We have always declared to be ‘Barking Mad About Films’ when I watch a film on the sofa, Pepper will be curled up in her bed next to me, so we have to ask what have dogs done wrong! Cats are becoming the pet go to choice for films!
Up first is the Jordan Peele/Keegan-Michael Key vehicle, Keanu about a stolen kitten, closely followed by Nine Lives, which brings us Kevin Spacey trapped inside a cat and towards the end of the year, the best-selling book A Street Cat Named Bob heads to the screen.
We loved The Secret Life of Pets, but for many, Max; Buddy; Duke and Gidget are not the fan favourites, nope that goes to the lazy, over-weight Chloe the cat.
Even in Spectre, it was a cat that Christoph Waltz was attached to. In fact, cats have always been popular for James Bond 007 villains and even for its parodies too, who can forget Mr. Bigglesworth, the feline friend of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise.
When Mad Max first hit our screens, the Mel Gibson version had a dog at his side but he was missing from Mad Max: Fury Road (but we know dog loving Tom Hardy would surely have had one nearby =)
This year, sequel Independence Day: Resurgence had another scene-stealing dog, although it’s a much smaller breed this time.
Pepper is far too young to remember the time when dogs ruled the cinema with Turner and Hooch and K-9 as well as other dog legends such as Lassie; Benji and even the original Ghostbuster Scooby-Doo
Of course, dogs have never gone completely away, Marley and Me was a big hit recently and Disney have had success with Bolt; Eight Below and Pepper’s favourite, Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
Dogs do still do well on the straight to DVD market with titles such as The Vampire Dog or numerous tales about Dogs and Christmas which you can probably find in a pound shop near you. They have also been great for Disney’s home viewing
They have also been great for Disney’s home viewing audience from Santa Paws to the AirBuddies who have spawned SnowBuddies; SuperBuddies; SpookyBuddies; TreasureBuddies and even dogs in space with SpaceBuddies, not forgetting of course that Beverly Hills Chihuahua spawned 2 direct to DVD sequels.
You can still find dogs on screen, Wiener-Dog, the latest film from Todd Solondz arrives soon and worryingly John Wick will have another dog with him in John Wick 2, paws crossed for a better life him the pooch!
So much like the 2 film battle of Cats and Dogs, which pet do you prefer to be seen on screen, Dogs or Cats?
Who is your favourite Cat or Dog to grace the screen? We’d love to hear from you here at Barking Mad About Films.
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