A Dog's Journey (film)

Last updated
A Dog's Journey
A Dogs Journey Movie Poster Art.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gail Mancuso
Screenplay by
Based on A Dog's Journey
by W. Bruce Cameron
Produced by Gavin Polone
Starring
Cinematography Rogier Stoffers
Edited byRobert Komatsu
Music by Mark Isham
Production
companies
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • May 17, 2019 (2019-05-17)(United States)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$16 million [1]
Box office$75.8 million [2]

A Dog's Journey is a 2019 American adventure comedy drama film directed by Gail Mancuso in her feature film directorial debut [3] and written by W. Bruce Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Maya Forbes, and Wally Wolodarsky. The film is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Cameron and is the sequel to the 2017 film A Dog's Purpose . The film stars Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott, and Henry Lau.

Contents

The film is a co-production between Amblin Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment, Walden Media, and Alibaba Pictures and was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on May 17, 2019. [4] Like its predecessor, it received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In the previous film, Bailey reunited with his longtime owner Ethan after being reincarnated as a new dog. Now a St. Bernard/Australian Shepherd, Bailey lives with Ethan, Ethan's wife Hannah, Gloria (the widow of Hannah's son Henry), and her 2-year-old daughter CJ on their farm in Michigan. Gloria's suspicious nature leads her to move out with CJ. Shortly after, Ethan discovers a tumor in Bailey's stomach. Before Bailey is euthanized, Ethan asks him to take care of CJ once he is reincarnated again.

Nine years later, Bailey, reincarnated as a female beagle named Molly, sees a now 11-year-old CJ with her best friend Trent Mahoney and his parents, who are adopting the former’s favorite brother Rocky. Molly runs outside to CJ, who secretly adopts her. Gloria reluctantly allows CJ to keep Molly to compensate for her neglectful parenting.

CJ and Molly grow increasingly close over the years, along with Trent and Rocky. Now a teenager, CJ tells Trent she wants to drop out of high school and move to New York City with her deceased father Henry's insurance settlement to become a musician. CJ begins to date Shane, who Molly distrusts. Attending a party that gets busted by police for underage drinking, CJ is sentenced to community service where Molly learns how to detect cancer.

Days after she breaks up with him, Shane assaults CJ, prompting Molly to bite him. While drunk, Gloria responds nonchalantly to CJ's distress and reveals she spent all of Henry's settlement money, prompting CJ to leave town with Molly. On the way out, they are stalked and tail-ended by Shane, which causes her car to flip, killing Molly.

Molly is reincarnated as a male English mastiff named Big Dog, who lives with a convenience store owner in Pennsylvania. One day, CJ visits the shop and is lovingly greeted by Big Dog. He mistakenly believes that CJ recognizes him, is heartbroken when she leaves without him, and spends the rest of his life missing her.

Big Dog is reincarnated as a male Biewer Terrier named Max, who is adopted by CJ. While CJ is working as a dog walker, Max detects Trent's scent down the hall and pulls her toward his door. CJ and Trent reconnect with each other. Max is eager to reunite CJ and Trent, despite each of them being in live-in relationships of their own. Max intentionally misbehaves around CJ's boyfriend, Barry, after which they break up and CJ moves out with Max. They stay with various friends of CJ's before Max spots Trent and his girlfriend on the street, and Trent offers his guest room to CJ.

Remembering how to diagnose cancer during his life as Molly, Max signals to CJ that he detects it on Trent, and CJ urges Trent to see a doctor. The doctor confirms, and Trent begins chemo. His girlfriend leaves him, so CJ becomes his primary caretaker. Once Trent is cancer-free, he urges CJ to accept a meeting with Gloria, who is sober. Gloria tearfully apologizes for her abusive nature and gives CJ some of the things sent from Ethan and Hannah. They inspire CJ to write more songs and to perform, overcoming her longstanding stage fright and beginning her musical career.

Trent encourages CJ to go on a road trip with him and Max to her grandparents’ farm, where she reunites with Ethan and Hannah for the first time since she was a toddler. Ethan recognizes Max as Bailey and tells CJ of the dog's reincarnations, proving it by having Max perform a trick that only Bailey would know. CJ and Trent then confess their love for one another and praise Max/Bailey for reuniting them.

CJ and Trent marry, and shortly after CJ releases her first music album, they have a son named Saint. Gloria reconciles with her daughter and in-laws, reuniting the family. Ethan dies of natural causes, surrounded by Max and the rest of his family. Max later ages and dies as well. The final scene shows Bailey running through a grassy field, morphing backwards through his previous incarnations, before crossing the Rainbow Bridge and reuniting with Ethan in heaven.

Cast

Production

On June 21, 2017, CEO of Amblin Entertainment Michael Wright announced that a sequel to the film A Dog's Purpose was in development. [5]

On August 26, 2018, Universal Pictures began production on the sequel. [6]

Principal photography began in August 2018. [7]

Release

The film was released by Universal Pictures on May 17, 2019. It was released by Entertainment One in foreign territories, where actor Peter Baykov is the voice of Trent for international release. [8] [9]

Home media

A Dog's Journey was released on digital on 6 August and Blu-ray, DVD and on-demand on 20 August from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Blu-ray Bonus Features Include:

Reception

Box office

A Dog's Journey grossed $22.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $52.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $75.6 million. [2]

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and The Sun Is Also a Star , and was projected to gross $10–14 million from 3,267 theaters in its opening weekend. [10] It ended up debuting to just $8 million, the lowest opening of any of W. Bruce Cameron's Dog films. [11] In its second weekend the film made $4.1 million, finishing seventh, [12] and then $1 million in its third. [13]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 86 reviews with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "A Dog's Journey is as sentimental as one might expect, but even cynical viewers may find their ability to resist shedding a tear stretched to the puppermost limit." [14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 43 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [15] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same as its predecessor, while those at PostTrak gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. Bruce Cameron</span> American humor columnist (born 1956)

William Bruce Cameron is an American author, columnist, and humorist. Cameron is most famous for his novel A Dog's Purpose, which spent 52 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The book is the basis for the movie version starring Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, Peggy Lipton, K.J. Apa, Juliet Rylance, Luke Kirby, John Ortiz, and Pooch Hall, and released in theaters on January 27, 2017. A Dog's Purpose is followed by a sequel called A Dog's Journey, which Cameron, along with Cathryn Michon, adapted into a film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marg Helgenberger</span> American actress (born 1958)

Marg Helgenberger is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s and first came to attention for playing the role of Siobhan Ryan on the daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope from 1982 to 1986. She is best known for her role as Catherine Willows in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–13), the subsequent television film Immortality (2015), and the second and third seasons of the sequel series CSI: Vegas (2022–2024). Helgenberger is also known for playing the role of K.C. Koloski in the ABC drama China Beach (1988–91), which earned her the 1990 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for roles in the TV series Under the Dome and Intelligence, and the films Species (1995), Species II (1998), Erin Brockovich (2000), and Mr. Brooks (2007).

<i>Species II</i> 1998 American film

Species II is a 1998 American science fiction horror thriller film directed by Peter Medak. The film is a sequel to Species (1995) and the second installment in the Species series. The film stars Michael Madsen, Natasha Henstridge, Marg Helgenberger, Mykelti Williamson, George Dzundza, James Cromwell and Justin Lazard. In addition to Madsen and Helgenberger reprising their roles, Henstridge also returned for the sequel as a new character. The plot has Patrick Ross, the astronaut son of a senator, being infected by an extraterrestrial organism during a mission to Mars and causing the deaths of many women upon his return. To stop him, the scientists who created the human-extraterrestrial hybrid Sil in the original Species try using a more docile clone of hers, Eve.

<i>Mission: Impossible</i> (film) 1996 film by Brian De Palma

Mission: Impossible is a 1996 American action spy film directed by Brian De Palma, and produced by and starring Tom Cruise from a screenplay by David Koepp and Robert Towne and story by Koepp and Steven Zaillian. A continuation of the 1966 television series of the same name and its 1988 sequel series, it is the first installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It also stars Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vanessa Redgrave. In the film, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) seeks to uncover who framed him for the murders of most of his Impossible Missions Force (IMF) team.

<i>The Land Before Time</i> (film) 1988 animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth

The Land Before Time is a 1988 animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Stu Krieger and a story by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. It is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall. The film stars the voices of Judith Barsi, Burke Byrnes, Gabriel Damon, Bill Erwin, Pat Hingle, Candace Hutson, Will Ryan and Helen Shaver. It is the first film in the Land Before Time franchise.

<i>Hocus Pocus</i> (1993 film) 1993 film by Kenny Ortega

Hocus Pocus is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Kenny Ortega from a screenplay by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, and a story by David Kirschner and Garris. It follows a villainous comedic trio of witches who are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night.

<i>Scary Movie 4</i> 2006 film by David Zucker

Scary Movie 4 is a 2006 American parody film directed by David Zucker, written by Jim Abrahams, Craig Mazin, and Pat Proft, and produced by Mazin and Robert K. Weiss. It is the sequel to Scary Movie 3 and the fourth installment in the Scary Movie film series, as well as the first film in the franchise to be released by The Weinstein Company (TWC) following the purchase of Dimension Films from Miramax Films. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman, Anthony Anderson, Carmen Electra, Chris Elliott, Kevin Hart, Cloris Leachman, Michael Madsen, Dr. Phil McGraw, Leslie Nielsen, Shaquille O'Neal and Molly Shannon.

Gail Susan Mancuso is an American film and television director.

<i>Journey to the Center of the Earth</i> (2008 theatrical film) 2008 American film

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a 2008 American 3D science fantasy action-adventure film directed by Eric Brevig and starring Brendan Fraser in the main role, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem. Produced by Walden Media, it is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 novel and was released in 3D theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures through their New Line Cinema division on July 11, 2008. It tells the story of a volcanologist and his nephew who embark on a mission to go look for his missing brother with help from an Icelandic guide as they come across the center of the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Gad</span> American actor (born 1981)

Joshua Ilan Gad is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the Frozen franchise and playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. For his role as Olaf, Gad won two Annie Awards, and for his work in The Book of Mormon, he co-won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, both shared with Andrew Rannells as one of the two leading artists.

<i>Annie: A Royal Adventure!</i> 1995 television film directed by Ian Toynton

Annie: A Royal Adventure! is a 1995 American comedy film and the sequel to the 1982 theatrical film Annie. It was released as a television film on ABC in the United States on November 18, 1995. The film has no songs apart from a reprise of "Tomorrow" sung at the end of the film, immediately after Daddy Warbucks is knighted.

<i>A Dogs Purpose</i> 2010 novel by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog's Purpose is a 2010 novel written by American author W. Bruce Cameron. It chronicles a dog's journey through four lives via reincarnation and how he looks for his purpose through each.

<i>The Purge</i> (2013 film) 2013 American action horror film

The Purge is a 2013 American dystopian action horror film written and directed by James DeMonaco. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane, and Max Burkholder as members of a wealthy family who find themselves endangered by a gang of murderers during the annual Purge, a night during which all crime, including murder, is temporarily legal. The Purge premiered at the Stanley Film Festival on May 2, 2013, and Universal Pictures theatrically released it in the United States on June 7, 2013. The film grossed $91 million against a $3 million budget.

<i>A Dogs Purpose</i> (film) 2017 film by Lasse Hallström

A Dog's Purpose is a 2017 American adventure comedy drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and written by W. Bruce Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Audrey Wells, Maya Forbes, and Wally Wolodarsky, based on the 2010 novel of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron. The film stars Britt Robertson, KJ Apa in his film debut, Juliet Rylance, John Ortiz and Dennis Quaid with Josh Gad in multiple voice roles. It covers themes of loyalty, grief, dysfunctional family, over a series of reincarnations.

<i>The Secret Life of Pets 2</i> 2019 film by Chris Renaud

The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a 2019 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. It is the sequel to The Secret Life of Pets (2016), and the second feature film in the franchise. It was directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Jonathan del Val, produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and written by Brian Lynch. The film features the voices of Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Lake Bell, Nick Kroll, Dana Carvey, Ellie Kemper, Renaud, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, and Harrison Ford.

<i>A Dogs Journey</i> Book by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog's Journey is a 2012 book written by W. Bruce Cameron and published by Forge Books. It is the sequel to Cameron's 2010 book A Dog's Purpose. The film of the same name was released in May 2019.

<i>The Haunting of Hill House</i> (TV series) American television miniseries

The Haunting of Hill House is an American supernatural horror drama television miniseries created and directed by Mike Flanagan, produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television for Netflix, and serves as the first entry in The Haunting anthology series. It is loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. The plot alternates between two timelines, following five adult siblings whose paranormal experiences at Hill House continue to haunt them in the present day, and flashbacks depicting events leading up to the eventful night in 1992 when the family fled from the mansion. The ensemble cast features Michiel Huisman, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, and Victoria Pedretti as the siblings in adulthood, with Carla Gugino and Henry Thomas as parents Olivia and Hugh Crain, and Timothy Hutton appearing as an older version of Hugh.

Episode 1067 is the eighteenth episode of the thirty-second series of the British medical drama television series Casualty, and the 1067th episode of the overall series. The episode was written by Dana Fainaru, directed by Julie Edwards and produced by Jo Johnson, and premiered on BBC One on 6 January 2018. The episode is a climax to Connie Beauchamp's cardiac tumour storyline, which sees her travel to London with Ethan Hardy to seek treatment. Mealing, who battled breast cancer in 2002, struggled with anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of the storyline. The episode also further explores the friendship between Connie and Ethan, which is tested when Connie kisses Ethan and he does not respond.

<i>The Turning</i> (2020 film) 2020 film by Floria Sigismondi

The Turning is a 2020 American gothic supernatural horror film directed by Floria Sigismondi and written by Carey W. Hayes and Chad Hayes. It is a modern adaptation of the 1898 ghost story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It stars Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, and Joely Richardson, and follows a young governess in 1994 who is hired to watch over two children after their parents are killed.

<i>Those Who Wish Me Dead</i> 2021 film by Taylor Sheridan

Those Who Wish Me Dead is a 2021 American action thriller film directed by Taylor Sheridan with a screenplay by Michael Koryta, Charles Leavitt, and Sheridan, based on Koryta's novel of the same name. The film follows a boy who witnesses the murder of his father and goes on the run with a smokejumper in the Montana wilderness to escape a pair of assassins hired to kill him. Jon Bernthal, Medina Senghore, and Jake Weber also appear.

References

  1. ↑ Dave McNary (February 21, 2020). "Box Office: 'Call of the Wild' Fetches $1 Million on Thursday Night". Variety . Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "A Dog's Journey (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  3. ↑ Verhoeven, Beatrice (May 20, 2019). "Gail Mancuso on Why Her Feature Directorial Debut Had to Be 'A Dog's Journey". The Wrap. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ 毕楠. "Alibaba, Amblin start filming 'A Dog's Journey' - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  5. ↑ "A Dog's Purpose Sequel is Happening Because Of China". slashfilm.com. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "A Dog's Journey (2019) - Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  7. ↑ McNary, Dave (2018-08-27). "'A Dog's Journey' Adds China Interest With Henry Lau, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin". Variety. Archived from the original on 2020-08-18. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  8. ↑ A Dog's Journey, archived from the original on 2019-01-31, retrieved 2019-02-20
  9. ↑ "Actor Peter Baykov, Credits". IMDb . Archived from the original on 2021-01-23.
  10. ↑ Rebecca Rubin (May 14, 2019). "Box Office: 'John Wick 3' Takes Aim at 'Avengers: Endgame'". Variety . Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  11. 1 2 Anthony D'Alessandro (May 19, 2019). "'John Wick: Chapter 3' Takes Out 'Avengers' With $56M+ Opening, But 'Endgame' Bests 'Avatar' As 2nd Highest Grossing Pic Ever At Domestic B.O." Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  12. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (May 26, 2019). "'Aladdin' Memorial Day Magic Carpet Ride Soars Higher With $112M+ Opening – Sunday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  13. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (June 2, 2019). "'Godzilla' Loses Teeth With $49M Opening, But Counter-Programming Excels For First Time This Summer With 'Rocketman' & 'Ma'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  14. ↑ "A Dog's Journey (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  15. ↑ "A Dog's Journey Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.