A Dog's Way Home (2019) Poster

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8/10
Sweet, emotional film
grantss28 September 2020
A stray puppy, Bella, is taken in by young man, Lucas. Everything seems to be going fine but Lucas has annoyed a property developer who uses his connections to have Bella impounded. In order for Lucas to prevent Bella from being permanently locked up, Lucas sends her to live with another family over 600 kms away. However, Bella is determined to find her way home.

Sweet, emotional movie about a boy and his dog, told from the dog's perspective. Hardly original - movies like Lassie Come Home (1943) and The Incredible Journey (1963) have covered the central plot before - but it works, very well.

Having the story told from the dog's perspective helps too, as does some delightfully funny scenes. There's a wonderful warmth and engagement to proceedings.

Highly recommended, especially for dog lovers.
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7/10
Touching family adventure
Fudge-310 March 2019
Bella is born a stray in the narrow space under an abandoned house. When the rest of her family is impounded she is adopted into a human household. But when she grows up her new family sends her far away from home.

I got a lot more out of this movie than I expected. It was just starting to drag after about a quarter hour but then the dog gets separated and the adventure begins. It reminded me a lot of, 'The Incredible Journey (1963).'

Great for young children. There is a little bit of threat.

I particularly liked, 'Big Kitten.'
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8/10
Great heart warming movie!
djnrg14 January 2019
My kids have been tracking this movie for weeks and I had promised to bring them all (3 daughters all under 12.)

Yes, this is the same story told again (Homeward Bound and it's various sequels), however it's a little different. The animals are animals, and they don't talk, however the main dog (Bella) does tell the story from her point of view.

There are some areas where they replaced animals with CGI and some of it looks really good, but really fake, but 1- my kids didn't notice all that much, and 2- it's a movie... Let's just turn off our minds for about 2 hours and just watch a wholesome family movie.

There were a number of crying kids, and even some of the adults walked out with some tears, so be prepared.

Overall it's a really cute, adventurous, and fun movie! Perfect no, but it's still great!
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6/10
Sweet movie, but..
tanja-vinding1 April 2020
It is a sweet and heartwarming dog movie, but the CGI is throwing me off! Therefore it only gets a 6 out of 10! There are better animal movies out there, but it's worth a watch!
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7/10
Cute, but....
studioskim315 January 2019
The storyline is cute, but certainly not the best story out there. There were so much CGI and it looked so obviously CGI that I couldn't stand it. There were really sweet scenes, and none of them were cringey, so I appreciated that. The ladies in the movie with me LOVED the humor in the story, they laughed, they cried, they oohed and ahhed and awwed... Very sweet.

The pace of the movie could be smoother and better edited... the only way you tell "time" was the season, but it didn't feel like time has passed between the scenes. The acting was great, and kids will obviously love this movie. I really appreciated how the story talked about breed discrimination, or "racism for dogs". Pit bulls are believed to be this vicious, dangerous dogs and the story did a great job showing the sweet side of pitties. LOVE PIT BULLS!!!
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10/10
Very inspiring movie, warm and adventurous.
jblavigne13 January 2019
Can't believe there would be a negative review on this. Took my 3 year old and she enjoyed the whole thing, as did I. Reviews with any mentioned politics are very closed minded reviewers. This has a well delivered heart warming adventure. Enjoy
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7/10
Not A Perfect Film, But Good As It Is.
johnwickallthewayalt12 January 2019
I personally really enjoyed this movie, especially the concept. Bryce Dallas Howard nails it as the voice of Bella. But let me say that this movie is for older kids ages 8 - 11 because it has some mild violence in it as well as freightening moments which might scare younger children, specifically ages 3 - 5. I recommend this film wether if you're going to see it in theaters or watching it on Redbox.
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10/10
I loved this movie.
karensanto5814 January 2019
I knew what it was going into it and it did not disappoint. I'll take animals over most people any day. I never saw any of the things these other reviews point out. I was entertained. I cried. I laughed. I went home and hugged my two American Staffordshire Terriers very tight. Thank you for this movie.
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6/10
Yeah, I liked it.
paulclaassen16 November 2019
I must be honest, I didn't really enjoy the first 30 minutes of the film. The animal sound effects were quite bad and I just didn't find anything believable.

The film only started to interest me once the dog was lost, and started his journey home. The film features some good CGI effects, and the scenery was beautiful. In general, this is a very special adventure drama any dog lover will relate to - similar to 'The Incredible Journey'. Beautiful ending.
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4/10
Nice "epic" movie but filled with cliches and bad CGI
CharlesTheV5 February 2019
I usually love dog movies but this movie was not as good as "A dog's purpose" from the same writer, the story is nice, but there are so many dumb jokes and cliches, not to mention the computer generated images that were just horrible to look at. I appreciate that maybe the movie is way more oriented to children that the past one, but at least for me this one is entertaining but totally forgettable.
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10/10
Such a feel good, heartwarming movie!
mpralat-3147213 January 2019
I believe there are far too many cynics and naysayers in the movie theatres. This was a lovely story, especially if you love dogs, cats, wildlife and human beings. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the characters, portraying our returning Veterans' plight in today's society, and lifestyles of the dog's advocates. Love is love, period. People who felt there was a political agenda are seriously clueless. Get agrip, people.
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7/10
Beautifully describe a dog's journey.
aniketprasad29 February 2020
All ready to set a dog's adventurous journey to come home. Very nice direction, Great storyline, CGI good, Sound designing very good and last the Bella's performance was tremendous.
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5/10
Just ok.
tylerbrady-104449 February 2019
I thought the voice and dialogue of the dog was quite bad.
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7/10
Feel good wag fest 👍
jasongkgreen26 January 2019
Saw this with the kids today. They loved it. Soppy, silly, sentimental. Nearly made me cry about 12 times, felt good, really enjoyed it. I guess I'm not that "deep", but if you know you're a sucker for a weepy, dog lovers film, get on it. 7/10 👍
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7/10
Nice Doggy Tale
billcr1222 March 2019
I usually watch Tarantino style crime films and so this is a radical departure for me. Once and a while I will turn human and watch something nice. As sappy as this film is I still love watching dogs in surroundings that make the humans more human. The acting is wooden, the script totally predictable but even through my cynical eyes I was able to escape for an hour and a half into a talking dogs world, so sue me. I have no children but I can safely recommend this light-hearted feature for those with offspring.
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10/10
Amazing movie
lcsilver-1570813 January 2019
This movie was one of the best animal movies I have seen. The twists and turns were so real and raw. The acting was great! Bella Aka Shelby was absolutely amazing!!
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7/10
journey home
SnoopyStyle22 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
In Denver, puppy Bella (Bryce Dallas Howard) lives under a condemned house with her family and various stray cats. The evil dog catcher Chuck grabs her family. Lucas and his girlfriend Olivia find Bella. Lucas opposes the developer from demolishing the buildings without saving the cats. The evil developer hires evil Chuck to declare Bella as a pitbull threatening her with euthanasia. Lucas brings Bella to his work at the VA where she becomes a comfort animal to the troubled vets including Lucas' mom Terri (Ashley Judd). While trying to avoid Chuck, Lucas teaches Bella how to "Go Home". It doesn't work and Lucas is forced to send Bella away to Olivia's relative in New Mexico. Bella is confused and sets off to "Go Home".

It's a sweet movie. There are obvious tear jerking manipulation going on here. I'm perfectly fine with that. I like Lucas and I love the dog. The veterans aspect is really pulling on the heart strings. The journey has a lot of fun. At first, I was concerned about the cougar story. I did grow to like the companionship. It got too convenient with the reunion in the wolf attack. Sometimes, a character left behind is better off being left behind. The cougar does not need to make a return appearance. I would have preferred Bella to make the escape herself. After all, the first escape happened with the two campers. Why not let her engineer her own escape crossing a fallen a tree across the river? That was already set up from before and the wolves could fall off. Also the CGI of the wolves-cougar fight is far inferior. It looks very fake. The CGI animals are problematic anyways. Making CGI action is beyond this movie's capabilities. It's just more fun to steal grocery store roast chickens. That fight scene is the most problematic of the movie. The homeless guy is the next closest because I wanted a different resolution to his story. I have sympathy for the guy even if he chained up Bella. There is a way to save him if he meets up with one of the vets. Overall, it's rough at times, sweet at times, funny at times, and a touching melodrama in the good sense.
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10/10
Great Feel Good Movie
TechieAnalyst27 January 2019
Fun movie, good story, people over thinking it. Great for family (the lack of family movies this is filling a good spot). I took my younger half-sister, she enjoyed herself, I heard both adults and kids laughing, yes there's some serious scenes but it's also that lesson in life about bullies and how people overcome them. There's a single "PC" scene but it didn't bother an ultra-conservative like me because it was done well imo. Good movie, good message. Look at it for what it is, a feel good movie with a great happy ending.
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6/10
I'm Here For the Dog
ThomasDrufke27 January 2019
Since getting a dog, I have been much more open to seeing dog related movies. Whether it's Netflix' Dogs series, Hachi: A Dog's Tale, or the follow up to A Dog's Purpose with 'A Dog's Way Home', I enjoy watching our furry little friends' adventures unfold on screen. Luckily, with 'A Dog's Way Home' you never feel too much danger for the lead dog, Bella, so it's a relatively laid back adventure as she makes friends, enemies, and maybe some frenemies on her 400 mile journey back home. Incredibly cheesy and at times very heartwarming, there's enough for most dog-lovers to enjoy, even you can take it or leave it with pretty much every human character.

6.5/10
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4/10
Bad
zeka7513 April 2019
All i liked is the dog. And the cat. Story is ok, predictable but ok. But the acting is reaaaly bad. I'm talking about the human caracters and the the dog's voice too. I'm not too much of a movie criticist but you just can't see any real emotion in that acting, it's poor, it ruined the whole "feel good" feeling.
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10/10
Wonderful
ladude-imdb15 January 2019
It was a nice feel good movie. If you like animals and nature you will like this movie.
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7/10
Cute movie
lisafordeay13 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A dogs way home is a 2019 film starring Ashley Judd and the voice talent of Bryce Dallas Howard and tells the tale of a dog named Bella who travels 400 miles to find her own Jasper after the federal over animals bans pitbulls. But will the ban be provoked.

The story is nice,the acting was good. Only flaw was the CGI was so noticeable on certain scenes and I knew straight away that the animals weren't real. But there was a real dog included.

If you love Homeward Bound than check it out.
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3/10
After drinking mother cat's milk, my CGI body was nourished and grew
dussaultjulien24 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The first 20 minutes of the film see's "Bella" and her mother under a broke down house, the puppies CG'd, in fact the whole area where the mother and her puppies were was all CG'd. How did the puppies look? Cute when they showed the real ones, atrocious when you saw the CGI monster's they created, but boy oh boy does mother cat's milk transform that CGI monster into a real, flesh and bone puppy. The voice acting is too over the top and downright stupid by Ms. Howard. It was not cute and was so annoying at some points that I considered turning the film off, but I somehow found the will to finish it.
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7/10
Standard dog movie
brooks25017 January 2019
I'm old (61) and have seen more than my fair share of these movies. I love dogs, but there's nothing really new here. The vets with PTSD (I'm also a vet) is an angle that the kids won't understand. And the gay interracial couple will also go over the kids' heads (I had to explain it to my wife after we got home. The hints were pretty subtle: hardly any "lifestyle being shoved down anyone's throats.") Ashely Judd, post-facelift plays a hot/weird looking mom (she's 50 in real life). Some haters on here equate her to a liberal BirdBox challenge where just looking at her is supposed to make you want to kill yourself. She was fine with a very bland script. As for the complaints about interracial couple and "token minorities" in Colorado, guess what? There are minorities living in Colorado in real life (my mom lived there for 20 years) whose existence is quite real and independent of any so-called tokenism or message sending haters would ascribe to it.
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7/10
Great Family Movie
keithsonatra25 June 2019
I love this movie and its very touching and adorable. I think they could have casted a better voice actor for the lead character though. The actress they chose made the movie feel cringy and cheesy at points.
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