‘Pets on a Train’ is fast-paced family fun

It’s fast, it’s funny, and it’s sure to entertain the little kids in your household as well as the adults.

‘Pets on A Train’ (IMDb)

“Pets on a Train” is a co-production of studios in France and the United States. It’s also listed in some places as “Falcon Express,” because that’s the name of the main character in this animated adventure.

Falcon is a raccoon (you’ll see how he got his name) who may be a thief, but he’s a thief with a heart: He plans to steal a bunch of food from a train to bring back to his hungry animal friends.

He’s not the only animal on the train, of course. Several others, including a pair of bunnies, a fish, a turtle, a parrot, a canary, n anaconda and a police dog named Rex are aboard, too.

There’s a badger aboard, too, with ulterior motives. Falcon’s trusted pigeon friend doesn’t think the badger should be trusted, but Falcon – thinking of the feast that his friends will enjoy – thinks that Hans will help Falcon by hacking into the train’s navigation system.

Falcon should have listened to the pigeon. Everything goes haywire, and a recorded announcement asks all the passengers to get off the train. That’s when the train takes off into what appears to be a fast and catastrophic journey.

Falcon lets the other animals out of their travel quarters and, despite their differences and their general distrust of each other, they begin to work together to save themselves as the train hurtles toward an unstable bridge. Meanwhile, a television crew has plans to be on hand for the great crash.

I like the way the story unfolds from the animals’ points of view. Also, it’s nice to see a different kind of animation: The characters are stylized and goofy, but some of the scenes boast amazingly realistic animation work – watch the underside of the train as it travels along, and see just how real the flames look in a couple of other scenes.

This is a kind of “Mission: Impossible” for families. It’s the kind of movie I’d like to see more of.

3 stars

Running time: 87 minutes.

In theaters.

Watch the trailer here.

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