"Beverly Hills Chihuahua": Gimmicks aside, it's a pretty good family comedy

What is it with Raja Gosnell and talking dogs? The veteran film editor and director of the live-action "Scooby-Doo" and "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" kid flicks has got a thing for mouthy mutts, and there's no shortage of those in "Beverly Hills Chihuahua."

More likely, Gosnell just seems to know how to work his way around a movie set where some of the critter characters aren't actually there. Various animals in "Chihuahua" are added in postproduction. Others, such as the film's four-legged leads, are manipulated by computer to do the impossible things we see them do on screen, such as climb into boxcars and, well, talk.

Gosnell is a proven ringmaster with this stuff. "Chihuahua" turns out to be a pretty good family comedy (better than the "Scooby" movies) that is more than the sum of its effects. An appealing human cast helps. Piper Perabo plays Rachel, niece of an eccentric Beverly Hills woman (Jamie Lee Curtis) who pampers Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore), a spoiled Chihuahua. Rachel manages to lose Chloe in Mexico, and the dog hooks up with a misfit German Shepherd named Delgado (Andy Garcia), who helps her through her many misadventures.

Sundry other humans, pooches, vermin and an iguana get involved with the confusion, and the action is generally crisp and funny for youngsters. A short chapter set in the ancestral home of the Chihuahua breed is a clever idea, a bit of "Indiana Jones" tossed in for good measure.

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com