IT'S THE Year of the Ox, according to the Chinese calendar. While oxen haven't figured prominently in recent movies, dogs have been ubiquitous, in the light entertainments Bolt, Beverly Hills Chihuahuaand Hotel for Dogs, and the melancholy Wendy and Lucy. Falling somewhere in between, blending comedy and drama, is Marley Me.

The dog here, a Labrador retriever named after the Jamaican reggae superstar, comes into the lives of newlywed journalists John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) when they move to south Florida. Preferring to postpone parenthood, John acquires Marley, an irrepressibly hyperactive creature with an omnivorous appetite for everything from pillows and answering machines to attention and affection, which he amply offers in return.

Marley causes chaos in the Grogan household, but he’s so adorable that he becomes an essential part of the family, a surrogate child until they have their own. When John stands in for a columnist colleague, Marley’s behaviour provides him with a trove of tales and anecdotes that would form the nucleus of his best-selling book on which the movie is based.

Director David Frankel brought more zest and pace to The Devil Wears Prada, and while Wilson and Aniston fit well together as a screen couple, it's the dog that's the star – or, more accurately, the 22 dogs playing Marley.

Crucially, there is a palpable warmth and fondness about the mutual attachment of Marley and the Grogans, whose family eventually extends to three children, the first conceived on a fleetingly featured Connemara holiday.

As Marley ages and the worst is feared, the tone shifts imperceptibly away from a movie that’s as light, fluffy and cuddly as a puppy. Tears will be shed by anyone who has ever been offered “private time” in a veterinary clinic with a beloved pet.

Directed by David Frankel. Starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin PG cert, gen release, 116 min★★★