Bryce Dallas Howard brings the emotional story of Bella the pit bull as she interacts with her human owner, Lucas in the epic “A Dog’s Way Home”. The film captures the power that dogs have to affect the people they come into contact with, while also showing the stereotypes of the misunderstood breed of a pit bull.
A Dog’s Way Home opens with Bella in her earliest memories as a puppy growing up on an abandoned piece of land with a family of cats who end up taking the pup in when her own mother, sister and brother are taken by the “bad men”. Through this, one is introduced to the idea that the animal kingdom knows no difference when it comes to the power of motherhood.
Eventually, Bella meets Lucas and Olivia who end up rescuing the abandoned puppy and welcoming them into their home with Luca’s mother, Terri, who ends up developing her own unique bond in a way that would be seen as a service therapy animal to a veteran. Everything is perfect until one wrong move with Bella running down the street after a squirrel ends up in a chain of events centered around trying to protect the lovable pitbull from the animal services that is set on destroying what they perceive to be a dangerous animal. The question is will Lucas, his mom and Olivia be able to protect Bella from the bad men.
At an hour 36 minute runtime, A Dog’s Way Home stars Bryce Dallas Howard who voices the lovable pit bull and does an exceptional job bringing both the fun, playfulness as well as the emotional distress of being so far from home and wanting to get back to her owner in a timely matter. In addition, Howard also does a great job of portraying a sense of motherhood in Bella, similar to when she is befriended by a mother cat, only now she finds herself becoming “mother cat” to “big kitty”. There are also a lot of hilarious jokes which Howard reacts to various dog traits of puppies in general, as she brings a humorous flair to the heart felt movie.
In addition to Howard the film also stars, Jonah Hauer King as Lucas and Alexandra Shippe as Olivia as the chemistry between the two grows through the challenge of wanting to protect Bella. Both actors, while relative unknowns, held their own in the film, especially up against the voice talents of Howard as well as Ashley Judd who played Luca’s mother and war vet.
Additionally, the film set in the Colorado areas, both rural and urban, brought light to the fact of pit bulls being illegal in various cities in the United States. It also showcased the beauty of the wild and that a dog’s determination to find her way home is the strongest bond especially when one comes from a loving home.
The film, based on the book by W. Bruce Cameron, has a lot of similarities to another film franchise from the 80’s, Homeward Bound. The only difference is it is solely the experience of one dog trying to navigate her way home to her boy. That being said, it’s a film that is good for all ages and will have one laughing, crying and going on an adventure that is truly “A Dog’s Way Home”.
Similarly, this is the second movie from the writings of Cameron which explores the inner emotions of our four legged companions. The first film, A Dog’s Purpose, came out last year and is currently available to rent or own.
A Dog’s Way Home came out in theaters Friday January 11, 2018 and is currently playing in a theater near you.