Dog's Best Friend (1997 TV Movie) User Reviews

Cashing in on the Babe phenomena

[The-Sarkologist · 6/10 · 6 January 2012]

When original movies come out and make a lot of money due to their popularity, there suddenly appear numerous imitation movies with maybe a slightly different plot but a similar idea. Babe was a hit with everybody with talking animals and Dog's Best Friend has taken this idea but changed the plot. A boy is forced to leave New York because his mum is dead and his father is an international airline pilot and he has to move into a farm in a small country town. This city kid is ridiculed by the kids but he still considers himself superior to the small minded country people. He is also a science buff and refuses to accept eccentricity nor the unexplainable, until he sights a comet, falls and realises that he can speak to and understand animals. Thus begins his adventures as he tries to get home and save his grandfather's farm from an evil business tycoon.

As to ideas, there is very little that I pull out of this movie. It is entertaining and good for the kids, but it is not an intellectually challenging movie like Edward Scissorhands. It is interesting how one does get an idea that the main character is quite condescending towards the people in the country because they are not civilised like those in the city. Even the bully is treated like an idiot and is incapable compared to a city bully.

Another thing that comes out is the idea of a fraternity world of animals. All of them live together in harmony and will help those who can communicate with them. In the end we are told that in heaven we can all speak with animals because we will all speak the same language, but I think that is silly because animals were created as a lower order to us, but then this is a kid's movie so the issue isn't important. At this age children think that animals are like us anyway.

Combines Elements of Several Animal Movies Without the Magic

[remobec · 6/10 · 12 July 2002]

Plotwise, this movie VERY much resembled the recent Lassie movie. Angry city kid forced to live in country in the childhood home of his deceased mother, falls in love with a girl who he goes to the fair with, bullies like to beat him up in unfair fights, and saves the day. . . besides the canine element. In other ways, it was similar to Babe, the original talking animal movie. Also, in that Wiley, the kid talks to the farm animals, seems a lot like Charlotte's Web.

These two movies, Lassie and Babe, and book, Charlotte's Web, though, are fun children's movies with silly but endearing plots, but Dog's Best Friend seemed to have a rather forced plot, as if they're straining to get this movie working. The animals don't seem realistic. Yes, they talk, but so do the animals in Babe and Homeward Bound, but those animals seem as though they could really be saying these things. But not these animals. The characters that the voices create do not seem to flow with who the animals really are, what they would be saying and thinking whether or not a human could understand them.

The human actors are pretty good. The grandmother's character, played by Shirley Jones, is very eccentric, and at first I was concerned that she would be an idiot, but I was pleased that her character was developed beyond being "eccentric." Indeed, I think that the grandparents were the best actors in the movie. However, I felt that the science professor, billed as "Bobcat Goldthwaite," basically ruined the whole movie. Not only does he make it perhaps inappropriate for young children in a dramatic kissing display, but he acts like a complete idiot who just escaped from the looney bin. He knows NOTHING about science, and yet he is supposed to teach science at the high school? Even hick towns have better than this! He doesn't even have the brains to figure out that he has a smudge on his glasses and that there is nothing flying around in front of his face. His voice is shrill and completely annoying. He obviously has no life, as he spends late hours in the science lab at the high school conducting pseudo-science experiments. Furthermore, there is no character development into his character (is it fair to call this a character?) and every time this idiot came on screen I resisted the urge to turn off the movie.

Aside from the idiot science professor, which greatly exasperated me, this movie isn't that bad, despite it's copycat of several other movies.

Very Good

[a_cinderella · 9/10 · 9 November 2005]

A very good movie and I like it so much. Cynthia(Adrienne Carter) acts very well. She is so sweet. I want to know more about her. I have already seen it many times. This film is full of fun,friendship,magic,love and so on. The animals are so lovely. Well,I agree with the theme. The movie gave me a deep impression. Indeed,it's a cool movie.At the end of the movie,I almost tear. I believe you maybe saw this movie and have same thought with me. I hope to see more movies like this. I also want to have the similar experience,like say with the animals,it sounds good and cool. Actually,the dog's best friend is us,the animals' best friend should be us too.We should love them and protect them.

'Babe' made for TV.

[squeeze-5 · 10/10 · 30 October 1999]

Amazing CGI. The cast of farm-yard animals is funny and memorable. Bobcat Goldthwaite is at his best as the mad scientist. Allan Goldstein has managed to make a run-of-the-mill movie into a wonderful comedy for the entire family. THREE OINKS UP.