Dog Day Blogathon & Sunday Lists: My Favorite On-Screen Dogs

Today is the International Dog Day and Allie at Often Off Topic decided that it was a fine opportunity for everyone to share in a blogathon about dogs in movies. You find all the details of the blogathon when you click on the banner above or HERE. Its Sunday so why not get back to those long-awaited Sunday Lists as its the best opportunity to share My Favorite On-Screen Dogs.

This is in no particular order and will be updated if I remember or find other dogs to add to the list in the future! For the sake of the blogathon though, the initial batch is the 10 selections that I thought of (and yes, I cheated with some of these).

Balto – Balto (1995)

Review

Balto is a half wolf half dog and because of this, in the small town of Alaska, he is criticized for being wild in nature and untameable, even dangerous. However, when the town gets in trouble, Balto is the dog that goes out and brings the dog sled teams back in a snowstorm to deliver stranded urgent medicine for the infected.

Lady & Tramp – Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Review

One of my favorite Disney films goes to Lady and the Tramp. It may be one of the first Disney films that I saw because I remember it the most and it had the most lasting effect when I was younger (until Aladdin or other films came along). The story between Lady and Tramp is super awesome. It also happens to be one of my favorite Disney films as well so what more can I say?

Shadow & Chance – Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)

Its been years since I’ve seen Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey but its always been one that I think about every once in a while. The bond between Sassy the cat and the two dogs, Shadow and Chance are incredible. Its nice to see two different types of dogs also because in reality (while they don’t talk), dogs tend to be the excited and not so obedient type and the smart and obedient type but in the end, they still care a lot about their owners and are loyal in their own way.

Toby – The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

The Great Mouse Detective is one of those films that are rarely referred to in everyday conversation however, I like it a whole lot. One of my fave moments are between Toby and the various characters. This dog is  a hound dog who has quite a bit of character and just so dutiful. He’s just a fun and odd character in a story about mouse detective and the mouse world.

Copper – The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Its an obvious choice to have on the list is The Hound in the The Fox and the Hound called Copper. Copper is one of those memorable characters when I was younger because you know, animals in movies are always such a heartstring tugging thing because of pets, right?  Copper is just so adorable, and the cutest puppy you know. Just look at him.

Snoopy – A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
(or any other Peanuts movie)

Review

Snoopy is an iconic Peantus character so while I use A Charlie Brown Christmas because that is the one I rewatch the most, he’s in a ton of other ones like the Great Pumpkin or Snoopy Comes Home or something. I watched a ton.

Rex & Fly – Babe (1995)

Babe is one of those films that when you tell someone who knows nothing about it, they kind of look at you weird because its about a talking pig and a farm of talking animals. But then, one of the best parts of the films is how these two dogs become of the parents of Babe in a certain way. Rex and Fly are fantastic parents both being great sheep dogs on this farm.

Goofy – A Goofy Movie (1995)

Another Disney choice and probably not limited to just A Goofy Movie, however Goofy made the most impressions to me as A Goofy Movie. It was a movie that initially my mom and my aunt had bought so my cousin and I could share and we used to watch it on repeat whenever we were together so at a certain point, I remembered know all the songs and how can you watch Goofy and not mimick his hyuck and his over the top screams. Memoriable as I said. Its why he still is a family favorite.

Quill – Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (2004)

A little out of the left field with this choice as it is the only foreign movie selection here. A lot of people probably would have seen Hachi but I haven’t. My first sad dog movie was Quill: The Life  of a Guide Dog which is a Japanese film about exactly what the title says. We see him from birth to being selected to be a guide dog and then the bond he makes with his owner and his responsibilities and of course, to the departure. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. Its a sad and touching story and if you haven’t seen it, well, Quill is going to tug on some those heartstrings. Just remember that you will need your tissue box…like the entire box.

Dug – Up (2009)

Who can forget about Dug, right? The talking dog in Up. I would have used the “squirrel” moment also because I do that a lot when I’m anxious about something. Dug is just so hilarious and because he talks, its his words that just crack me up every single time as he interacts with every single character in Dug.

And one of the things for the blogathon was to talk about pets and well, I choose to share something about my dog who has passed away since 2010. Here’s a picture of him below. Isn’t he just like a fluffy bear? I miss him all the time. He was so awesome.

That’s it for this blogathon and Sunday Lists.
Thanks so much for Often Off Topic for putting together this blogathon. 

What are your favorite dogs in movies?

Childhood Films Blogathon!

This past weekend, its all about the Childhood Films Blogathon by Let’s Go To the Movies run by Caz! I know I’m a little late to the party but I still wanted to give it a go.

I’m a pretty nostalgic person.  Nostalgia can get me through a lot of my childhood movies.  Although, I’d say most of my choices are pretty standard.  However, growing up in a Chinese family from Hong Kong, my choices are a mix between Hong Kong comedies and English animation.  What you also need to know is that I love animals.  I still am a sucker for movies with animals.  So as I put the list together, I realize that sort of thing along with some classics, Disney, Studio Ghibli, and some that I almost forgot about. I originally had a huge list of about 20 but after some thought, I decided to do a list of 15 Childhood Films.  Most of them still can grab my attention.

Enough of this rambling, let’s do this! Its not in any particular order…I just can’t list them that way and make those choices.  Plus, I’d have to rewatch a few of these.

1) Balto (Review)

My childhood involved a lot of watching Balto.  Its a fantastic story of a wolf dog in Alaska.  Not only that but the humor is awesome.  I think as I rewatch this now, I still laugh quite a bit. Its an adventure to watch Balto and his friends find the cure for a city.  One of my things on my bucket list because of this movie is to ride those sleds pulled by dogs.  I can’t remember what to call them in English anymore.

2) Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins holds one of those crazy memories where I got really mad at my parents when I was a little girl.  When you’re little, these things matter more.  Its also the reason why I didn’t get to see the beginning portion of Mary Poppins until recent years when I bought a copy of the movie for my Disney collection. Mary Poppins is that nanny that you wanted, even if you didn’t have nanny.  They took to adventurous places and fantasy lands and that cheery disposition can make us smile any.  Mary Poppins is “practically perfect in every way”. In my mind, she still is.

3) The Sound of Music

Talk about a musical adventure that lasts through time.  The Sound of Music meant a lot less about the story than it was about the music when I was younger.  Now, I understand more the war and all that 16 going on 17 business 😉

4) My Neighbor Totoro

I grew up with Chinese dubbed versions of Miyazaki movies.  Because Miyazaki movies were released in gaps of years, it usually meant that different ages had different ones that grew up with them.  Mine was My Neighbor Totoro.  While Castle in the Sky and Nausicaa were my cousins’ favorites.  This remained the one that stuck the most with me.  Plus, who can’t love kids whose Chinese dubbed names was as simple as Tissue and Toilet Paper 😉 I’m not even joking. Thats what it sounds like. And then various furry cutesy creatures that were magical and needed to brush their teeth but dropped nuts on their path which the little girl called drumsticks (chicken drumsticks).  I know its a weird translation but these little details stuck to me.  Especially when my childhood best friend and I used to re-enact the whole scene under the house where the little Totoro creatures were running from the little girl. Can you tell I still love it to bits? I can talk hours on this so I’ll stop now and move on to the next one.

5) Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

Thinking about it, this movie popped in my head fairly quickly.  What’s weird is that I haven’t seen this one in at least a few years.  It still has some good moments and that ending still gets to me.  The voice cast for this unexpected trio is fantastic (not that I knew that when I was younger). I’d definitely need to jump back into this one again.

6) Cinderella (Review)

It was a battle between Cinderella and The Little Mermaid but I did watch Cinderella a thousand times more. I may have had a gap of not being so girly-girl when I was younger.  And I’m still not.  I like dresses and beautiful gowns and all that stuff but I still prefer wearing my workout clothes and baggy shirts but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like sitting down and watching me some Cinderella.  Fantastic songs and just the classic fairy tale 🙂

7) The Land Before Time

I’m going to go on record here.  I haven’t watched the first one quite so much as I have the sequels. Why? Just because I didn’t own The Land Before Time and I did for the 2nd-5th one. Believe me when I tell you.  I like the 2nd and 5th quite a bit because of the character Chomper, a baby T-rex. The Land Before Time was also the time when I really liked dinosaurs a lot.  Archaeology was a thing and these characters were just awesome. I have to say though, I did rewatch it a while back and it doesn’t quite stand the test of time but  nostalgia made me like it a lot more than I probably should have.

8) Babe

I always wonder if people know about Babe. Babe is so clueless and honestly, his life is a mix of tragedy and luck all mixed together.  But Babe has a lot of lessons also and as kids, we learn a lot about it because while Babe is learning how to deal with others, I was also in that phase of my childhood.

9) Its Take Two

The Olsen twins was a thing when I was a kid like Full House was also. While I don’t remember quite so much about Full House, Kirstie Alley was also huge during this phase and all those factors got us to rent this movie and eventually tape it off TV.  Summer camp, friends, kids matchmaking and all the crazy that goes along with it. This movie taught me what sloppy joes were and man, do I crave one every time I watch it.  Although, I haven’t seen this in a while until last summer (or this one, I can’t remember) on the plane and didn’t even get a review up but I still liked it a lot.

10) Mrs. Doubtfire

Robin Williams is a staple in my childhood.  He was the man of many voices.  He was fun as a voice for Genie in Aladdin and he was also the father who would do anything for his kids, even if it meant being their nanny and going through the craziness of having to transform into an old nanny.  On top of that, he had to boast his skills by being a British nanny and everything after that is just hilarious.

11) Once Upon a Forest

Once Upon a Forest is that lost one.  I don’t really think anyone knows this one too much because guess what, FernGully came out at about the same time but of course, being a kid to my parents, they didn’t know FernGully (which I only saw after I started this blog) but my collection was all about Once Upon a Forest.  Animals surviving after their home is trampled by humans invading their forest space and having to save their friend by finding a cure far far away.  Once Upon a Forest needs another viewing from me desperately.  I don’t know how I’ll feel watching it now but I think I’ll still love it 🙂

12) Tricky Brains (Review)

Another staple of my childhood was Stephen Chow. The Stephen Chow now is not who he used to be. Although, he still has quality humor, its slightly changed from the movies that he started with.  The movie that my cousins and I sat around to watch the most was Tricky Brains.  Stephen Chow is absolutely absurd in this as the trickster who wants to ruin this guy’s engagement to a rich girl pretending to be poor by being the guy’s long lost brother. The tricks he pulls are just roll on floor laughing funny.  Of course, I had to not learn all the swearing and slang. It was the deal for me watching Stephen Chow when I was younger.  Still, it was a ton of fun and just fantastic memories with my cousins.

13) Future Cops (Review)

Future Cops was also a big thing because it had three of what we called The Big Four (Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung) in this. They were the stars to be in Hong Kong in early 90s.  They were fantastic actors as they were talented singers.  Adding in Ekin Cheng, Simon Yam and another comedy actor less renowned around the world, Dicky Cheung, mix it up with the best combat game ever Street Fighter and put in futuristic sci-fi thing and we have Future Cops.

14) Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer

Who even knows Rainbow Brite? I wonder that all the time! I did.  I even had this little plush toy that I still have from this movie (or I think it was a show).  This is the one that I have added into my collection in the last few years but never got around to watching again.  Definitely something I’m looking at doing but its also one I think might not stand the test of time. Who knows, right?

15) All’s Well That Ends Well (Review)

Just for good measure, another Stephen Chow’s movie had to go on here.  Plus, it was a Chinese New Year movie that had somewhat of a parody thing going for it with replicas of Ghost and Terminator at certain points.  Its a hilarious ride for this one especially with the loving memory of Leslie Cheung who was a huge pop star that the Hong Kong entertianment industry sadly lost in 2003.

Here you go! This just made me want to go back and watch all of these. I had a few runner ups but I just didn’t have time to make this any longer, like The Jetsons Movie or another Disney feature like Lady and the Tramp and The Little Mermaid. Although to be fair, I was a tomboy when I was in elementary so I had a phase where I didn’t watch Disney princess movies much. Memories and nostalgia, love it all!

A huge thanks to Caz for thinking up this blogathon and taking me a journey back into being a kid all over again 🙂

Balto (1995)

It’s winter and man, was it extremely cold last week.  Also, I have plans to go see the international dog sled races in a few weeks. So what better time to pick to see this.

Director: Simon Wells

Voices: Kevin Bacon, Bridget Fonda, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings, Phil Collins

Based on the true story behind a American hero, as the box and posters for this animation says.  Its about the amazing story of Balto (Kevin Bacon), a half wolf who lives in Nome, Alaska in 1925.  In this animation, which my guess is loosely based since his companions are a goose who doesn’t fly south called Boris (Bob Hoskins) and two polar bears who can’t swim called Muk and Luk (both by Phil Collins).  When the children of Nome, Alaska start getting hit be an epidemic during a snow storm, they run out of medicine and the closest they could get the medicine delivered was to Nenana, Alaska.  With the brutal weather, the train could not bring it and the planes could not fly it out to them.  They only way was to send out their best dog sled team to go get the medicine.  In Nome, the best dog was pretentious Steele (Jim Cummings) who was the champion dog.  Steele, along with his pack of dogs tried every way possible to stop Balto from not only getting the girl dog, Jenna (Bridget Fonda) but also to stop him from overshadowing him.  When the team finally sets out, Steele gets the team lost coming back to Nome and after an accident, he ends up getting stranded in a lower landing.  Knowing this, Balto ignores the hatred from the other dogs and the humans in the town and goes to find the lost team in the storm in order to get back the medicine in time to save Rosy (who is the owner of Jenna) and the other sick children.

I saw this movie when I was younger and I even owned the VHS of it. This movie holds a lot of nostalgia for me.  When I upgraded it to DVD, this animation still held high up.  Its a very touching story filled with a lot of fun and funny dialogue.  Muk and Luk is the entertaining clowns of this show.  Boris being the responsible but sometimes hot-tempered role but also the one that looks out for Balto and sometimes acts as a mentor to remind him of the important things.  The voice work here is pretty above average.  They are all very vibrant and really fun throughout the whole animation.  The story may be loosely based on a true story but it does bring out how a dog can be loyal and faithful to the people and the place he belongs to.

This animation is a great one for some family fun.  Balto is a very meaningful story and for that, its worth a viewing.  He even has a statue in Central Park, which I did try to find last time I went in 2008, but unfortunately, we got lost so never found it.  Hopefully one day, I’ll eventually get there.

I know this is an older animation and I don’t hear people talking about it much.  I just wonder if a lot of people have seen it.

Have you seen it? Did you like it?