Canine capers

Though other creatures have made their presence felt in the animal kingdom of Hollywood during the past decade or so, none have been able to dethrone the dog, writes Vikramdeep Johal

THE lion might be the king of the jungle, but in the animal kingdom of Hollywood, it’s the dog that is the supreme ruler. Since the dawn of cinema, man’s oldest and best friend has been the most saleable creature at the box-office. Shown as lovable, faithful and courageous, Canis filmaris has often eclipsed its Homo sapiens co-stars.

The Shaggy Dog is the latest flick that tries to cash in on the canine appeal, especially among children. It stars Tim Allen as a Deputy District Attorney whose work takes priority over his family. A dog bite turns him into Shaggy, a cuddly pet who helps his alter ego win back the love of his near and dear ones.

This film is a remake of The Shaggy DA (1976), in which a magic ring enables a lawyer to become a talking dog and expose corruption. The Shaggy DA was itself a sequel to the 1959 Disney comedy, The Shaggy Dog.

Movies featuring super canines were also popular during the silent era. Rin-Tin-Tin, a German shepherd, was a major crowd-puller in the twenties. He is still regarded as the biggest animal film star of all time. As a shell-shocked puppy, US Army Lieutenant Lee Duncan, who took the dog to America and trained him for a film career, found him in a French trench during World War I. Warner Brothers promptly signed him, and he went on to play a key role in saving the studio from financial ruin. Some people felt he was a better actor than many of Warner’s human stars. No wonder his name appeared above those of the others in the credits.

Rin-Tin-Tin made his debut in The Man from Hell’s River (1922) and gave "paw-erful" performances in movies like The Clash of the Wolves (1924), Jaws of Steel (1927) and A Dog of the Regiment (1930). He also had his own radio show in 1930 called The Wonder Dog, on which he did his own sound effects.

At the time of his death in 1932, his fan mail ran into several thousands of letters per week — rivalling that of swashbuckling star Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Director Michael Winner paid a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the legendary canine in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976).

The sentimental relationship between a child and its pet dog has clicked in quite a few films. Lassie Come Home (1943), the first of the Lassie movies, featured child star Roddy McDowall as a boy whose poor family is forced to sell his beloved collie. An adolescent Elizabeth Taylor rehabilitated a war-veteran dog suffering from combat stress in The Courage of Lassie (1946).

Lassie films appealed to audiences particularly during the forties, even though different dogs were used. Lassie: A New Generation (1994) attempted in vain to recapture the old magic.

Some canine films have had very interesting storylines. You Never Can Tell (1951) was a comic fantasy about a murdered Alsatian who returns to earth as a detective (Dick Powell) to find his killer. A murdered private eye (Chevy Chase) was reincarnated as you-know-what in Oh, Heavenly Dog (1980). The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), a spoof of espionage films, revolved around a transmitter-fitted bulldog named Disraeli who is gifted by British secret agents to the Russian ambassador. Cleanliness freak Tom Hanks reluctantly teamed up with a messy dog to solve a murder case in Turner and Hooch (1989).

Not everyone likes dogs, no matter how cute they are. A St Bernard made life hell for his owner by causing mayhem in the house in Beethoven (1992). Glenn Close hammed it up in 101 Dalmatians (1996) as Cruella De Vil, a fur-loving woman who wants to turn the numerous puppies into a Dalmatian coat. The protective parents, Pongo and Perdita, foil her plans. The sequel, 102 Dalmatians (2000), was in no way an equal.

Who says dogs are not good at sports? Thanks to computer-generated special effects, they can even outshine humans on the playing field. A lonely boy became pally with a basketball-playing dog in Air Bud (1997). Unfortunately, Buddy, the golden retriever who played the lead role, was detected with cancer and had a leg amputated soon after shooting ended. He died at the age of 10 in 1998.

The film’s success inspired a sequel, Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998), in which the canine was in dazzling form on the baseball diamond. Soccer Dog (1998) and Soccer Dog: European Cup (2004) showed that even a quadruped could bend it like Beckham.

Though other creatures have made their presence felt in the past decade or so, such as the pig (Babe), the mouse (Stuart Little) and the orangutan (Dunston Checks In), they haven’t been able to dethrone the dog. If Hollywood were to introduce an Oscar category for "the best performance by an animal", you can guess who will be the odds-on favourite.

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