A Dog's Way Home

A Dog's Way Home is somewhat of a spin off of the 2017 film, A Dog's Purpose (which is getting its own direct sequel, A Dog's Journey, in May).  I don't know if anyone needed this many "Dog" movies in such a short amount of time, but at least in this case, it's mostly harmless and kind of effective.  It's not a great movie by any means, but it's warm and cheerful, and is smart enough not to humanize its canine star too much.

This is despite the film providing Bella the dog with an off-camera voice performed by Bryce Dallas Howard.  As I have stated numerous times, I am not a fan of when live action movies about animals put a celebrity voice on the soundtrack to tell us what the creature is supposed to be thinking.  It's even worse when they use CG to make it look like a live dog is supposed to be talking, as in last year's dismal Show Dogs.  Fortunately, we are only hearing Bella's thoughts here.  The surprising thing is that while I don't think the movie needed the voice over, the writers at least managed to get a dog's personality right with the dialogue.  I enjoyed how Bella lives in the moment, thinks about cheese and chicken often, and sees everything as a game.  Even if Bella has been given a voice, at least the filmmakers were smart enough not to have her think like a human, making smart wise cracks.

As the film opens, Bella is a puppy living with her mom and family underneath an abandoned building with a variety of stray cats.  Bella's family is taken away by animal control, never to be seen again, but she is fortunately rescued and raised by one of the cats (whom she calls "Mother Cat") who takes care of Bella.  Before long, Bella is found by Lucas (Jonah Hauer-King), a med school student who volunteers to rescue animals.  It's instant love when the two meet, and Lucas brings her to his home, where he lives with his war veteran mother Terri (Ashley Judd).  Bella loves life at her new home, and even becomes an emotional support animal at Terri's veteran group meetings.  The problem is, Bella is a pit bull, and an animal control officer (John Cassini) is looking for any excuse to take her away and put her to sleep because he thinks her breed is dangerous.  And so, Bella is sent to live at a temporary home in New Mexico until Lucas and Terri can find a home where pit bulls are accepted.  It doesn't take long for Bella to miss Lucas and her home, and so the dog runs away and begins a perilous journey home as she travels cross country to Denver, Colorado, where she knows her people are waiting for her.

During her adventures, Bella joins a pack of dogs for a short time, crosses snowy forests and hilly valleys, is threatened by some wolves and befriends a young cougar cub that Bella calls "Big Kitten".  The cougar is done entirely with CG, and it's some of the least convincing CG you're likely to see in 2019.  Still, there are plenty of sweet and heartwarming moments to be found to make up for any of the obvious shortcomings.  Bella also occasionally finds herself in the company of other humans, such as a kindly old homeless man and a nice gay couple.  She also learns how to hunt for food to survive.  All the while, Bella's mind remains on Lucas and finding her way home.  It's the kind of fantasy every dog-lover dreams of, that if they were somehow to be separated, that the dog would travel thousands of miles to find them.  The idea was heartwarming and likable back in 1993 with Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, and it's just as much so now.

A Dog's Way Home is pretty thin narratively, even as talking dog movies go.  It doesn't go out of its way to place Bella in any serious peril, probably so as not to upset the children in the audience too much.  Whenever Bella grows hungry or lonely, there is always someone right around the corner to help lift her spirits or fill her belly.  But it does have a lot of heart, and it's impossible not to fall for its four-legged star, who doesn't need Howard's voice to aid its performance.  It's a cute, likable and determined dog, as is required for a movie like this.  The human actors are likable too, except of course for that nasty old animal control officer who doesn't like Bella.  I don't think it's any surprise to say he will get what's coming to him eventually, and everything works out.

All you have to do to know if this movie is for you is to look at the poster image.  If it's enough to warm your heart, I say go and enjoy.  The movie may be a big heavy on the cornball at times, but I was eventually won over.  At the very least, I was happy that the movie did not take a bad view on cats.  It was kind of nice to see a movie about a dog who is not only raised by cats, but enjoys their company.

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