Foreign Film Friday - Myrsky (2008)

Also known as Stormheart

Finland’s most famed film animal trainer, Tuire Kaimio, began work on Myrsky four years before the movie was eventually to be released. From selecting the perfect puppy to raising and training the perfect behaviors, Kaimio’s careful preparations brought the star performer, a Caucasian Shepherd Dog, to vivid life.

The story takes place around the fall of the Berlin Wall. A Finnish father is visiting East Berlin when he runs into an adorable fluffy puppy he can’t leave behind. He takes the dog home to his two daughters and the mysteries of Myrsky’s past start emerging as he takes over the home and grows. And grows. With him, grows his devotion to the family’s youngest girl and Myrsky begins crusades to protect his young charge, sometimes leading them both into trouble.

Luckily, Myrsky can be found on DVD outside of Finland and Germany with English subtitles, though you’ll need to be able to watch region 2 (PAL) format. Trailer below.

Produced by Stormheart Oy

Daily Reel - The Thin Man (1934)

The movie that launched one of the most successful and still best known series of the 1930s, The Thin Man follows the exploits of quirky detective Nick (William Powell), his new wife Nora (Myrna Loy), and their dog Asta.

A Wire Fox Terrier, Asta plays an important comic part in all the Thin Man films, both helping and hindering the sleuth couple and showing just as well developed a character as any of the human stars. Asta’s real name was Skippy (though he went by Asta in later life) and he appared in dozens of feature films throughout his career until 1938. He was originally trained by one of the great Hollywood trainers of early films, Henry East, also working extensively with East’s pupils such as the Weatherwax brothers Frank and Rudd, later made famous by Lassie.

Produced by MGM

Daily Reel - Hotel for Dogs (2009)

Modern CGI merges with magical sets and wonderfully trained canine performers to make Hotel for Dogs an enjoyable experience for families and dog lovers.

Loosely based on the children’s book by Lois Duncan, the story follows a brother and sister as they struggle to keep their dog safe and hidden from their foster parents. With their own home and future uncertain, Andi (Emma Roberts) and Bruce (Jake Austin) find refuge for Friday, their Parson Russell Terrier, in an old, abandoned hotel. They discover their troubles have only begun when they start uncovering more dogs in need of shelter and food. And more. And a few more.

Hotel for Dogs was released with a marketing campaign partly sponsored by Pedigree (dog food) and their Pedigree Adoption Drive. (There is a great deal of Pedigree product placement.) The film juxtapositions homeless dogs with homeless children and brings attention to considering adopting either with themes of family, commitment, and taking responsibility.

A whimsical and entertaining movie with tragic undertones and a diverse canine cast from Birds and Animals Unlimited, Hotel for Dogs will be most enjoyable to those who can suspend disbelief enough to embrace the idea that a few children can build fantastic machines and take care of dozens of hidden dogs by themselves.

Produced by DreamWorks, Nickelodeon Movies

Daily Reel - 101 Dalmatians (1996)

Now one of the most famous dog movies ever produced, 101 Dalmatians amazed and delighted audiences shocked to experience the real thing 35 years after Walt Disney released the animated movie.

Pongo and Perdita think they have it made with their human guardians and new litter of fifteen puppies until the diabolical Cruella de Vil (Glenn Close) brings trouble to paradise. She has the puppies stolen, along with dozens of others from across Britain, to have a Dalmatian skin coat made. With the humans at a loss to solve the crime and rescue the pups, it’s up to the dogs, and large cast of other animals, to save the day.

101 Dalmatians, based on Dodie Smith’s delightful children’s novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, later helped raise public awareness about impulse buying a dog. Months after the film’s release, animal shelters and rescue groups across America and beyond were flooded with young Dalmatians purchased from puppy mills and irresponsible breeders struggling to meet demand. With their humans comparing the superbly trained dogs in the film to their own new pet chewing up the rug and tracking in mud, many of these puppies were soon unwanted.

Today, some movies, such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008), carry disclaimers at the end urging people not to buy a dog because they see it in a film, while trainers and animal welfare groups work hard to educate the public and make tragedies like the 101 Dalmatians aftermath a thing of the past.

It should be noted that every puppy actually appearing in the film already had a forever home assured by their breeders before the trainers, headed by Gary Gero of Birds and Animals Unlimited, borrowed them for production. (No animals were bred specifically for the production.)

 Produced by Walt Disney

Daily Reel - Benji (1974)

Joe Camp tried hard to sell his idea—but who would pay to see a scrawny mutt running around town, making friends and rescuing children for 86 minutes? Camp was laughed out of Hollywood. He made the movie himself. He’s still having the last laugh.

The budget for Benji was around $500,000. The film grossed about $40,000,000 when released in the U.S. Benji, trained by the legendary Frank Inn, made history and goes on today to delight audiences both young and old with half a dozen feature films, a TV show, and many TV specials and documentaries.

It turns out moviegoers really are in search of simple stories, no thrills productions, and adorable mutts taking center stage. At least every now and then. A new Benji film is currently in pre-production and we can look forward to many more years of being inthralled by “America’s most huggable hero.”

Produced by Mulberry Square Productions

Silent Screen Sunday - Where the North Begins (1923)

Where the North Begins was Rin-Tin-Tin’s first starring role after a few screen appearances and winning attention around Hollywood as a high-jumper. The talented German Shepherd Dog had been brought home from France as a puppy at the end of World War One by Lee Duncan, who trained him with the goal of getting him into motion pictures. This first major role proved Rin-Tin-Tin had what it took to star in his own films, captivate thousands of fans, and save the struggling Warner Bros. studio from bankruptcy.

In Where the North Begins Rin-Tin-Tin plays a dog raised by wolves in the Canadian north. When he encounters a man for the first time since his puppyhood, his bloodthirsty upbringing is tested against buried instincts to befriend and protect humans. When the wolves attack (all “wolves” in silent films are savage man-eaters) nature wins over nurture and Rin-Tin-Tin fights back, gaining the affection of a human and finding himself thrust into a man-made world more brutal than anything he has known in the wild.

This movie is profiled in detail in Wonder Dogs: 101 German Shepherd Dog Films (link in top right sidebar). 

Produced by Warner Bros.

Daily Reel - Fluke (1995)

Based on the book by James Herbert, originally published as a horror novel, Fluke was first released with a mature but family angled marketing plan. Later additions of the VHS, then DVD, were marketed specifically toward children and families. This dark, tragic story about death, love, grief, reincarnation, and learning who we really are and how to let go, couldn’t seem to find just the right place in the hearts of moviegoers. Yet dog film enthusiasts will never forget it.

Fluke is a mutt played by famed Golden Retriever, Comet. Nine years old when he starred in Fluke, Comet had already experienced long-running success on the American sitcom Full House. He came to live with trainer Cristie Miele from a Golden Retriever rescue group when he was a year old and won out against hundreds of hopefuls to play Fluke—a role made possible for him by a haircut and nontoxic dye job. Seldom has there been a more exacting, skilled, and memorable performance of any dog in any film.

Produced by MGM, Rocket Pictures

Foreign Film Friday - Hachikô monogatari (1987)

Also known as Hachi-Ko and Hachikō

This beautiful Japanese drama tells the true story of Hachikō, an Akita living with his professor guardian, Hidesaburō Ueno, in 1925 Tokyo. Each day, Hachikō greets the professor as he returns from work to Shibuya Station. The powerful bond between the two is proved when Ueno doesn't come home one day and Hachikō waits in vain. With no one to explain to the big dog that his best friend will never walk off the train again, Hachikō goes on visiting the station each day, waiting. Waiting for the next ten years.

At the time, the real Hachikō’s fame swept not only Japan, but the world as a resounding example of canine loyalty, patience, and devotion. Today, the Akita’s memory is still honored with statues, films, books, memorial ceremonies, and museum exhibits. Yet few accounts of the loyal dog’s life could be as powerful and heartbreaking as this movie written by Kaneto Shindô and directed by Seijirô Kôyama. Tadaomi Miya, who also worked on one of the most extraordinary dog films ever made, Nankyoku monogatari (1983), trained the Akita performer.

Produced by Mitsui Company Ltd., Shôchiku Eiga, Tokyu Group

12 Dogs of Christmas for 12/12/12

Twelve canine films to help you celebrate December 12, 2012, and the holiday season!

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