Talking dogs and long heroic journeys are a staple of Disney Plus canine content.
The Incredible Journey, a 1963 movie based on the 1961 novel of the same name written by Scottish author Sheila Bumford, follows Luath the Labrador Retriever, Bodger the Bull Terrier and their Siamese cat sibling Tau as they trek through the Ontario forest back to their home.
The Incredibly Journey is far overshadowed by its 1993 remake Homeward Bound, and for good reason: Homeward Bound is far superior.
Homeward Bound is the story of the wise elderly Golden Retriever Shadow, the impulsive Bulldog Chance, and Sassy the Himalayan cat, voiced by Robert Duvall (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Natural, Days of Thunder), Michael J Fox (Back to the Future, Spin City, Atlantis) and Sally Field (Steel Magnolias, Where the Heart Is, The Amazing Spider-Man), respectively.
Together they have to find their way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains before their owners get back from vacation. Fox and Field all reprised their roles for the 1996 sequel, Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco, which also features Carla Gugno (Chicago Hope, Spy Kids, Watchmen) as Chance’s streetwise girlfriend Delilah.
Returning to animated fare, the underrated 1988 classic Oliver and Company proves that the only way a Charles Dickens tale is tolerable is if it’s told by talking (and singing) animals. (This is also why we like the Dickens stories on Wishbone as well.) This loose adaptation of Oliver Twist stars Billy Joel, Joey Lawrence and Cheech Marin, and is one of Kimberley’s favorites.
Twenty years after Oliver came Bolt, starring John Travolta (Carrie, Grease, Pulp Fiction) as canine action star Bolt and Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana, The Last Song, Black Mirror) as his owner Penny.
The animated shorts Lend a Paw, which stars Pluto and won an Academy Award in 1942, and Dug’s Special Mission, starring the belovedly clueless dog from Up, are also there for the watching.
Doug Funnie’s dog Porkchop provides an important function of comfort and creativity in the One Saturday Morning TV series Doug and Doug’s First Movie.
If the Taco Bell Chihuahua is your favorite onscreen doggo of all time, then Beverly Hills Chihuahua and its sequels, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta, could be just what you’re looking for.
They star George Lopez (George Lopez, Spy Kids, World’s Most Amazing Dog) and Drew Barrymore, Lacey Chabert, Jamie Lee Curtis, Edward James Olmos, Emily Osment and Piper Perabo all make appearances as well, as this is a fun trilogy with some serious continuity problems.
Possibly the best franchise about dogs ever, though with a mind-boggling amount of continuity errors, is the Air Bud series. While none of the original five movies (Air Bud, Air Bud: Golden Receiver, Air Bud: World Pup, Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch and Air Bud Spikes Back) are on Disney Plus, many of the spinoff Air Buddies series are.
Following Buddy and Molly’s puppies, The Search for Santa Paws, Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups, Santa Buddies, Snow Buddies, Space Buddies, Super Buddies and Treasure Buddies are all part of the Disney Plus roster.
Both the 1984 and 2012 Tim Burton-directed versions of Frankeweenie are there for a spooky feel, and for outlandish mindless antics, look no further than 2000’s inspector Gadget (starring Matthew Broderick of WarGames and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and Inspector Gadget 2, both of which heavily feature Brain the Beagle.
These movies are truly dreadful, but are perfect for six-year-olds or if you’re incredibly sick, and Brain is a large reason why Beagles are one of Wesley’s favorite dog breeds.
An underrated pair of actresses, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Melissa Trachtenberg and Caitlin Wachs (Air Bud series and Commander in Chief), shared the role of Penny.
If sled dogs are more your speed, there are options to choose from in 1994’s Iron Will or 2002’s Eight Below and Snow Dogs, besides some of the other titles already mentioned.
Both the 1959 and the 2006 Tim Allen versions of The Shaggy Dog are part of the lineup, in addition to the original’s sequel The Shaggy DA.