Berlin and Beyond Film Festival: Sergeant Pepper

We've always wanted to call something or someone "a delightful romp," and now's our chance. Rechristened "Magical Dog" by certain members of the SFist community, Sergeant Pepper is the story of Felix -- a young boy with no interest in forming human friends -- and a dog, Sergeant Pepper, who comes into Felix's life and who can (joy of joys for a small child) talk. There follows a fairly boiler-plate story with concerned parents; a disbelieving child psycholigist; an inherited fortune that only the dog can access; a kindly old man; multiple mad dashes to evade kidnappers; and two bumbling villains, one of whom might just have his heart warmed and become valiant in the eleventh hour. Ho hum, no surprises as far as plot goes; and yet the movie enjoys a gentle, unpredictable silliness that makes it entirely appropriate that it is dedicated to C&H author Bill Watterson.

What distinguishes "Sergeant Pepper" from other Films About Children -- it would be a mistake to call it a Children's Film -- is its deft restraint. Sure, there are thrills like a crazy-inventor dad, a talking dog, a boy who wears a tiger suit every day, and guns. But there are also no digital effects; no toilet, crotch, or fart jokes; only a single treacly line about the innocence of childhood; and smart dialogue from everyone, including the kids. This places it in a league alongside the first three Muppet movies, or the Lemony Snicket books: smart, patient, and, when excitement such as an explosion or kidnapping does happen, all the more pleasurable. You might expect that small children might find a movie with character development and pregnant pauses too slow, but at a crowded Castro screening populated largely by the under-ten set, there weren't more than four or five defections over the course of the film. Not to mention, at the end of the movie there was unanimous applause; and when's the last time you saw that happen at a movie that was either For or About children?