#11 Homeward Bound II: Lost In San Fransisco (1996)

Sassy, Shadow, and Chance enter into a whole new adventure, when they get lost in San Fransisco and have to make their way home.

PLOT (Caution Spoilers)

A ski vacation sounds like fun to everyone including the animals. The family is headed to Canada and are taking Sassy, Chance, and Shadow with them. Before leaving Chance gets into trouble at Jamie's baseball game and Jamie is mad at him.

The plan was drive to San Fransisco and fly from there to Canada. Chance thought that Jamie was leaving him and so he escaped from his crate in the airport and tried to find Jamie. Sassy and Shadow break out of their crates and go to retrieve him. After getting back inside the airport, they realize that Jamie is on the plane, which is where they were supposed to be. With security chasing them, they run outside and try to stop the plane. When that fails, they escape under the fence.

Meanwhile, the family is unaware about what as happened until they land in Canada. They decide to head back the next day and look for them.

Living on the streets is a lot harder then any of them thought it would be. While they searched for the Golden Gate Bridge, they get attacked by two dogs, but are then rescued by another group of dogs. Riley (the leader of the group that saved them) takes Sassy, Shadow, and Chance to stay with them at their hideout.

Things start to happen. Shadow rescues a boy from a burning building while Sassy saves his kitten. Chance falls in love with a beautiful girl dog, and gets caught by the dog catchers a.k.a. The Blood Red Van, but the gang gets him out.

After all these things happen, Riley takes them to the bridge. On their way home. Chance is run over by a tractor-trailer. The family was right behind the truck and got Shadow and Sassy. When the driver tells them what happened, Jamie runs and looks under the truck and finds Chance - safe and sound.

After being home for a week or so, Chance's girlfriend shows up and comes to live with them. Things go back to normal and they are one big happy family.

4.5 out of 5

#12 Air Buddies (2006)

Air Buddies was Don Knotts and Patrick Cranshaw's final film, released after their death.

Plot (Caution Spoilers)

The Sir buddies is Buddy and Molly's group of puppies that consist of Rosebud, Budderball, Buddha, Mudbud, and B-dawg. Each of the Buddies have their own sport that they adore, just like their dad. They also have their own set of personalities.

Things get out of hand when everyone leaves for a soccer game and leaves the Buddieswith the baby sitter, Mrs. Niggles. The Buddies decide that they won't be left out of the fun and bolt for the door, just to be headed off by Mrs. Niggles, who decides it's time for their baths. After their baths, Mrs. Niggles puts the Buddies down for their naps, and then she heads downstairs and takes one herself. B-dawg declares that no one can make him take a nap and so he takes off downstairs, followed by the rest of the Buddies. The Buddies start to play with their toy balls and Mrs. Niggles' yarn and when Budderball goes to claim his prize - which just happened to be Mrs. Niggles' blueberry pie - he nocks it off the counter and it hits the floor, waking Mrs. Niggles up. But, unfortunately for Mrs. Niggles, she can't move because the pups have tied her to her chair with yarn. The Buddies hear the family coming home and with everything a mess, Mrs. Framm thinks it's time the Buddies find their new homes.

Meanwhile, Selkirk Tander tries to impress Mr. Livingston's son, Bartleby, by giving him a female tiger. Bartleby is nopt impressed. He wants an animal he can play with. Bartleby says his wants Air Bud and Mr. Livingston offers Selkirk $500,000 if he gets Buddy. Selkirk sends his nephew, Grim, and his assistant, Denning, to capture Buddy.

At school, Noah and Henry (Buddy and Molly's owners) gather kids profile sheets and photos in order to find the best matches for the pups. After looking through every profile and finding the right one, the family decides to call the new owners tomorrow. Grim and Denning are waiting for Buddy and discover that there are two Air Buds or that Buddy has a mate. They decide that they will catch both dogs.

The next morning, the pups decide that the only way to stay together is to run away. Grim and Denning follow the pups and manage to catch Budderball by luring him with a doughnut. When the others try to save him, they are captured and used as bait for Buddy and Molly. In the effort to free the Buddies, Buddy, and Molly are captured. The Buddies ask Sniffer for his help in finding their mom and dad. Sniffer tells them that they were taken to wine country, and also that he couldn't help because he had lost his sense of smell.

Back in wine country, Grim and Denning hand Buddy and Molly over Selkirk who is pleased with the thought of breeding them and selling the puppies, making him millions. When Grim explains about the Buddies and how Denning let them get away, Selkirk was furious and told them to lock Buddy and Molly in the wine cellar and then go and get the puppies. Selkirk threatens them with feeding them to the tiger if they should fail. Grim and Denning go back to Buddy's place to capture the Buddies, but they can't find them. So Grim and Denning go to a Drive-in theater and watched 101 Dalmatains only to discover the Buddies there. Yet, Grim and Denning still do not catch the Buddies, due to the fact, that they upset a group of bikers when they knocked over their bikes. The bikers are so mad that they tie Grim and Denning in fri=ont of the screen and throw skunk's spray has fixed Sniffer's smell and so he leads Noah and Henry to the farm where they found Grim and Denning and called the police. Buddy and Molly dig a hole and escape just to meet up with Sniffer who tells them that the Buddies were inside.

Maenwhile, Budderball fell into the hole that Buddy and Molly dug and the others follow him in. Bartleby and his dad arrive to ick up Air Bud and found the puppies instead. Bartleby is happy with this switch and loads them into limousine. Noah, Henry, Buddy, and Molly arrive on the scene and rescue the Buddies. During their escape, Budderball falls into a container of wine and gets drunk. Bartleby catches Budderball, but is caught by Sniffer. Noah, Henry, and the dogs release a load of barrels toward Selkirk and Mr. Livingston. The barrels break a wine container that Selkirk and Mr. Livingston fell into and they are washed out. Sheriff Bob arrives and arrests Selkirk, Grim, and Denning. The Buddies apologize to their parents and said that they were ready to go to their new homes. Budderball even decides to stay with Bartleby, because he needed a friend.

5 out of 5 star rating

#13 The Ugly Dachshund

Kenji: Rion! Rion!
Mark Garrison: Lion?
[Kenji points to Brutus, standing over Mr. Toyama, laying on the ground]
Fran Garrison: Brutus! Mark call him off. Mr. Toyama.
Mr. Toyama: Take away rion!
Fran Garrison: That's not a lion, that's a dog.
Mr. Toyama: [sits up] You call THAT, dog?

Plot

Mark and Fran Garrison (Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette) head to, what appears to be, the hospital for the birth of a child, but then you realize that they are headed to Dr. Pruitt (Charles Ruggles), who is the family vet. It was their Dachshund which was having puppies, three to be exact.

When Mark goes to pick up the three newborn pups and the mom, he sees a litter of Great Dane puppies that belonged to Dr. Pruitt. Dr. Pruitt talks Mark into raising the runt of the litter with the Dachshund puppies since their mom had more then enough milk. Mark agrees, but hides the fact that he is a Great Dane from Fran and lets her believe that he is a Dachshund.

But in no time, Fran realizes that the male dog, who Mark claimed to be a Dachshund puppy, was non-other than a Great Dane. She tells Mark that he has it take him back

Mark is devasted after giving Brutus back and is left, drawing pictures of Great Danes. But on Mark's birthday, Fran surprises him with the return of Brutus into their family. Mark is still faced with the fact that they may have to get rid of Brutus, who he has come to love and adore, because of his destructive behavior.

The Garrison's puppies cause loads of havoc in the house, yard, and studio. Yet Fran is convinced that it is Brutus, the Great Dane that thinks he's a Dachshund, that is destroying everything. But Mark continues to defend Brutus by saying how he's a great watchdog and guardian for the tiny Dachshies.

In order to prove that Brutus is special and great, Mark enters him in the dog show (which happens to be the same one that Fran has entered Chloe, one of the puppies, into). Brutus does really well, beating Chloe out, and discovers that he isn't a Dachshund, but a mighty Great Dane.

5 out 5 Star rating

# 14: Snow Buddies

Molly and Buddy's puppies live in Washington and love sports just like their dad. One morning, while in an attempt to play hide-n-seek, Butterball discovers an ice cream truck. Rosebud and the others follow him inside in order to stop him from eating himself sick. The puppies climb in, but before they can escape, are locked inside the truck which is shipping to Ferntiuktuk, Alaska.

After falling from the sky, the Buddies meet up with an Alaskan Husky named Shasta. Shasta's 11-year-old owner wants nothing more for Christmas than to follow in his dad's footsteps and win a dog-sled race. The Buddies agree to help Shasta and his owner pursue their dream. Unfortunately, Shasta's parents are dead and there is no one to help teach them how to be sled dogs. But Shasta finds out about a legend stating of the Greatest sled-dog, Talon, living in the mountains. Shasta and the Buddies go and visit Talon and Talon agrees to help them, not for them, but for Shasta's dad.

Shasta and the buddies train super hard and do everything Talon tells them. When Talon thinks it's time for the boy to know, Shasta shows Adam (Shasta's owner) the buddies and Adam knows what to do. Adam builds a new sled and starts working with the pups on pulling and turning a sled. Talon watches the pups pull the sled and the effort that they all put into it. But the older racing Huskies in town try to stop the Buddies by telling them that Shasta's parents died during the race, when they fell through the ice. The Buddies are scared, but they are still going to help Shasta and Adam win the race.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, Buddy and Molly discover Budderball's football on the back of the ice cream truck and follow the same route to Alaska.

Talon calls the puppies to the mountains one night to show them the Northern Lights. He tells Shasta that he has learned everything he needs to know and will be a great lead dog just like his father was. The next day, Adam enters them in the race against Jean George.

Buddy and Molly meet up with Bernie, the rescue dog, and he tells them of the race. Adam's dad also discovers that Adam is racing and goes looking for him.

The team makes it to the midway checkpoint without much trouble, but a storm is setting in. The sheriff checks his emails and discovers that the Buddies are from Washington. Adam's dad gets his truck stuck in a snowbank during the storm and has to go with the sheriff to the finish line. Jean George has started cheating. He is sabotaging other racer's sleds. Adam seeks shelter during the storm, in a igloo owned by an Inuit. They start back on the trail the next day.

Adam and Jean George have a run in in which Adam is injured. Adam recovers and continues in the race. Jean George's dogs crash through the ice within sight of the finish line. Jean George abandons them and leaves them their to drown. Adam can't bear to see the same thing that happened to Shasta's parents happen to these dogs, so he hooks the puppies up to Jean George's sled and pulls the dog out. Jean George sees that Adam has gotten them out and he climbs back on and takes off to win the race.

But the Buddies won't give up so fast. They start off, running as fast as they could. They wanted to win this race. Jean George's dogs realize that the pups had risked their lives to save them and Jean George had left them. They decided to give the race away to Adam and the pups. Adam's team goes on to win the race.

Adam meets up with his parents at the end of the race and the Buddies meet of with their parents too. The Sheriff has made arrangments for the goldens flight home.

The Buddies say goodbye to Shasta and Adam and head home with their parents. At the end of the movie Shasta has his own sled-dog team and Shasta is still the lead dog.


4.5 out of 5 for family friendliness

#15: 101 Dalmatians

This is the classic story adapted from the book written by Dodie Smith. This story involves romance and adventure between humans and even their dogs. The love that animals have for each other shows from beginning to end. This furry movie will have you laughing and crying while you watch the best actors-both human and canine- display their colorful talent.

Plot (Caution Spoilers)

This story starts with the meeting of Roger and Anita in the park one day. Roger, played by Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber, Speed) and Anita, played by Joely Richardson (The Patriot, Nip/Tuck), fall in love and get married and so do their two Dalmatians, Pongo and Perdita. Roger designed video games while Anita designed clothes for a well known fashion person, Cruella De Vil played Glenn Close (Sarah Plain and Tall, Air Force One). Cruella falls in love with a design of Anita's that would look wonderful in Dalmatian puppy fur and when she finds out that Pongo and Perdita are going to have puppies she plans on buying them. The puppies come, but Anita and Roger won't sell. Cruella gets mad and fires her and then threatens them.

One night, Roger and Anita take Pongo and Perdita for their walk and come back to find that the puppies had been stolen.. The police stated that they would do their best, but Pongo wanted to help. That night Pongo sent out the twilight bark. The next day, a message came back and they took off to find their pups. Meanwhile, some other animals are trying to help recover the pups. One dog, an Airedale Terrier, helps get them out of the mansion where they were being held, and then a Old English Sheepdog hides them in a barn.

Roger and Anita are still waiting for word on their puppies and now Pongo and Perdita. Anita realized that it had been Cruella that had stolen them for their fur. Pongo and Perdita meet up with the Sheepdog who takes them to their pups and the other 84 pups that Cruella had stolen. The police now know that they are looking for Cruella. They trace her to the barn where the puppies were at. She was trying to find the puppies, but had pigs, sheep, dogs, horses, and even raccoons trying to stop her. Pongo and Perdita start taking the pups back home. The police pick Cruella and three of her henchmen, but they were still looking for the puppies. They finally find them and took them all back to Roger's and Antia's place. They counted 101, but only 17 were theirs. None of the other puppies had identification tags and no one contacted the police about missing puppies. Anita and Roger agree to keep all the puppies.

Roger makes a video game based on the story and it becomes a best-seller. They move to a big place. The dogs have their family and Roger and Anita start their own.

5 out of 5 stars for family friendliness.