In 1963, Disney released The Incredible Journey, a heart-warming tale of two dogs and a cat going on a remarkable adventure to catch up with their owners. It was a film that highlighted the bond between pets and their owners, showing that we mean as much to them as they do to us.

It could be said that Strays is the spiritual successor to it, albeit a foul-mouthed, mongrel re-boot, featuring the adventures of four K-9’s as they go walkies with a mission.

Living what he thinks is his best life is Reggie (Will Ferrell), a scruffy, loyal, little Border terrier. He adores his owner Doug (Will Forte), who plays fetch with Reggie all the time, which sees him throw a ball as far as he can for Reggie to bring back. This ‘game’ goes to the extreme one day when it finds Reggie in the truck on a road trip for three hours, before throwing the ball in a dodgy urban area, and then having Doug disappearing before Reggie can get the ball back to him.

It’s here that he meets Bug (Jamie Foxx), a potty-mouthed, streetwise Boston terrier, who breaks the news to Reggie that his game of fetch was just a way for his owner to get rid of him. Reggie doesn’t believe him at first, but it eventually dawns on him that perhaps his owner wasn’t the dog lover Reggie perceived him to be.

So when the pair meet up with Great Dane Hunter (Randall Park) and Australian Shepherd Maggie (Isla Fisher), they decide to go on an arduous road trip, where Reggie can take out his revenge and get even with his ex-owner by finally biting back – literally.

Although Strays is reminiscent of the 1963 Disney classic, it probably has more in common with 2012’s Ted, that saw a man’s childhood bear come to life, who ended up using bad language and doing drugs with his owner.

The dogs are, thankfully, real dogs, with only their mouths cleverly altered by CGI so they can talk convincingly throughout. And much like Ted, they don’t hold back on the foul language, which is strangely shocking. After all, can you imagine your pet constantly dropping the ‘f’ bomb? If you’re a cat owner, you probably can, the little, evil furry shits.

And it’s that curious juxtaposition of cute dogs looking cute and playful on screen, spouting out appallingly bad language, which makes for an entertaining tale.

Ferrell conveys Reggie’s optimistic outlook with aplomb, with his dog bowl half full outlook on life. He is ably supported by his sidekick Bug, that sees Foxx let loose with pooch profanity that certainly differentiates this from being a cute comedy for all the family.

The shock value and unique concept does wear thin after a while, which means the film has to rely on the personality of the four dog characters, which it manages surprisingly well for the majority of the time.

But despite the onslaught of bad language and behaviour, it’s difficult to not see the characters for what they are, a bunch of cute pups, on an incredible adventure.

The film is undoubtedly a gimmick, but one that will play out particularly well for pet owners with a penchant for profanity, making it well worth sniffing out.