Most decent films feature a love interest in their plots, but really great films feature man with his best friend–his canine companion. We found the 10 best films starring dogs, and we dedicate this to them in all their slobbery glory. “Marley & Me” didn’t make the cut, so hopefully you won’t be in tears by the end of this. Honorable mention to the animated animals we adore, “Up” pup Dug and the beautiful cocker, Lady (not Tramp).
Hooch was the slobbery throat-choking beast who terrifies neat freak, small-town detective Scott Turner (Tom Hanks) at the start of the film. When his owner died, Turner is forced to board the French mastiff, despite his clear disdain for it, in an attempt to solve the murder case. The two go from mangy mutt and type-A cop to man and best friend with a whole lot of drool and even more ruined upholstery.
The lost pup who searches out the Newton family to raise him quickly became an overgrown hairball that could not win over the stereotypical family man and his indifference to pets, especially a giant St. Bernard. It’s not until Beethoven is the subject of animal cruelty that the family’s dad, George (Charles Grodin), changes his mind about Beethoven, or just gives in to all the slobber.
When it comes to Hercules, it’s a classic case of a dog’s bark being worse than his bite. The staple children’s film circles a boy who moves to town and joins a group of baseball-loving suburban kids who lose many a red-stitched ball to the monstrous paws of “The Beast.” That is, until they realize looks can be deceiving when it comes to their neighbor, Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones) and his English mastiff, Hercules, in the summer of ’62 when Marley Shelton was in her lifeguard bikini prime.
When your owner wears a green mask and dresses like a psycho, only a good dog like Milo in “The Mask” can help his dad (Jim Carrey) find the right outfit before terrorizing the town. The Jack Russell terrier not only frees his crazy companion from jail, he even tries on the mask himself and takes a real “bite” out of crime. See what we did there?
No dog list is complete without the original man’s best friend, Old Yeller. The labrador retriever/mastiff mix stars in the 1957 film during post-Civil War Texas and is–still to this day–the iconic protector of his owner, sacrificing himself for the young boy. Old Yeller was then put down “out back” because he had contracted rabies from the wolf, a scene that is referenced to this day.
A Spanish-speaking border terrier with a love for cheese and his mustached master, Baxter is a classic modern-day mutt with a brain for communicating with orphan sharks, as well as having the resilience of a cat with a hundred lives. Although “Anchorman 2” didn’t hold up for a lot of people, everybody loves Baxter, even the evil, soulless dog-haters of the film-buff community.
Ernest P. Worrell and his Jack Russell sidekick, Rimshot, are at it again in a playful twist on trolls and Halloween. Fitting this time of year, a paranoid real-life Inspector Gadget, Worrell (Jim Varney) has to take down a gang of ugly mutants from taking over despite the townspeople’s disbelief in horror stories. But as usual, Rimshot is the unsung hero in this small-town fight against evil as he silently saves Ernest from all his clumsy mishaps.
An OCD addict Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) goes from homophobic dog-hater to obsessive, compulsive dog-lover while caring for his gay artist neighbor’s Brussels Griffon, Verdell. What starts as a truly disturbed man who disturbs his neighbors becomes a blossoming human being in the throes of canine camaraderie. In fact, little Verdell even helps old Jack get into the pants of single mom, played by Helen Hunt. Dog truly is man’s best friend.
Shadow is the Golden Retriever ringleader who tries to get back home with the help of his sidekicks, Sassy the cat and Chance the erratically dimwitted American Bulldog. With a little dog wisdom and a lot of close calls, the furry trio make their way home to their family, all thanks to Shadow and very little to Chance.
Possibly the most beloved Jack Russell terrier movie dog of all would be Uggie, the Oscar-worthy canine who managed to steal the show in the silent, Academy Award-winning film. George Valentin’s (Jean Dujardin) little friend is more than just a stunt dog in films, he’s an actor in his own right–nobody can play dead like Uggie. Not only was he a hit on screen, he was spectacular at the Golden Globes too, walking on two legs on the red carpet. He also became the first dog with his paws on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
