My top favorite Dog Movies

Please note: May contain spoilers!!!

11.  Sounds cheesy, but "THE ADVENTURES OF MILO AND OTIS." I love this movie... Even if it is one guy doing all the voices and narration. Good little story.

10.  "ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN." Because it's true. And it's a great little cartoon about a grouchy stray dog who finds love in a little orphan girl. And he's voiced by Burt Reynolds. A+ for that one.



9.  "Balto." Cartoon about a mixed breed (Wolf - Husky) that tries to make his way as a sled dog, who finally get's accepted as one by proving himself (and that his wolf instincts come in handy) by saving the day. Oh, and he's voiced by Kevin Bacon. Even Kevin Bacon wants to be Kevin Bacon. True Story as well. Statue and the Real Balto below.

In January 1925, doctors realized that a potentially deadly diphtheria epidemic was poised to sweep through Nome's young people. The only serum that could stop the outbreak was in Anchorage, nearly a thousand miles (1,600 km) away. The engine of the only aircraft that could quickly deliver the medicine was frozen and would not start. After considering all of the alternatives, officials decided to move the medicine by sled dog. The serum was transported by train from Anchorage to Nenana, where the first musher embarked as part of a relay aimed at delivering the needed serum to Nome. More than 20 mushers took part, facing a blizzard with −23 °F (-31° C) temperatures and strong winds. Katie Pryor interviewed the musher after he had finished. News coverage of the event was worldwide.

On February 2, 1925, the Norwegian Gunnar Kaasen drove his team, led by Balto, into Nome. The longest and most hazardous stretch of the run was actually covered by another Norwegian, Leonhard Seppala and his dog team, led by Togo. They came from Nome towards the end of the run and picked up the serum from musher Henry Ivanoff. The serum was later passed to Kaasen.

Balto proved himself on the Iditarod trail, saving his team in the Topkok River. Balto was also able to stay on the trail in near whiteout conditions; Kaasen stated he could barely see his hand in front of his face. Balto's team did their leg of the run almost entirely in the dark. The final team and its sledder was asleep when Balto and Kaasen made it to the final stop, so Kaasen decided to continue on. At Nome, everybody wanted to thank Kaasen at first, but he suggested giving fame to Balto as well.

   

"Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the Winter of 1925." - Statue of Balto in New York


8.  "The Ugly Dachshund." Made in '66 about a couple who have show Dachshunds (well the wife does). The husband decides he wants a dog for himself and gets a Great Dane. It's a Marmaduke style movie. Very cute.

7.

"Frankenweenie." This movie is an animated tale of a boy who looses his best friend Sparky to an accident. Don't worry. I didn't just spoil this movie because it's called Frankenweenie, and by the cover art we all know that Sparky probably isn't going to make it, at least not in the way we would normally expect. Obviously, Sparky is a 'Frankenstein's monster,' created by the little boy who lost him initially. It's a great story, and to top it all off, it's a Tim Burton movie, which of whom I absolutely love. It's a little dreery for younger kids, but kids from ages 10-92 will love it if they have a best friend of their own, and it makes you contemplate how far you would go to bring back your beloved pet.


6.  "Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog." About a stray dog and the boy who adopts him. They get stranded together after falling overboard when water capsized their family's boat. They then have to rely on each other for safety and survival until being rescued. It really shows the primal instincts of both man and canine, and you can imagine how the evolution of dog and man's relationship took place thousands of years ago by watching this movie. Dogs and humans really do improve the quality of life for one another.

5.  "CUJO." Stephen King movie about a good dog that gets rabies. This should teach you the dangers of NOT VACCINATING YOUR PETS!!!!

4.  "WHITE FANG." Okay, not a dog, but a wolf... About a wolf that gets traded from his Native American Owner to a dirt bag. This guy makes him mean to fight him in dog fights because he is stronger than the average dog. He is finally saved my a young man... but it takes some time to regain trust in his new owner. I think I cried a little.

3. "MARLEY & ME." The only reason this one didn't make number 2 is because it doesn't have a happy ending... not to me anyways. Great movie though. Along with this one and the next two... I cried a lot while holding Elvis so tight his eyeballs about popped out. But then he would try to lick my tears away... so it's okay.

2.  "EIGHT BELOW." About a team of sled dogs that get left behind when a blizzard hits. Their owner tries as hard as he can to get back to them but no one will fly him back due to the weather. He's told to wait it out, and he does... for months. Up until it's summer again and he can get someone to fly him back asap. Some don't make it. Most do. It's a true story. I almost wanna cry right now.

1."HACHIKO: A DOG'S STORY."



Favorite dog movie of all time. This is a true story from Japan about a dog and his best friend. The reason why this is number one on my list is because, while "MARLEY & ME" is a VERY touching story, and "EIGHT BELOW" is an awesome story about the will to survive and an owner's dedication to his dogs, there's no story of a dog's devotion to his owner like Hachi's. I can never watch this movie or even think of this story without crying.

In 1924, Hachi, an Akita, is abandoned at the train station where his new owner, Parker (Richard Gere), who is is on his way home from work (he is a professor) decides to take him home. They are the best of friends and one could say that Hachi and Parker are attached at the hip. Hachi walks Parker to the train station he was found at every day and once Parker is on the train, Hochi returns home with the rest of the family. He then knows when it's time for Parker to come home and makes his way alone to the train station to wait for Parker to get off the train from work and walk home with him. They do this every day for the next year. Until one day, Parker suffers from a cerebral hemorage while at work and passes away. Yes, Hachi is there waiting on him to get home from work, but he never comes. He stays for days, and even when Parker's wife takes him home, he escapes and goes back to wait for him. He is also given away to several different owners, but he always escaped and found his way back to the train station.

Hachi was lost without his best friend, and continued the routine that he and Parker had by going every day, precisely when the train was due, and waiting on him to come home. Sometimes he slept there. He did this for the next 9 years.

Because he was there everyday, and commuters and workers new he was waiting, they would bring him food, water, and treats.

The Japanese erected a statue of Hachi at the train station in 1934, which Hachi was present for. Hachi finally passed away in 1935.

To read the true story of Hachi, click here Hachiko. Because, if you don't know the story of Hachiko, you should.