First of all, I haven’t finished gushing about The Artist, Golden Globe winner of Best Comedy or Musical Film, Best Original Score and Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film, Jean Dujardin. Stealing the show and my heart, is Uggie, the Jack Russell Terrier from the film and winner of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival Palm Dog Award. I was inspired by Uggie to compile a list of other fantastic puppies from the movies. Sure, dogs are cute. But there is also an amazing and special kind of friendship that exists between people and pups. It’s beautiful. Dogs are both strong and fragile creatures that protect and need us. Although they are only with us a short time, these fantastic companions are unforgettable. Performances by some dogs have been incredible and these particular puppies came to mind:
Uggie (The Artist), this year’s big winner, he was disqualified from the Oscars because his motivation is primarily sausages. Reading the Palm Dog winner list has me desperate to see The Cave of the Yellow Dog, a Mongolian-German film.
Laika (Le Havre) received a special Jury Prize in the Palm Dog contest this year and was a special part of her film. I’ve been calling this fantastic movie the “French Up”, which is silly but fun. It’s a great film, warm and touching, and you should see it. (The animated dog Dug from Up also won a Palm Dog in 2009, in case you were curious.)
Beethoven – hey, not a great movie but the dogs are crazy cute. You remember these movies, I know you do. And you asked your mom if you could have a dog too. She said no.
Homeward Bound puppies, we knew and loved you. Matt particularly liked the sassy cat, but this list isn’t about kittehs. Still, shout out to these cuties for being a part of my childhood.
Otis (Milo and Otis) was another dog from my early years watching movies with my sister. We must have watched Milo and Otis go on adventures a hundred times. I am not exaggerating. It’s a Japanese movie, which is weird, and there were some allegations of animal cruelty that thankfully went unsubstantiated. Normally I don’t find pugs to be the cutest of dogs, but they have such expressive faces that I think they make great actors. Still, big fuzzy goldens for me.
Benji is THE film dog, in my opinion. With 8 movies from 1974 to 2004, Benji was played by a bunch of different puppies, the first of which was a shelter pup named Higgins. Higgins had a daughter, Benjean, who played Benji in the next few movies. I can’t even keep writing because I can’t tear my eyes away from the look on this guy’s face. /heartmelt
Terry (The Wizard of Oz) played Toto, an iconic film puppy. Reportedly paid more than many human actors on set, Terry was a hard working dog with 15 films in less than ten years. Judy Garland wanted to adopt this ragamuffin but Terry’s owners refused. They also eventually changed her name to Toto. This pup was so badass that she did her own stunts and broke a foot during the Wizard of Oz filming, coming back on set after two weeks recovery. Cute as a button too.
Pal was the first in a long line of collies, many of whom where his own bloodline, to play Lassie in movies and TV. Pal was in the 1943 debut film Lassie Come Home and played the part in six more movies. Reading about Pal’s close relationship with his trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, is making me all misty eyed. Apparently Rudd broke Pal of his barking habit but could never quite get the motorcycle chasing under control. Pal is probably the most famous doggie on this list. And SO FLUFFY!!!
Spike (Old Yeller) was rescued from a California shelter and trained by Rudd’s brother Frank Weatherwax. No list about dogs in film would be complete without this Labrador retriever/mastiff mix. A coming of age piece about a boy and his dog, Old Yeller is a part of our culture. Which makes sense, it resonated with the baby boomers, and anything that happened to them is officially “classic”.
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