A light-hearted Disney production directed by Stephen Herek in 1996 based on the book “The One Hundred and One Dalmatians” by Dodie Smith, this movie brought to life the canine capers which thwarted the evil machinations of Cruella De Vil. Anyone who has watched the “101 Dalmatians” cartoon would be able to follow the story and be surprised that a live-action remake can be this good.

It began light and easy with computer game programmer bachelor, Roger, and his bachelor Dalmatian, Pongo, going for a walk in the park. Pongo saw Perdita, a lady Dalmatian, and immediately went after her, dragging Roger along. The chase ended up in the pond. Twice. Which led to Perdita’s mistress, fashion designer, Anita, and Roger warming up before a cosy fire. One thing led to another and they got married. Pongo got married to Perdita, too, of course. Soon, there was a population explosion in the Anita-Roger household with the arrival of Dalmatian puppies. Fifteen of them altogether.

Cruella DeVil, Anita’s boss, was a fur lover and she wanted to add the puppies’ skins to her collection. She offered to buy them all for what she thought was an irresistible sum of money. She was devastated when she found out that her money was not good enough for Roger and Anita who refused to sell the puppies. So, Cruella De Vil ordered her henchmen, Jasper and Horace, to kidnap the puppies. They succeeded. However, their dastardly deed did not go unnoticed by the animal community, which set into motion Operation Puppies Rescue.

Now the movie 101 Dalmatians went into over-drive. Various animals, including rabbits, sheep and skunks, joined together with a number of dogs to save the puppies. Said puppies by this time had increased in quantity to 99, as a result of Jasper and Horace’s dognapping activities at the orders of their fur-enamoured boss. The action was fast and furious with the animals keeping one step ahead of their human pursuers.

Finally, all the puppies were safe and sound in the Anita-Roger home and the villains were properly packed away. To top it all, Roger finally wrote a winning computer game featuring Dalmatians and Cruella De Vil, as the villain, of course. The movie closed with a zoom-out shot of the Anita-Roger mansion with Dalmatians all over the place. This movie was outstanding in that it made the story so realistic.

Glenn Close played Cruella De Vil to perfection. At no time did she seem to be a caricature of a cartoon. The Dalmatians in the movie played their parts very well, too. Pongo and Perdita did not speak a word but their facial expressions conveyed their thoughts clearly. So did the puppies and all the other animals. Dalmatians are dogs bred to be companions, especially for children. They have a gentle disposition and each of them have got distinct markings making them very easy to identitify.

Dog lovers, especially those who have got Dalmatians, will find the movie 101 Dalmatians very entertaining. The anti-fur lobby could also use this movie to promote their cause. Dare we hope for a live-action remake of Garfield?

The dog plays a pivotal role in the story. The ending is tricky. First I wept with unbridled tears then I wept with tears of joy. Why? Watch it to find out. Don’t forget the tissues.

This 1999 movie produced by Woodbridge Films under the direction of Kevin Brodie is a screen adaptation of the original story by Ouida. The movie was shot on site in Flanders, the Flemish or Dutch-speaking part of modern-day Belgium. The opening scene set the tone for the movie’s sentimental and sombre mood.

At the start of the movie A Dog of Flanders, Nello, the main character, was a toodler in his mother’s arms as she struggled against a snow storm to reach her father’s house. She told her father to give her old toys to her son, Nello, before she breathed her last.

Then the movie fast-forwarded to when Nello was already a young boy, sketching away with chalk on a slat, exhibiting the artistic talent he had inherited from his late mother. The dog came into the picture as Nello and Jehan, his grandfather, were on their way back from the market after selling their daily milk. The dog had been thrown by the roadside, left to die, after it’s heartless drunken master had beaten it nearly to death. Nello took the dog home and nursed it back to health.

Stages in the progressive improvement in the dog’s health were depicted by the sketches that Nello made. At last, the dog was back on it’s feet and could help to earn it’s keep by pulling the cart that took the milk to sell in the market every day. Jehan had, by now, named the dog, Patrasche, after the middle name of Nello’s late mother.

The dog was a Bouvier, a medium-sized work dog complete with long, black curly hair. The Bouvier des Flandres, it’s full name in French meaning “Cow Herders of Flanders”, is a herding dog breed originating from Flanders which is strong and sturdy. It is used to herd cattle and pull carts. Today it is also used as a police dog and kept as pets, too.

The movie meandered along. Nello’s artistic talent grew with time. The artistic talent which he inherited from his late mother developed. However his budding relationship with Aloise, the girl next door, did not fare so well. Aloise was the daughter of the local miller, who had forgotten his own humble beginnings and forbade his daughter from seeing Nello whom he despised for being poor.

The drunken former master of Patrasche came back and met the fate he deserved. The dog paid him back in full for his previous ill-treatment. Nello’s talent was noticed by an established painter who took the young boy under his patronage.

The movie A Dog of Flanders came to an end in another snow storm. Actually it came to an end twice. What am I talking about? That’s for you to find out when you watch the movie.

Overall, I consider this movie full of heart. And heart-breaks. The opening scene of a dying mother who had nothing to leave her son to remember her by except for her old toys tugged at the heart-strings of any who had ever had a mother. The scene where Nello and Aloise were forced to part was also very sad.

Maybe Kleenex should have sponsored the production of the Dog of Flanders movie.

Buddy played a bitingly decisive role, too, in a custody case involving his former owner. All in a day’s work for a dog. A dog like Buddy, of course.

In 1997, director Charles Martin Smith worked with writers Kevin DiCicco, Paul Tamasy and Aaron Mendelsohn to produce the movie Air Bud for Walt Disney Productions. Also in the team were Michael Jeter as Norm Snively, the first owner of Buddy, Kevin Zegers as Josh Framm, the latter owner of Buddy and Buddy as Buddy, himself. The basketball which featured so prominently in the movie was unnamed.

The air bud film began with the Framm family, minus the recently deceased father, moving into the small town of Fenfield, Washington. Said family comprising one mother, one 12-year-old boy and one kid sister. Understandably, Josh, the young boy, was still suffering from the depressing effects of having just lost his father. He had problems finding a new direction in his life and was having problems integrating into the local school community.

Things began to change for the better when Buddy, the Golden Retriever inadvertently dropped by his loathsome owner, entered Josh’s life. Josh liked basketball and Buddy was a wizard with the ball. The two made it into the school team which soon had a change of coach. Said new coach being a former basketball star. Arthur Chaney of the 1956 New York Knicks, no less.

The basketball team with the canine star made the headlines and attracted the attention of Snively, Buddy’s former owner, who, seeing the money-making potential of the dog he once wanted to throw away, came back to reclaim Buddy. However, Snively was decisively out-manoeuvered in court by the canny canine. Buddy went on to help the team score in the final championship game.

Buddy was fantastic as a basketball player. His trainer must have really spent a lot of time honing Buddy’s shooting skills. Of course, getting Buddy to play ball was a piece of cake as all dogs loved playing with balls. It was really amazing to see Buddy shooting all those baskets. Scoring every time, too, without a miss. Maybe they just edited the ones that didn’t make it.

The canine star of this movie was a Golden Retriever, easily the friendliest dog breed in all of caninedom. I remember being greeted like a long-lost friend the very first time I met my student’s Golden Retriever. Golden Retrievers are large dogs with long, golden hair and make very good companions for children because of their playful temperament and gentle disposition.

Kevin Zegers played a believable role as Josh Framm. He was realistic as a young boy whose bereaved heart was healed by the therapeutic influence of a canine companion. Michael Jeter, as Norm Snively, convincingly acted out the despicable role which was characteristic of many people who only knew how to use and abuse animals for their own selfish ends. It was a good thing Buddy was a Golden Retriever. If Buddy was, say, a Dobermann Pincher, Snively would have had his throat ripped out in the court case scene.

The saddest part of the air bud movie came after the show was over. Buddy passed away. I would look forward to seeing “Son of Buddy” if there is one.

And that started the movie running all over the place, including through a pig sty and a winery. In the end, they each went to their new homes. Lots and lots of canine capers in this movie.

In 2006, seven years after “Air Bud” was released, Keystone Family Pictures hired Robert Vince to direct a sequel Air Buddies written by Robert Vince, Anna McRoberts and Phil-Hanley. In this movie, the Framm family had a new man of the house and Buddy got married to Molly who lived across the street, siring five new Buds namely Budderball, B-Dawg, Bud-dha, Mudbud and Rosebud. Of course, Rosebud was the rose among the thorns or, in this particular case, the beauty among the brats.

This time round all the dogs and the other animals in the movie could talk. The opening scene showed the five puppies conspiring to get their paws and jaws on a delicious pie. Which in led to them being considered too boisterous to be all in one home. After a going through a number of applications, the decision was made to send them to five different homes.

The puppies didn’t like the idea, of course, and decided to run away instead. In the meantime, the movie introduced a rich man’s kid who wanted “Air Bud” as a pet instead of the tiger his father gave him for his birthday. So the father ordered his two henchmen to get Buddy.

The two goons did a very sloppy job but they got what their boss wanted. Actually they got more than what their boss wanted because they abducted both Buddy and Molly. However, Buddy and Molly dug their way out of their prison. Unfortunately, the puppies fell into the escape tunnel by mistake and ended up in the clutches of the rich man’s kid. Buddy and Molly came to their rescue with the help of Sniffer, an old bloodhound. A big goat and a fat sow complete with squealing piglets gave a lot of helping hand, too.

Special effects created by a number of visual effects companies working together gave the very realistic impression of the dogs and other animals being able to talk complete with facial expressions and moving lips. Being Golden Retrievers, Buddy, Molly and all the five young Buds were adorable.

Golden Retrievers were originally bred to be gundogs. Historically they were used to retrieve waterfowl shot down by hunting parties. Their long and thick, dense golden fur insulated them well against the cold of the water where they had to work. Today, because of their intelligence and versatility, Golden Retrievers are also used as guide dogs for the blind and deaf. They are also very popular as family pets, rated as the fourth most popular family dog breed registered in the United States.

In the original “Air Bud” movie, Buddy was shown as a star basketball player. In Air Buddies, the emphasis was not on this sporting aspect. Instead the story concentrated on the how the puppies worked together as a team to thwart the villains. There were also a number of scenes where the little ones were shown having fun in their own boisterous manner. Just like any lively litter of puppies would do.

At the end of the Air Buddies Movie, the villains were apprehended and the five puppies went to five different new homes. Which may or may not lead to five different new sequels of sequels.

Which was what this movie was all about. Using a cartoon format to present some universal values about life. Simple things like “Virtue is it’s own reward”. And, of course, “You can’t keep a good dog down” just like the way it was sung in the movie.

All Dogs go to Heaven was produced in 1989 by Goldcrest Films International together with Sullivan Bluth Studios under the direction of Don Bluth with the assistance of co-directors Gary Goldman and Dan Kuenster. It was an animated musical with dogs as the main protagonists.

Charlie, the main character, was a German Shepherd with a definitely wolfish look. His close friend, Itchy, was depicted as a floppy-eared doleful Beagle while the villain, Carface, was a big, fat, snarling Bulldog. Playing opposite Charlie was a little orphan girl named Ann-Marie.

The movie began with Charlie and Itchy making an escape from the dog pound. Keeping barely a step ahead of the spotlights and potshots, they made it back to their lair. Charlie used to own a casino but it was now taken over by Carface who was the one responsible for Charlie being incarcerated in the dog pound in the first place. Seeing that Charlie refused to stay out of the game, Carface arranged a car accident to remove Charlie permanently.

That’s how Charlie arrived in heaven the first time. However, he refused to accept his fate and found a way to get back to earth. The only caveat being he would only be alive as long as his watch kept ticking. The first thing he did was look up his friend, Itchy. Then Ann-Marie came into the story and presented Charlie with the perfect tool to make the money to get back into the gambling game again. As owner not punter. Ann-Marie had the gift of being able to speak to animals and soon Charlie was getting all the money he wanted, betting on all kinds of animals races after getting the insider tip through Ann-Marie, so to say.

Somehow Charlie and Ann-Marie reminded me of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Charlie definitely looked more like a wolf than a dog. Ann-Marie, with her little-girl-lost voice, was so cute and innocent. Very naïve, too. Which was exactly the way Charlie liked it. His actual plan was just to exploit Ann-Marie’s talent and use her for his own selfish ends.

The movie All Dogs Go to Heaven went along at a goodly pace. Although it was in cartoon format, there was nothing cartoonish about the story-line. The movie revolved around the question of morals and questionable morals. In the beginning, Charlie was shown as totally heartless in taking undue advantage of a poor orphan girl. As the movie progressed, his better self began to exert it’s influence. Finally, at the end, he sacrificed his own precious life to save Ann-Marie. And ended up in heaven. As a reward.

That part was a little bit dodgy because the original premise was that all dogs went to heaven anyhow. So to have Charlie having to make the ultimate sacrifice to qualify for entry was not quite in consonance with the original idea.

The closing scene was very touching. Charlie came back as a ghost to say good bye to Ann-Marie. If only the departed ones we loved so deeply would be able to do so in real life.

Did I mention that a goodly supply of tissues is mandatory for the proper viewing of the All Dogs Go to Heaven DVD?

In a video, marked to be watched after she had crossed over to the other side, Constance Pennington, bequeathed her entire estate, worth billions, to her most loyal and most trusted companion, Bailey. Said Bailey being a bit long in the tooth and fur, as would be expected of any well-bred Golden Retriever.

That was the starting point of the movie Bailey’s Billion $, produced in 2005 by Devine Productions with David Devine directing the show. The screenplay was written by Heather Conkie and Mary Walsh. In some dog movies, the canine star talked. In some, the canine star does not talk. Bailey, in this case, talked through the voice of Jon Lovitch. Soho VFX supplied the special effects that supported the illusion.

Tim Curry played Caspar Pennington, the nephew of the recently departed billionaire with Jennifer Tilly playing the supporting role of his wife, Dolores Pennington. Dean Cain played the role of Theodore Maxwell, who had been designated as billionaire-dog guardian.

Bailey, the canine star, was played by a Golden Retriever. Historically, Golden Retrievers were bred to help waterfowl hunters bring home the bacon, or in this case, the duck. For this role, Golden Retrievers were outfitted with a double-layered wetsuit, so to speak. A sleek water-repellent outer coat over a dense inner coat. Said coat being mainly in various shades of gold.

Golden Retrievers are now more often trained for work as guide dogs for the blind and deaf. Being very friendly, Golden Retrievers are also very good pets, ranked as the fourth most popular family dog breed in the United States.

In the movie Bailey’s Billion $, Bailey lived it up as a billionaire-dog. He looked especially bon vivant with sunglasses perched on his long, aristocratic nose. The light of his life was Tessa, a Border Collie.

Border Collies are from the Anglo-Scottish border region and were originally bred as livestock herders to work on farms. They are very active dogs and are often considered as the most intelligent of all dog breeds. There was one named Betsy which was confirmed to have a vocabulary of more than 300 words. They are also very sensitive and make excellent companions. Their double coats are usually black and white. Sometimes, they have tricolour coats. Single colour coats are not common..

This dog breed has an interesting way of indicating it’s mood with it’s tail position. When it’s tail is tucked between the legs, it is ready for work. When the tail is up and wagging, it’s time for fun and games.

Caspar and Dolores did their evil best to bring Bailey’s life of luxury to a quick and abrupt end. The dastardly duo were already operating an illegal dog breeding farm to finance their luxurious lifestyle. Said farm being set up with money illegally channeled from the late billionaire’s trust fund.

Now, in desperation they decided to kidnap Bailey and hold him for ransom. However, Maxwell, Bailey’s guardian, together with Marge Maggs, an animal rights advocate, as well as Samantha, her daughter, did a good job of thwarting their plan. Ably assisted by Bailey and Tessa, of course.

There was a strong possibility that Bailey and Tessa might just set up their own personal breeding farm.

To find the canine star for the movie Because of Winn-Dixie, the producers really went the extra mile. Many, many extra miles, in fact, all the way across the Atlantic to France. And came back with not one, but five dogs which looked alike enough to take turns populating the movie with canine capers.

This movie was produced by Twentieth Century Fox Corporation in 2005 with director Wayne Wang at the helm, based on the novel, by Kate DiCamillo, which Joan Singleton adapted for the screen. First-time child actress, AnnaSopha Robb played the lead role as Opal with Jeff Matthews as her father.

The story was about a little girl who had just moved into a new town with her preacher father. Her mother had decided to go her own way seven years before that and it was a very lonely little girl indeed who had to deal with the trauma of integrating into the new neighborhood. Her father, known only as the Preacher, was there but not really all there because he was probably still suffering from self-recriminations related to his loss of spousal companionship.

Opal, the little girl, was not to be alone for too long. An errant dog, doing a very bad job of re-arranging the shelves in the local supermarket, was quickly adopted by her to save it from being sent to the pound. To prove her ownership, she had to call it by name and she said the first thing that her eyes alighted upon, which was the signboard of the supermarket. So, now Opal was the proud owner of Winn-Dixie.

Winn-Dixie is a Berger Picard. This breed, also known as the Picardy Shepherd, is from France and belonged to the herding group. It is a near extinct breed now which was exactly what the producers wanted to use to resemble the scruffy mutt on the original book’s cover.

The Berger Picard is not a very big dog but it is strong and, with long hair, does look a bit unkempt. Their one outstanding characteristic is the natural ability to smile. With the proper care and training, it would make a good family dog because it is very people-oriented and loyal.

In the movie, Winn-Dixie had a great time re-arranging the shelves in the supermarket and various other sundry locations, laughing all the time. It could even produce a wry grin when necessary. Like when Opal expressed disgust at it’s burping.

The movie was full of un-ordinary people from the guitar-playing pet shop worker to the near-blind woman who was called the town witch. Besides Winn-Dixie, there were many other animal actors, too. Like the parrot which landed on the dog’s head. Maybe the bird thought the dog’s top was bushy enough to build a nest in.

As the Because of Winn-Dixie movie progressed, Opal and Winn-Dixie found more and more friends in the small town. Her father remained as distant as ever and the little girl learnt more about life from her friends than from him. How could such a wonderful and colorful story come to an end?

See it for yourself to find out.

Mom and kids were easy. Dad took just a little bit longer. Let’s face it. Saint Bernards are not the easiest dogs to resist. Think of a friendly elephant with a furry coat. Be prepared to be bowled over when you watch this movie.

In 1992, Universal Pictures hired Brian Levant to direct the film Beethoven written by John Huges and Amy Holden Jones. Charles Grodin played George Newton, the head of the Newton family, Bonnie Hunt played Alice, his wife and Dean Jones got the role of Herman Varnick, the mandatory villain. The cameraman tried his best to fit them into the scenes, or at least parts of the scenes which were not filled by Beethoven, the Saint Bernard.

Saint Bernards are big dogs. Correction. Saint Bernards are huge dogs. Drape a big rug – a red and white furry one if you have it – over your sofa and you will begin to get an idea of how big a Saint Bernard is.

The honor of being the world’s heaviest and biggest dog belonged to a Saint Bernard named Benedictine, which was 9 feet long and weighed 166 kilograms. The average Saint Bernard weighs between 64 and 120 kilograms. The most noticeable part of a Saint Bernard is it’s large head. The next noticeable thing is that Saint Bernards have thick coats which are usually red with white. And holds a huge amount of water. Said amount of water being most noticeable when a Saint Bernard shakes itself off after a bath or a swim.

In the Beethoven movie, the Newton family probably did not have access to the above information when a cute roly-poly Saint Bernard puppy wandered into their home and lives. Otherwise, they would either have (a) moved to a bigger house – make that much, much bigger house – or (b) moved somewhere where there were lots and lots of open spaces, like in the middle of the Great Prairies. Rejecting the pup was never an option.

George, as the nominal head of the family, was not particularly excited about this furry addition to his household but he was totally outvoted by Mom and the three kids. So the puppy stayed and was duly named Beethoven. Then Beethoven grew and grew and grew even more. By the time George realised this, it was too late. Not many people can win an argument with a 200-pound bundle of furry fun.

Of course, Beethoven earned his keep. He saved the youngest kid from drowning, among other things. Other things included adding his signature paw prints all over the place. And becoming a one-dog rainmaker whenever he shook himself after being doused with water. Not exactly the kind of thing to do to win friends and influence people.

However, George was won over at the end of the movie when faced with the villain of the movie, in the form of Herman Varnick, a vet with a very simplistic method of ballistic experimentation. Something as simple as trying out new kinds of bullets by firing them at the heads of dogs. Saint Bernards, having big heads , are very much in demand.

Did Beethoven go out with a bang, so to say? Watch the Beethoven DVD to find out. And wear a big raincoat. For those doggy rainmaking scenes.