As I sit here watching Wolfgang sleep, the mind wonders to strange places. It ended up thinking about the best films with dogs. Here's my list:
Cats and Dogs
Secret Squirrel meets dogs. It's a goofy film that I enjoyed when #1 Son and #2 Son were younger.
Best In Show
This is perhaps the funniest dog movie ever made, lampooning the stuffed shirts who inhabit the Dog Show universe. From the folks who brought you Spinal Tap.
Babe
Yeah, it's about a pig, but the dog parts are particularly good.
Lilo And Stitch
Is it a "girl and her space alien" story, or is it a "girl and her dog" story? I know which way I lean. #2 Son loved this movie more than any other, back in the day.
Where the Red Fern Grows
This is a serious story about a young boy's passage to manhood, from the days when those films were made. The original 1974 film was actually remade in 2003, which is a glimmer of hope for Hollywood.
Lady And The Tramp
Too sweet to be made today, even for children. Perhaps especially for children. That's perhaps the best evidence on display for the Decline of the West.
101 Dalmatians (original animated version)
We sure watched this a lot when the kids were young, and somehow it never got old. It's entirely satisfying: the Good Guys are good, the Bad Guys are bad, and the young uns learn the difference, as well as how to face what needs facing.
Far From Home
This may be the last truly serious film about a dog, or more precisely of a young boy's journey to manhood accompanied by his dog. I doubt that a film like this could be made today, unless the star was a Hunger Games type heroine. If you have boys (or girls) growing up in your household, this should be high on your list for Family Movie Night.
Old Yeller
There's so much more to the film than just the ending, there's a wisdom
about growing up that gets captured in scene after scene. But if you didn't cry when you watched this growing up, then you and I can't be friends anymore.
Leave your favorites in the comments.
8 comments:
My Dog Skip.
Reading that brought to mind "A Boy and His Dog".
The Benji movies
Homeward Bound (the 1993 version)
oh god, Best in Show.
we have a 7.5 month old Doberman Pinscher girl who is destined for the show ring, and a friend recommended i watch that movie before starting her in handling class or anything else.
and...well...turns out those folks are pretty much the way the movie shows. i joined the local club to get a group of experienced handlers in my back pocket and some of them are absolutely nuts when it comes to showing dogs. i honestly can't wait to see how crazy some of them get when they're actually ringside.
i'd like to see a movie like that focusing on sport dog people. those folks are even worse, i think.
Best in Show was so true-to-life. My childhood was spent at dog shows on weekends. Dog show people are generally not connected to reality as we know it.
I'm telling you, no teen years are complete without sitting at a table at a nice restaurant with dog people talking about the trials and tribulations of artificial insemination.....
"You stay here"
"Why?"
"Because I hate you"
The Wizard of Oz.
The fox and the hound.
A nose for trouble.
Big red
Post a Comment