Hotel for Dogs is a 2009 American family comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal in his directorial debut, and based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Lois Duncan.

Starring Jake T. Austin, Emma Roberts, Kyla Pratt, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon and Don Cheadle, the film tells the story of two orphaned siblings (living in foster care), who secretly take in stray dogs along with their family dog at a vacant hotel.

[6] The film was released in theaters on January 16, 2009 by DreamWorks Pictures, and was a box office success grossing $117 million worldwide.

Orphaned siblings Andi and Bruce swindle a pawn shop owner in order to buy food for their dog, Friday.

However, they are quickly caught and brought to the police station where they get picked up by their social worker, Bernie Wilkins who takes them back to their foster parents, Lois and Carl Scudder, who do not appear to care for either Andi, Bruce, or even Friday.

When Lois and Carl refuse to take Andi and Bruce back, Bernie is forced by state law to send them to separate foster homes.

Meanwhile, Bernie explores the hotel where he finds a dog named Harley, who had managed to avoid getting caught by animal control the previous night.

Andi and Bruce manage to break into the pound and release the dogs in an attempt to get them across the county line, where they will be safe.

As people explore the hotel, Bernie reveals to an overjoyed Andi and Bruce that he and his wife have decided to adopt them.

However, he stated that after reading the script that he "realized you don't think much about the logistics involved" and saw deeper messages and more complex aspects of the film.

[18]A producer of the film, Lauren Shuler Donner, is also an activist and dog lover, and was convinced that the book's message about the importance of family "made the novel an ideal property to bring to the big screen".

Ewan Leslie, a producer of the film, said in an interview of Roberts that she "is one of those young actors whose face just lights up the screen and she has the ability to play a wide range of emotions without any dialogue.

"[16] Filmmakers conducted a nationwide search for an actor to play Bruce, Andi's whimsical and inventive younger brother.

Don Cheadle, who plays Andi and Bruce's protective social worker, joined the film in September 2007.

"[16] Freudenthal said that he deliberately chose both very small and very large dogs to create a contrast similar to the characters of Lenny and George in the John Steinbeck novella Of Mice And Men.

"[16] The dogs were also trained to interact with the various gadgets in the film with early prototypes built by the special effects team.

Special effects supervisor Michael Lantieri enlisted to create the various contraptions invented by Bruce throughout the film to keep the dogs fed.

It is timed so that the wheels turn, and the ball is magnetic so it sticks in the hand, which comes round and launches the object so the dog can chase it,' explains Lantieri.

'[16]Other devices built for the film include a feeding machine that drops food into each of the dogs' bowls on a timed schedule, a vending machine filled with shoes and other chew toys, a room filled with doors whose doorbells go off on their own, and another containing a replica of a car surrounded by fans which simulates for the dogs the experience of placing their heads through an open car window while driving.

[23] Kent Turner, writing for School Library Journal, stated that while the book is "utterly realistic", the film is "fantastic" and thus fundamentally different.

[24] Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times, wrote that the film "is loaded with enough stupid pet and human tricks to satisfy David Letterman for years to come".