AIR BUD — ★ ★ — Michael Jeter, Kevin Zegers, Wendy Makkena, Bill Cobbs; rated PG (violence, profanity, mild vulgarity)

The Walt Disney factory continues to churn out by-the-numbers, assembly line movies for kids, and "Air Bud" is no exception.

In fact, this one looks like an obvious corporate-designed package. You can imagine the pitch in the boardroom: We ran into this guy with a dog that plays basketball. No kidding! You toss the ball at the pooch and he bounces it off his nose and the ball goes right into the basket! All we have to do is build this movie around him — you know, a lonely kid in a new town finds the dog and they both get on the school basketball team!

Sound fanciful? Well, as silly as that scenario may seem, it really is how "Air Bud" came together.

Kevin DiCicco, the owner and trainer of Buddy, the hoop-shooting golden retriever, had a "chance" meeting with screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Aaron Mendelsohn (authors of several TV movies), according to the film's production notes. And it didn't take long before "Air Bud" was up and running.

And just to reassure cynical '90s audiences, there's a disclaimer at the end that says, "No special visual effects were used in the basketball sequences of this motion picture."

There's no question that Buddy is the draw here. But aside from his amazing prowess on the basketball court, "Air Bud" is a routine boy-and-his-dog yarn that we've seen all too often.

Twelve-year-old Josh (Kevin Zegers), whose father has recently died in an accident, travels with his mother and baby sister to a small town called Fernfield in Washington state. He's sad and withdrawn until Buddy cheers him up, and eventually he tries out for the school basketball team.

Though he is initially relegated to being the team waterboy, Josh does eventually make the team, as does Buddy. Of course, Buddy is just the team mascot, but in the climactic "big championship game," the dog actually gets to play with the team.

It's an amusing wrap-up, but getting there is a trial.

There are the obligatory scenes you expect in a movie like this — Buddy being given a bath, making a mess of the bathroom; Buddy creating havoc in a room full of ladders, wallpaper and paste; Buddy knocking over toys, furniture and a cake during a birthday party; Buddy upsetting a school basketball game; etc.

The usual chaotic slapstick.

There are also the expected subplots: a mysterious school janitor (Bill Cobbs) who just happens to be an ex-NBA star and eventually becomes the team's coach; Buddy's mean-spirited owner (Michael Jeter) who wants his dog back, in this case a nasty, inept — and quite unlikely — clown who does kids birthday parties.