The Unfettered Critic – November 2026

WE LOVE MOVIES almost as much as we love dogs! So, one might think (to paraphrase Charles M. Shultz), that for us, “Happiness is a warm puppy, plus popcorn.”

But it ain’t necessarily so. The fundamental design of drama includes a quirky fait accompli that strikes hardest in a dog drama. Allow us to explain:

In the movie Alien, Ripley, the heroine, survives. In Rocky, the title character survives. That’s one possible dramatic outcome. Other than that, even the most-clever screenwriter occasionally finds him/herself steered towards an ending where the hero must die. Note that Maximus dies in Gladiator. Even Butch and Sundance face their storied ends in their esteemed film. Shakespeare killed off Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet. It’s the nature of the…er…beast.

But what happens when the protagonist is the Dog?

As impressionable kids, we both saw Lassie Come Home, where the collie travels hundreds of miles to reunite with her beloved boy Joe, prompting us (and likely you) to weep tears of joy. On the other hand, we also wept over the fate of Old Yeller, not out of joy, but because (spoiler alert) the dog perishes. Thus, we established an emotional barrier: “We do not like movies where the dog dies.”

Recently, we saw a dog featured in the trailer for a new movie: Heart of the Beast. Storyline: Special Forces veteran (Brad Pitt) and his loyal German Shepherd combat dog struggle to survive in the freezing Alaskan wilderness.

Hmm. Sounds dicey. Apparently in anticipation of hesitant viewers like us, pre-release publicity revealed that the dog does not die. Yet many viewers reported that the movie “left them in tears”—and not, apparently, of joy. That revelation doesn’t bode well for wimps like us. (Nor for Brad Pitt’s character.)

Therefore, instead of reviewing Heart of the Beast, we’ll remind you of a few classic dog movies we’ve already rated NDD (No Dogs Die). All are available somewhere within today’s ever-expanding cinematic technology.

Air Bud: You will believe a dog can make the basketball team!

Benji: A lovable mutt survives his first film to make a sequel, and then another, and…

The Art of Racing in the Rain: This one is tricky. It focuses on the travails of a human race car driver, as narrated by his Labrador Enzo. Enzo believes that a dog can be reincarnated as a human. Yes, he eventually dies of old age, but since the film hints at his achieving the desired outcome, you’ll have to rate this one for yourself.

The Incredible Journey/Homeward Bound: Two versions of this to choose from, made thirty years apart, both based on the same novel. Like Lassie, two dogs (and a cat!) struggle to find their way home.

101 Dalmatians: Another pair of novel-based films, produced years apart. The first (animated) made in 1961 and the second (live-action) made thirty-five years later. The animated one is adorable, and the live-action one, with Glenn Close as a wacky Cruella de Vil, is a riot.

And since we’ve drifted into the realm of animation:

Lady and the Tramp: A sweet romantic film, with great songs. And you’ll never look at a plate of spaghetti the same way again!

Isle of Dogs: When all the dogs in town are banished, a young lad sets out to save them. We loved this movie so much that we reviewed it in this very column back in 2018.

As for the flick that drew us into this subject in the first place, we encourage you to watch and critique Heart of the Beast yourself. Have fun!!