Dog-owners already know that dogs are more than just pets—they're the missing piece of our hearts. All this to say, it makes sense that many award-worthy movies have dog-themed films that run the gamut from the emotional to the exciting featuring furry stars doing amazing (and awww-worthy) things.
Whether you’re in the mood for a good family movie night, or just a cute flick to have on in the background while you play with your pup, the dog movies on this list are just the thing.
1. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)
I'm going to come right out and say it, get ready to weep at this beautiful tale of devotion and love.
Based on a true story, a college professor, Parker Wilson, finds a lost Akita puppy named "Hachi(ko)" on the station platform in Bedridge and takes him home for the night. The puppy remains unclaimed, and the professor learns to love him like a family member. As the days turn to weeks and then turn to months, Hachi makes a habit of waiting for his equally doting master at the train station every evening. Then, one day, Parker doesn't come home after he suffers a fatal stroke in his classroom and dies. And Hachi refuses to accept this and keeps going to the station every day at 5 p.m., waiting for a master who can never come home again!
Genre: Drama, Family
Runtime: 1 hour and 33 minutes
2. Togo (2019)
The historical film by the American director Ericson Core, which is dedicated to the events of the Great Mercy Race of 1925, tells the incredible true story of Norwegian dog sled trainer Leonhard Seppala and his lead sled dog, Togo. Despite being considered too small and weak to lead such an intense race (a journey to bring back a serum to their small Alaskan town of dying children during an epidemic of diphtheria), Seppala trust the skills of his dogs and decides to take Togo as the leader of the dog team. Seppala and his lead sled dog, Togo, tread through stormy weather taking dangerous shortcut across the breaking ice to bring the vaccine back.
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Family, History
Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
3. Eight Below (2006)
Three scientists on an Antarctic expedition, Jerry Shepard, his friend Cooper and an American geologist, struggle with harsh weather conditions and a horrible accident that forces them to leave their team of sled dogs behind. Jerry Shepard ties his dogs to be rescued after, but no one is willing to finance the risky expedition. For six months, Jerry never stops thinking about them, and tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission while the eight dogs fight for survival.
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family
Runtime: 2 hours
4. A Dog's Journey (2019)
“A Dog’s Journey” is one of the sweetest dog movies that proves the saying "dogs live to love us". It tells the story of an elderly St. Bernard / Australian shepherd mix, Bailey, who lives happily with his owner Ethan and his wife Hannah, and their two year-old granddaughter Clarity June "CJ" and her mother Gloria. He even has a fondness for CJ, but the problem is that CJ's mom, Gloria, decides to take her away. Soon thereafter, Ethan discovers a tumor in Bailey's stomach and as the old dog's soul prepares for the next adventure, he makes a promise to Ethan to find CJ and protect her at any cost. Thus, begins Bailey's adventure through multiple lives loaded with love, friendship, and devotion.
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes
5. A Dog's Purpose (2017)
Here's another movie that is guaranteed to bring you to tears. "A Dog's Purpose" is a touching movie based on the 2010 novel of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron. It tells the story of a devoted dog (Josh Gad) who discovers his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and owners he teaches to laugh and love.
Genre: Adventure, Kids & Family, Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
Runtime: 1 hour and 40 minutes
6. Isle of Dogs (2018)
As a nasty and extremely virulent canine flu ravages the technologically-advanced metropolis of Megasaki from end to end, the city's authoritarian mayor, Kenji Kobayashi, ratifies an official decree banishing all dogs to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island. On the island, a determined 12-year-old boy named Atari, the mayor's distant nephew and ward, sets off on a crazy adventure in search of his beloved four-legged companion, Spots, with the help of five other dogs.
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Runtime: 1 hour and 41 minutes
7. Marley & Me (2008)
The newspaper writers Newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan in this heartfelt movie based on the popular book by John Grogan adopt Marley, an adorable yellow Labrador pup. Soon afterward, Marley grows up to be a mischievous handful dog. While Marley is destroying the furniture and failing obedience school, he's antics give John rich material for his newspaper column, which becomes a hit with readers and helps increase the newspaper's circulation. Eventually, John, Jenny and their growing family learn to live with Marley and love him.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Runtime: 1 hour and 55 minutes
8. Best in Show (2000)
"Best
in Show" is a 2000 American mockumentary comedy film that captures the
excitement and tension displayed by the eccentric participants in the
outrageously hilarious satire Best In Show at the Mayflower Kennel Club
Dog Show. The canine contestants and their owners are as wondrously
diverse as the great country that has bred them.
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 1 hour and 30 minutes9. Show Dogs (2018)
After a failed attempt to recover a stolen baby panda from being sold by an animal smuggling ring, a macho Rottweiler K-9 police dog named Max reluctantly teams up with a human FBI agent named Frank and goes undercover as a show dog to stop the animal smuggling ring.
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family
Runtime: 1 hour and 32 minutes
10. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
This Disney animated classic follows a pampered cocker spaniel named
Lady whose comfortable life slips away once Jim Dear and Darling, Lady's owners have a baby. after Lady's owners begin treating her rather coldly, she finds herself on the loose
and out on the street befriended and protected by the tough
stray mutt named Tramp. As a romance begins to
blossom between the two dogs, the question becomes whether their two
divergent lifestyles can mesh together, and if so what form that will
take.
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Musical, Romance
Runtime: 1 hour and 16 minutes
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