Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective

Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (also known as Ace Ventura 3: Jr. Pet Detective) is a 2009 American television stand-alone sequel to the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, without involvement from either lead actor Jim Carrey nor writer Steve Oedekerk. The third and final film in Ace Ventura franchise, it began production in Orlando, Florida on September 17, 2007, and was directed by David M. Evans and written by Jeff Sank, Jason Heimberg, and Justin Heimberg.[1][2]

Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective
Official DVD cover
Based onCharacters
by Jack Bernstein
Screenplay byJeffery Sank
Jason Heimberg
Justin Heimberg
David Mickey Evans
Story byJeffery Sank
Jason Heimberg
Justin Heimberg
Directed byDavid Mickey Evans
StarringJosh Flitter
Emma Lockhart
Ann Cusack
Cullen Douglas
Art LaFleur
Austin Rogers
Reed Alexander
Ralph Waite
Music byLaura Karpman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersJames G. Robinson
David Robinson
CinematographyMark Irwin
EditorDanny Saphire
Running time93 minutes
Production companyMorgan Creek Productions
DistributorWarner Home Video
Release
Original networkCartoon Network
Original release
  • March 1, 2009 (2009-03-01)

Plot

Ventura must follow in his father's (Ace Ventura's) footsteps to save his mother from going to jail.

In the beginning, Ace is chasing a rat that is referred to as a mouse. He catches it and walks straight into the alligator habitat. Later in a dream Ace sees a panda, Ting Tang, being captured. Soon his mother is blamed for the theft. She asks if she can make one phone call. She calls Rex Ventura, Ace's paternal grandfather, but not before a hilarious scene in which Ace Sr. exits from a Rhino. Rex tells Ace (Jr.) the history of the Ventura Family and their relationship with animals. Rex Ventura is an elderly man with several animals such as a cat, a turtle, and a dog which Ace thinks is dead, but springs to life at the phrase "cream pie."

At his mother's trial, Ace Jr. presents evidence that proves his mother couldn't have committed the crime of stealing Ting-Tang the panda; however, the Ranger (the one that Ace doesn't like), dismisses the evidence and Ace's mother is ultimately taken to jail.

At school the next day, Ace hears that the pets of many of his classmates (including his crush, Laura) have gone missing. After that, Ace talks to a boy nicknamed A-Plus (who is called this in jest, as the school recognizes no grade above an A). A-Plus has a hidden lab in his locker, which Ace uses as his office. Ace, Laura, and A-Plus work together to find the culprit, and they initially assume that an animal scientist named Dr. Sickinger is the panda thief, primarily because he had created a website called PandaHub. However, the (somewhat insane) scientist is ultimately proven innocent and ends up working the kids to find the real culprit. While working with Dr. Sickinger, Ace and his friends discover that he used to work for Quenton Pennington Jr. (Reed Alexander), a rich kid whose family motto is, "What a Pennington wants, a Pennington gets." In the end, Ace and his crew discover Pennington Jr.'s dad, Pennington Sr., had stolen Ting Tang, as well as a bunch of other famous animals (Tabby the tabby cat, Princess the lapdog, Freedom the Hawk and Calypso the Magic Horse), and Pennington Jr. himself had stolen Ace's classmates' pets. The father and son are arrested for their crimes, Mrs. Ventura is finally cleared and Ace is rewarded for his heroics.

Ace's father does not appear in this film. Until Rex comes in, whenever Ace Jr. would ask his mom about his dad, she would simply tell him that he had disappeared on a business trip when he was a baby and wouldn't go into any greater detail. However, before she's taken to jail (before Rex comes in), she elaborates on what happened to Ace Sr.: when their son was still just a baby, Ace had rescued a group of endangered animals and while flying them to safety, the airplane they were on disappeared somewhere over the Bermuda Triangle, and Ace Ventura was never seen or heard from again after that.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

The film received largely negative critical reception. Film Threat gave the film 1½ stars out of 5, stating "It's disappointing that this is the next, and most likely final step of the Ace Ventura franchise."[3] Common Sense Media gave it 2 out of 5 stars, summing the film up as a "Funny, animal-loving kid lost in crude script."[4] Movie Metropolis also gave a negative review, stating "What was pretty juvenile in the first place becomes literally juvenile in this straightforward kids' romp. If I were a kid, I might like it. But I'm not a kid, and I didn't."[5]

References
  1. Alrighty Then! Josh Flitter for Third Ace Ventura
  2. Jeff Sank, Jason Heimberg and Justin Heimberg On Ace Ventura Duty Archived July 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "ACE VENTURA JR.: PET DETECTIVE (DVD)". Film Threat. March 12, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  4. "Ace Ventura Pet Detective Jr". Common Sense Media. February 25, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  5. Puccio, John J (February 18, 2009). "ACE VENTURA JR.: PET DETECTIVE - DVD review". moviemet.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
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