Most critics take Beethoven’s 2nd for what it is: a cosy family sequel that does roughly what the first film did, with four puppies added. Nobody dislikes it and nobody is excited by it. The praise clusters on the cast rather than the dog: Charles Grodin is singled out repeatedly, Bonnie Hunt is mentioned warmly, and Debi Mazar’s dog-hating villain is the performance several reviews remember. The puppies themselves are credited with much of the sequel’s appeal.
The reservations are the expected ones. The puppy bodily-function jokes are called tiresome, the sentiment is thought heavy, and the holiday finale strikes one critic as contrived. The spread is narrow. The Los Angeles Times is the warmest, finding the sequel as funny and appealing as the original; Empire is the coolest, rating it passable entertainment mainly for very young children. Two of the seven reviews are too partial to yield a clear verdict either way.