihuahua de Beverly Hills,” “South of the Border”

MPAA Rating: for some mild thematic elements.

Reviewed by: Pati Smith
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating:

Better than average

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Moviemaking Quality:

Primary Audience:

Kids, Family

Genre:

Family, Adventure, Comedy

Length:

_____

Year of Release:

2008

USA Release:

October 3, 2008 (3000 theaters)
DVD release: March 3, 2009

Relevant Issues

Dogs in the Bible

Adventures in the rainforest! Learn about the Creator of the universe by exploring His marvelous creation. Fun for the whole family with games, activities, stories, answers to children’s questions, color pages, and more! One of the Web’s first and most popular Christian Web sites for children. Nonprofit, evangelical, nondenominational.

“50% warrior. 50% lover. 100% Chihuahua.”

Producer’s Synopsis: “Chloe (voice of Drew Barrymore), a diamond-clad, bootie wearing Beverly Hills Chihuahua enjoys her luxurious lifestyle so much, she hardly notices Papi (voice of George Lopez), a tough looking Chihuahua who happens to be head-over-paws for the pampered pooch. But when Chloe gets lost in the rough streets of Mexico with only a street-wise German Shepherd (voice of Andy Garcia) to help her find her way home, Papi heads south of the border—joining forces with a motley crew: two humans (Piper Perabo, Manolo Cardona), a sly rat (voice of Cheech Marin) and a nervous iguana (voice of Paul Rodriguez) – to rescue his true love.”

Positive - This is one of the best movies ever & it's for everyone. I took my 5, 7, + 10 yr old grandchildren to it. The theater was filled with all ages & we all loved it. The movie is clean & decent & enjoyable. How rare for today! There is a strong theme of love & caring for others. No cursing, sexual content, or violence. A little bit tense at the dogfight scene but they turned that around well (it became a good point of discussion with the kids later about the disgusting & illegal 'sport'). The quality of the film is absolutely wonderful. You just begin to believe those little dogs can talk! All the dogs are very talented. This was one of the best movie experiences in a long time. We came out of the theater laughing about how much fun we'd had. Just go & enjoy!!! Let's show the movie industry that this is what we want.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
—M. Young, age 50

Positive - this movie was very good it is funny and exciting I think it shows romance but not in a sexual way and friendship and pride it has a good moral and makes you laugh and gasp I would love to see it again with my kids I'm sure you won't waste your money on it
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
—Morgan, age 42

Positive - I went to see this with my seven-year-old daughter and my somewhat reluctant 13-year-old son. My daughter had been taken by the trailers, and really wanted to see it. I was a little reluctant to see it the first weekend because it was PG, and sometimes Disney movies nowadays can be too crude or have children who act disrespectfully. However, we all loved the movie, and laughed out loud on many occasions, and cheered for the brave Chihuahuas. We all enjoyed it very much, and I was glad to see a movie that was good for the whole family. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of crudity, and the positive moral message of being a responsible person, and not being prejudiced against those different from you. The human heroine, Rachel, is initially portrayed as not very responsible, but she changes and tried hard to find her aunt's dog because it is her responsibility, even though she initially doesn't like her much. I didn't catch any profanity, and there were no questionable sexual scenes, only hugs. Rachel and her friends go dancing and meet some men, but Rachel doesn't invite her date in. There are some scenes where there are young women in bikinis (and dogs!), but it is part of a pool scene and it not commented upon by anyone. The PG part is probably due to dog peril, where the heroine Chihuahua and her champions are threatened with mauling or death by the bad guy's dog and later some cougars. There are some dog scuffles, but no blood. You see some of the seedy side of Mexico and dog fighting and gangs, but they are portrayed as bad, and the police are portrayed positively.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4.5
—Linda Walkup, age 46

Positive - I took my 4 year old daughter to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua last week. It was a very family friendly movie. I am pretty picky about what I let my daughter watch and was a little worried there would be a lot of sexual innuendos and swearing in it. There was neither.

I thought it was a morally good movie. People and the dogs in the movie ban together to find the missing Chloe. Delgado realizes what it means to be a true friend and keep his promise and to get over the pain of past hurts. All the dogs learn what it means to be loved and wanted as they stick together for Chloe.

The only part I didn’t like (and my daughter and I had a talk about it afterwards) was that in the end, after Chloe is safe at home, Rachel and Vasquez (I think their names are) hide from her owner, Viv, the fact that she had gotten lost. I told my daughter, they should have been honest and told Viv the truth. Chloe got lost because Rachel, who was put in charge of Chloe, was negligent and left her alone while she went out on a date instead of watching her as promised.

Overall, the movie is fantastic and I would highly recommend it for age 4 or 5 and up.

My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 4.5
—Pati Smith, age 48

Positive - Go see this film! This is one of the best Disney films produced in the last twenty years. It was beautifully filmed, expertly directed, the

acting--human and animal--was outstanding, and the editing was one of the best of any film that I've ever seen--and I've seen a lot of films in 50 years of movie-going. This movie has clever lines, witty scenes, and fast action. And even though there's a great deal of action the editing quickly moves from one scene to the next, in different locations, smoothly and coherently. I laughed numerous times and cried half dozen times. The moral of the story is clear to both children and adults: do not be judgemental and always be charitable. (The only negative aspect--which didn't offend me--was that that the film almost suggests that it's one long commercial for Disney cruises to Mexico.)
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
—Lana Lorenzen, age 57

Positive - This movie was worth every dollar and it should give Hollywood the message that this is the kind of stuff families would like to see more of in the future. Comedy can still be clean and funny at the same time.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
—Eunice Stahl, age 42

None Yet.

None Yet.

Positive - I saw this movie with my friend and my mom. I think I actually didnt think it would be that good but i was suprised. I think this movie had a good message about responsibility. It also sent out that message in a kid friendly way. I am glad i went to see it!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4
—Kelly Smith, age 12

Positive - I went to this movie with my friends and we all concluded that this was a very cute movie. It was enjoyable and it gave us a good laugh. Although, it did drag on a little too long (the girl chiuaua kept on getting lost again and again), but for the most part it was a good movie. There was nothing offensive and it was a clean movie. Dog-lovers should definately see it!!!!!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
—Corrin, age 13

Positive - I loved this movie! I didn't think there was a single questionable thing! It has a great script, and wonderful acting. I recomend this movie to ANYONE!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4.5
—Zoey, age 19