The Big Picture
Universal Picture’s Strays is in theaters now, and it will certainly be interesting to see what Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx do as voice actors in an R-Rated movie about talking dogs. Though perhaps an original idea for adult audiences, anthropomorphized pets is a concept that’s been explored through cinema since the silent Rin Tin Tin pictures of the 1920s. Over the years, there have been countless movies where dogs, cats, and other furry friends don human voices and characteristics, from Milo and Otis to The Secret Life of Pets. Throughout that long history, though, one film stands the test of time as the golden standard for talking pet cinema… and it just turned 30 this past February.
In 1993, Disney released Homeward Bound: a soft remake of its 1963 movie, The Incredible Journey, based on the Sheila Burnford novel of the same name. Homeward Bound shares the story of a pet trio who cross the American wilderness to reunite with their human family. The plot has a timeless simplicity to it, and yet the movie stands out amongst films of similar molds for its phenomenal voice acting, beautiful live-action composition, and earnestly heartfelt depictions of the animals.
‘Homeward Bound’ Has an All-Star Cast
The main characters in Homeward Bound are two dogs and a cat. Shadow is the old loyal Golden Retriever, voiced by the late Don Ameche; Sassy is the astutely-named Himalayan cat, voiced by Sally Field; and Chance is the giddy and innocent American Pitbull rescue pup, voiced by Michael J. Fox. Each voice actor brings immense sincerity to the roles, playing the animals with heart and humor, but never camp.
Shadow was Don Ameche’s second-to-last role, and Homeward Bound was his final film released during his lifetime. Fittingly, Ameche plays the senior Golden Retriever as an affectionate yet stern sage who is deeply committed to his people and teacherly to his fellow pets. Meanwhile, Sally Field brings her incomparable talents to Sassy, voicing the cat as a nervous, yet bossy diva who taunts her canine companions with both love and indignation. Michael J. Fox, however, offers the best performance. As Chance, Fox lends consciousness to the dimwitted, yet lovable pup. A rescue from the pound, Chance has fears of abandonment, and lots to learn in terms of obedience. Fox depicts this with due degrees of cynicism and ignorance but never shies on letting Chance’s excitable puppy spirit run free. Chance’s brain goes a mile-a-minute, and can change moods on a dime — and the still-young voice of a then-32-year-old Fox perfectly captures that erratic blend of intense emotions.
‘Homeward Bound’ Not Using CGI Makes It a Naturally Beautiful Film
Despite all of the talking, the animals’ lips never move in Homeward Bound. Dialogue comes alive through the expressive voice-overs, as well as purposeful editing and strong cross-species direction that help convey the animals’ moods. In the 2000s onwards, most movies with talking animal characters would endorse digital effects to give the creatures more facial expressions and even mouth movements to match their speech. This is evident in the decade’s live-action pet films like Air Buddies, Good Boy, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and Cats & Dogs, where some shots use entirely CGI creatures in lieu of real animals.
Homeward Bound, however, is a live-action film through and through. Not only are the dogs and cats real, but all of the side animals (though they do not talk) are played by actual bears, mountain lions, birds, fishes, and livestock. This authenticity lends the film a rich, documentary-like texture, allowing the human audience to identify with the animals perhaps even better than if they were digitally enhanced to show more anthropocentric emotions. It also creates more appreciation to director Duwayne Dunham, who managed to tell a beautiful cinematic story with non-human stars at the center.
On top of all that the animal cast brings to Homeward Bound, the film also offers breathtaking shots of the Oregon backcountry standing in for the northern California wilderness. Director of photography Reed Smoot — whose cinematographic credits include both narrative and documentary projects — captures the beauty of the forest, mountain, river, and waterfall-covered landscapes through vast wide, and panoramic shots. Even the tighter frames are filled with natural imagery and detail. Never does it feel like the film was made on a studio set, and it certainly doesn’t suggest that green screens were involved at all. In character with its thematic focus on animals and ecosystems, Homeward Bound is a highly organic and natural looking film.
‘Homeward Bound’ Has a Compelling Script and Plot
More so than the performances or the look of the film, though, Homeward Bound endures as the definitive film with talking pets because of its script. Penned by The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Caroline Thompson and The Lion King’s Linda Woolverton, Homeward Bound shares a sweet, funny, and relatable story for everyone to enjoy. Most importantly, it makes endearing use of its non-human protagonists and their animal minds. At the start of the film, Shadow, Chance, and Sassy believe that something’s gone wrong when their humans leave them at a farm for a long weekend. Even though the humans explain that they’ll be back in a few days, the animals do not understand, and eventually decide to run away and find their people. The entire plot thus hinges on a dramatic irony inextricable from the cross-species relationships. Although animal psychology is a murky field in actuality, the film takes graceful liberties with its anthropomorphization to paint our pets in the best light. The movie’s animals do not fully comprehend human language, but instead think and act on emotion, using their hearts over their heads to literally cross mountains for the people they love.
Movies like Homeward Bound are hardly made nowadays. While some dog-centeric movies like last year’s Róise & Frank and Dog still use real animals for their pivotal canine roles, these small dramas lack the scale and animal personification of Homeward Bound. Ironically, animals are often erased entirely from movies about talking animals, replaced by fully CGI alternatives, as exemplified in 2019’s The Lion King and 2020’s Dolittle. Even in movies where the animals don’t talk, like The Call of the Wild, digital animals are more prevalent than real ones on screen.
The reasons for this shift are obvious — it’s easier, cheaper, less time-consuming, and more dependable to animate a photorealistic animal into a film than train a real one to “act”. Also, there is an upside for animal lovers, as there is less risk of animal harm or abuse if they are kept off set. However, if the animals are treated respectfully — as they were in the American Humane Society-certified Homeward Bound — something is gained from the extra effort of putting real creatures in front of the camera. Namely, a timeless sense of warmth and love that can only come from humankind’s oldest companions depicted in the flesh.
