Who doesn’t love movies with a dog in them? No one! That’s why we’ve put together a list of amazing movies you should check out. They’re organized by the style of the movie so if you’re feeling animated, claymation, or live-action, we’ve got you covered.
Animated Movies
One Hundred and One Dalmations
One Hundred and One Dalmations follows puppies snatched by Cruella De Vil, who has a twisted plan for the pups in order to complete her fur-obsessed wardrobe. Made in 1961, this movie serves as a staple in many of our childhoods. This movie has also been adapted into a live-action movie in 1996 by the name 101 Dalmations and again in 2021 by the name Cruella. Whichever way you go, you can’t go wrong. Not only does this movie have a dog, but it also comes with 101 dogs.
Lady and the Tramp
Made in 1955, Lady and the Tramp serves as another Disney staple on this list. It takes place after Lady, a pampered cocker spaniel, is left with her Aunt Sarah after her parents leave town for a few days. Blamed for causing a mess, Lady escapes while Aunt Sarah tries to find a muzzle. Now she and Tramp walk the streets of the city while Elliot, an upset dogcatcher, searches for them. This movie was also remade in 2019 into a live-action movie.
Bolt
If you want to watch movies with a dog in them, Bolt is a GREAT option. In it, Penny, Bolt’s owner, and Bolt work on a tv show together. To get the best production, the producer has Bolt living on set and convinces Bolt he truly possesses superpowers by using special effects. After ending an episode on a cliffhanger where Penny is kidnapped, Bolt escapes from the set in search of his owner but ends up in New York. Now with the help of a cynical cat and excited hamster, Bolt journeys his way back to Penny.
Scooby-Doo
If you’ll notice, we didn’t specify a movie when it comes to Scooby-Doo. This is because there are so many options to choose from! Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, the live-action Scooby-Doo movie, and many more are just some of the MANY options within the Scooby-Doo universe. Follow Scooby and his crew of mystery-solving teens as they bust open another mystery.
The Secret Life of Pets
If you want to envision the life your pet lives while you’re at work, consider watching The Secret Life of Pets. Watch as Max, a jack Russel terrier’s, life is upended when his owner adopts Duke. When a band of cats attacks them and removes their collars, Max and Duke get picked up by animal control. After escaping, they now have to work together to get back home safely.
The Fox and the Hound
The Fox and the Hound does a fantastic job illustrating young innocence and growing up into your own person. Following Tod, an orphaned fox who is rescued by a friendly widow, we watch as he forms a friendship with Copper, the bloodhound next door. Tod swears they’ll be friends forever, but the following spring when Copper reaches adulthood, he returns as an expert hunting dog.
All Dogs go to Heaven
After Carface kills Charlie, a canine casino owner, Charlie goes to heaven. There, he realizes he can wind back his life clock and return to Earth to seek revenge on Carface using an orphan, Anne-Marie, to his advantage. However, once back, Charlie realizes Carface is exploiting Ann-Marie and must now decide if he wants to stick to his goal of revenge or switch to one of rescue.
Balto
After illness strikes a remote town in Alaska, residents decide to get a sled team together to get life-saving medication located a few hundred miles away. Balto, a half-wolf dog, wins the dog race that determines which dogs can join the dogsled to get the supplies. However, Steele, a fierce malamute, exposes Balto as half wolf and disqualifies him. After the sled dog team gets lost, with the help of a fatherly goose and two polar bears. Balto risks his life to rescue them and retrieve the medicine. (This phenomenal movie is actually based on a true story!)
Claymation Movies:
Frankenweenie
If you love Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, you’ll love Frankenweenie too! This movie follows a young Victor Frankenstein, a nerd and school outcast. Luckily for Victor, however, he does have one good friend: his dog, Sparky. When tragedy strikes and Sparky dies, Victor is heartbroken until his science teacher gives him the idea to jolt him to life. The experiment is a success! All goes well until Victor’s classmates steal his secret to reanimate other animals. Then chaos ensues.
Isle of Dogs
Dog flu spreads throughout Japan, including the city of Megasaki, with the potential to become contagious to humans. Due to this threat, Megasaki’s mayor banishes all dogs to Trash Island. There, a group of alpha dog mongrels bands together. One day a 12-year-old orphan, Atari, hijacks a plane and flies to Trash Island in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. Once there, with the assistance of the band of mongrels, they set out on an epic journey that will determine the fate of the entire province.
Wallace and Gromit
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, A Matter of Loaf and Death, A Grand Day Out, and more! Clearly, when it comes to Wallace and Gromit, the options are near limitless. In fact, there’s even news that another Wallace and Gromit movie will come out in 2024! Follow the endless journies of cheese-loving Wallace and his well-educated beagle Gromit.
Live-Action Movies:
Marley and Me
If you want to cry, Marley & Me will leave you sobbing. The movie starts off following a newly married John and Jenny Grogan as they move to Florida and buy their first house. Soon after they adopt Marley, a cute yellow lab puppy. Although Marley grows up to cause quite a bit of havoc destroying furniture and failing obedience school, he always brings out the best in his growing family. This movie truly shows the impact of a sweet family dog.
Old Yeller
If you also had to read the book for elementary school, you know tears are coming. When his dad leaves for a cattle drive, Travis, his brother, and his mother tend to their Texas ranch. One day a stray dog named Old Yeller causes some damage in one of the fields and Travis chases him off. While they had turbulent beginnings, Travis and his mother warm up to the stray when he saves Travis’s brother from a bear attack. Soon, Travis and Old Yeller grow closer than ever and form an incredibly formidable bond. Concerns grow however as rabies breaks out in the area.
Best in Show
If you want to laugh, watch this movie! It follows several contestants around America as they prepare to head to Philidalphia for the Mayflower Dog Show, aka the greatest event to ever happen in their lives. Join them on their hilarious journey as they seek gold!
Eight Below
How come so many of these movies leave you in tears? Eight below takes place in Antarctica, where a scientific expedition takes place with three scientists and their beloved sled dogs. When an accident happens and horrible weather conditions set in, the scientists must leave their sled dogs behind. Now alone, the dogs struggle to survive until their people can make it back for them.
Finding Rin Tin Tin
This movie tells the real-life story of Rin Tin Tin, a German Shepherd found in France by an American serviceman after the end of WWI. Thereafter, the soldier takes Rin Tin Tin to America, where he grows into a Hollywood star.
Lassie
As the Turner family heads from the city to their new life in rural Virginia, an accident that takes the life of a truck driving stops them along the highway where they see a now orphaned collie. The Turners take pity on her and adopt her before making their way to their new home. Now adjusting to a new life away from the city and dealing with neighbors who want nothing to do with them, Lassie helps them adjust to their new surroundings.
A Dog’s Purpose
In A Dog’s Purpose, a dog discovered the meaning of its existence through the lives of the humans he influences. We watch as he is reincarnated into many lovable pups over several decades and forms and formidable bond with a boy named Ethan. As Ethan grows older and comes crossroads, the dog comes back into Ethan’s life to remind him of who he really is.
Red Dog
After taking his sons to see Red Dog, Michael Carter tells his oldest son how the movie was based on his part-Dingo dog he had growing up. There we are taken back into Michael’s childhood as he lives with his imposing grandfather on a cattle farm. After he discovered a pup covered in muck, a young Michael cleans him off and takes him home. Together they go through trials and tribulations and form fierce bond.
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale
Ronnie tells his class his personal hero is his grandfather’s dog Hachi. There we see a flashback of his grandfather Parker who finds a young dog lost at the railroad station he takes to commute to work. As Parker takes the dog everywhere he goes, they quickly grow close. Parker names his new dog after the number left on his ripped transit tag and calls him “Hachi,” the Japanese word for eight. When tragedy strikes, Hachi demonstrates the true meaning of love and loyalty.
The Call of the Wild
Buck is stolen from his domestic life in California and shipped to the Yukon. From there, Buck is sold to a man who hopes to use Buck as a sled dog to make a long trek to the mail depot before the deadline. Buck gains his humans and that of the other sled dogs, save the vicious pack leader, Spitz. Through many trials and adventures of a lifetime, Buck discovers his true place in the universe.
Beethoven
The Newton family decides to adopt a cute St. Bernard puppy, whom they name Beethoven. As he gets older, he grows considerably, which ultimately leads to a lot of household accidents. While everyone in the family adores their dog, the patriarch of the family needs a little more time to warm up. Ultimately, however, we see how much love the entire family has for Beethoven when a sleazy vet tries to steal Beethoben for a deadly experiment.
Cats & Dogs
Cats & Dogs really takes the natural disdain of our two beloved family pets to a whole new level. Turns out, it’s not as simple as we thought. Instead, cats and dogs engage in high-tech war in neighborhoods all over the world, all without alerting their human owners. The cats have a diabolical plan and it involves a vaccine that, if administered, registers a human allergic to dogs. Now dogs must do whatever it takes to stop them before it’s too late.
A Dog’s Journey
In A Dog’s Journey we watch Bailey, the loving dog of Ethan and Hannah, as he makes friends with Ethan’s granddaughter CJ. When CJ’s mother takes her away and as Bailey’s soul prepares to depart, Bailey promises Ethan he’ll find CJ again and protect her. And so starts the adventure of Bailey’s many lives. (If you couldn’t tell, this is a sequel to A Dog’s Purpose!)
Heart of a Dog
Laurie Anderson, a musician and performance artist, reflects on the death of her husband, her mother, and her dog. It truly takes a philosophical look at life and death.
Grab a bowl of popcorn and be prepared to share a handful or two with your pooch as you watch your way through this list. (Don’t worry, popcorn isn’t on this list of foods you should never feed your dog.) If you don’t already own the movies, sign-up for a free 30-Day Trial of Amazon Prime Video to spend some quality time watching these movies with your pooch.
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