Respond to these rapid questions in our A Dogs Way Home quiz and we will tell you which A Dogs Way Home character you are. Play it now.
What makes a “dog movie” entertaining? My answer to this question is still a mystery to me, despite the fact that I am one of those overenthusiastic canine devotees who will frequently assert that she prefers dogs to people (which, in my case, is true). The only time my movie dogs come close to my real-life four-legged friends is when they are selfless, friendly, and fun-loving creatures who live in the moment, would do anything for a piece of chicken, and treat everything as if it were a game. I cringe when films make dogs look inferior to humans by adorning them with human-like characteristics solely for the purpose of tugging at our collective heartstrings.
To put it another way, Charles Martin Smith’s talking dog movie “A Dog’s Way Home,” in which a canine makes an implausibly long and difficult 400-mile journey to reunite with the human who saved him from the streets, is my worst nightmare come to life on paper. At the end of the day, I am not made of stone, am I? What dog parent wouldn’t want to believe that their lost dogs would eventually find their way back to them, no matter how difficult the situation? We’ve all had our own interpretations of our dog’s thoughts, as well as elaborated on them and even spoken them out loud. No way am I the only weirdo in this place, and I’m not the only one who will shed a tear during the film’s closing credits.
In spite of Bryce Dallas Howard’s sweetly soothing voice as Bella (played by the adorable Shelby), I believe that “A Dog’s Way Home” would have been far more affecting and provocative (while retaining all of its charming family friendliness) if Bella had not been given a screen voice in the film. Leaving that aside, Smith’s film is still one that you can’t help but root for, as screenwriters Cathryn Michon and W. Bruce Cameron (who are also the authors and screenwriters of the trilogy that includes “A Dog’s Purpose” and “A Dog’s Journey”) skillfully weave in numerous humanist themes into their story at every opportunity.
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When Bella (Alexandra Shipp) is abandoned by her mother, she is taken in by Lucas (Jonah Hauer-King) and Olivia (Alexandra Shipp), two kindly med school students who also volunteer for animals in need. Bella is raised by a cat (which she calls ‘Mother Cat’) in the suburbs of Denver after her mother is taken away. In addition to Lucas’ depressed war veteran mother Terri (Ashley Judd), the pet-hating real estate mogul Gunter (Brian Markinson), and antiquated city laws enforced by officer Chuck (John Cassini), which prohibit certain mutts and incorrectly regard the words “pit bull” and “pit bulls” as two dirty words, are also in the mix. If Lucas, Olivia, and Terri are successful in saving Bella from a heartbreaking fate (don’t even get me started on pit bull euthanasia rates), they will find her a temporary home in New Mexico, from which Bella will escape and return to her human family. Certainly, it’s a perilous road paved with near-fatal hazards, but it’s also populated by mostly good-hearted people, including a baby cougar named ‘Big Kitten,’ who is brought to life by some of the worst computer-generated imagery the year has seen. But who cares when she proves to be such a loyal and dependable road companion in the Colorado mountains?
A Dogs Way Home Quiz
Also, you will find out which character are you in this A Dogs Way Home quiz.
This may all come across as a little too shameless and syrupy, but to its credit, “A Dog’s Way Home” even scratches the surface of something I, as a pit bull enthusiast, have never seen a “dog movie” do before: it explores the world of pit bulls. Not only does this film attempt to explain the illogical broadness of the term “pit bull” (which is basically as generic as labeling a canine as “a hound dog”) and the false fear to which these animals are routinely subjected and fall victim, but it also makes a tenuous connection between this irrationality and racism in a few brief moments. In essays such as Tom Junod’s “The State of the American Dog” and Yasmin Nair’s “Racism and the American Pit Bull,” which both cite Bronwyn Dickey’s book Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon, this is an idea that is articulated and explained in various ways. “This is basically racism for dogs,” Olivia explains, admittedly oversimplifying an utterly complex concept to baffling effect. “This is basically racism for dogs,” Olivia says. However, the writers and filmmakers should be commended for taking into consideration what is often overlooked when we talk about how society treats pit bulls in such a heartbreaking manner.
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In light of the above (and as endearing as Shelby is), I wish the dog cast as Bella looked a little more like a classic American Pit Bull Terrier in order to really drive home the filmmakers’ point—the line “she doesn’t even look like a pit” spoken later in the film almost defeats the purpose of good intentions. I also wish that the gay couple that Bella comes into contact with (a detail that is all too rare in heteronormative mainstream family films) had been allowed to express some of the natural intimacy that a straight couple would have been allowed to express. A Dog’s Way Home is a good dog movie with its heart in the right place, just like any nameless canine regardless of breed, thanks to its belief in cross-species friendship, unmistakable anti-hunting/environmentalist message, and overall progressive tone.Also, you must try to play this A Dogs Way Home quiz.
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