A Dog's Way Home

A Dog's Way Home

Starring Jonah Hauer-King, Ashley Judd, Alexandra Shipp, Bryce Dallas Howard

Directed by Charles Martin Smith

The Story:
Young Bella (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard) grew up underneath an abandoned building with a bunch of cats and her mother dog, until one day men come and take her mother away.  She is raised by the cats until she's found by Lucas (Jonah Hauer-King) and Olivia (Alexandra Shipp), who are animal lovers trying to protect the strays under the building.  Bella is drawn to Lucas, and he takes her home to his war veteran mother Terri (Ashley Judd), who suffers from depression.  As the years go on, Bella and Lucas form an undying bond, but when animal control seeks to put Bella away for being a pit bull, Lucas sends Bella to friends in New Mexico - 400 miles away.

Bella doesn't understand why she's so far from home, and decides to find her way back to her human.  Along the way she encounters dangers, friends, and lessons that help her on her eventual journey of finding her way home.

The Synopsis:
I had major apprehensions in seeing this film, and none of it had to do with how bad it could've been - but it's because I am a true animal lover, one who values the lives of our pets as our children, and who literally can't even watch a thirty second commercial about animals suffering without literally balling like a baby.  Yet I vowed to see every movie in 2019, so I sucked it up and thought maybe knowing this is just a movie where no animals were harmed would soften the blow.  Then in the first five minutes I found myself stifling back the water works, and I knew I was in trouble.  Sure enough, by the end, I was sniffling and wiping the tears off my glasses.  Thankfully I went by myself, because I would've embarrassed any friends who would've gone with me.

The film is based off a novel, but there's several true stories of dogs (as well as cats) who, despite insurmountable and seemingly impossible odds, manage to find their way back home to their humans (in the film, Bella repeatedly refers to Lucas as her "human," and I like that much more than "owner" or "master" so I'm using that term).  It goes to prove that we don't deserve dogs (and cats), because they offer something that no human can - unconditional love and loyalty.  Sometimes we're too easily ready to give up on one another (and also our four legged friends), but they don't.  They'll travel 400 miles in two and a half years to get back to their human.  They'll endure all kinds of dangers to make it home, because their human needs them.  Seriously, we don't deserve them.

The film focuses on young stray Bella (whose real name is Shelby, who in fact was a rescue dog who was found living in a junkyard in Tennessee, who's also one of the most adorable dogs you'll ever see), who is drawn by an "invisible leash" to Lucas, and he becomes her human.  They spend days and nights together, playing games, and loving each other unconditionally.  Then the mean animal control people label Bella as a pit bull (even though she looks nothing like them), and classify her as a danger, and set out to capture her.  This tears the family apart, and Bella is sent to live with friends far from the threat of capture.  She doesn't understand this, and decides to play the game "go home" by traveling back to her human.

Along the way she finds a group of dogs who teach her how to get food from trash cans, and meets a baby cougar who just lost her mother, calling her "Big Kitty," and raises her.  She saves a man from an avalanche, and helps out a poor homeless veteran.  Essentially she serves as a way to better everyone around her, which again proves that dogs are way too good for humans - we're blessed to have them.  Anyway, the film really doesn't offer anything different than its premise, and I was fine with that - I needed a feel-good movie, and even though there were several moments where I literally gasped and gulped in tears, I was profoundly moved by how this special bond can connect a pet and her human so powerfully.  Even though the cougar CGI is easily the worst I've seen since The Rock in "The Mummy Returns."

The film also sheds light on how an animal can help patients, something that's used a lot more now than in years past.  Lucas brings Bella to the veteran's hospital, where she brightens up the vets suffering from depression and other ailments by going to them when she knows they're sad.  Nowadays these service dogs are utilized everywhere, but in the film Bella is the first of her kind to do this.  The film also points out the injustice that dogs face due to stupid laws - like the law of pit bulls being classified as dangers to society, and how pretty much any dog is categorized as a pit bull.  Still, despite these side events, the movie is ultimately about the bond between a boy and his dog - a bond that knows no distance or time, a bond that never breaks, and a bond that leads them back home again.

The Summary:
If you're an animal lover, you'll fall in love with Bella and "A Dog's Way Home," even though you'll be enjoying the film through tear-stained eyes.

The Score: A