SINGAPORE : Pampered, snobbish but good-hearted Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) is the title Chihuahua, lost while on vacation in Mexico. Her owner is filthy rich cosmetics mogul Jamie Lee Curtis, whose largely worthless niece (Piper Perabo) is the dog-sitter who does the losing.

And thus we follow Chloe’s trials and tribulations as she enlists the help of a guard dog who has a chip on his shoulder and Andy Garcia in his voice-box in order to get home.

If you’re six years old or have the propensity to “ooh” and “ahh” whenever an animal does something outrageously cute, then this film is perfect for you. For everyone else, this might be a mildly enjoyable but slightly tiresome 98 minutes spent in the cinema.

Director Raja Gosnell (Home Alone 3) tries hard with Disney’s latest family adventure-comedy to create a heartwarming hybrid of "Lady and the Tramp" and "Legally Blonde", injecting sporadic splashes of colour and comedy.

However, the fun quite painfully fizzles out as it tries to reach feature-length status.

Throw in the pastiche of cheesy pop-culture references and lame pop tunes, and you wonder how much credit the film gives its audience’s intelligence - of both children and adults alike.

Yes, the enjoyable vocal performances (especially by the immensely likable Barrymore) conspires to save the movie from itself but, as much as its heart is in the right place, this conspicuous-consumption comedy in which a rich dog changes outfits four times a day and wears a collar worth enough to pay off the every man’s debt is simply not the escapism from the current economic climate one needs.

- TODAYrose