13 Movies About Dogs Guaranteed to Make You Weep
Even in disaster movies, they never let the dog die. Countless hordes of people, sure, but the demise of one lovable hound? Never. Or put them in danger. But if you want to wring guaranteed tears from moviegoers, break those rules. So watch these dogs-in-jeopardy movies -- we dare you not to cry.
'All Dogs Go to Heaven' (1989)
A slain, thieving German Shepherd (voiced by Burt Reynolds) gets a chance to enter the Pearly Doggie-Door by risking a second death to rescue an orphan girl from a vicious pit bull (Vic Tayback). Did we mention that this is an animated musical? For kids?
'Amores Perros' (2001)
The film that put Alejandro González Iñárritu ("The Revenant") on the map is a trio of heartbreaking, loosely connected tales about mistreated mutts in Mexico City, including one especially horrific story in which a desperate Gael García Bernal gets involved in a dogfighting ring. The dogs' occasional brutality can be dismissed as part of their nature; the human characters have no such excuse.
'Benji the Hunted' (1987)
The adventurous mutt finds himself in near-constant peril when he's stranded in the Oregon woods after being separated from his master in a boating accident. Of course, it's not enough for him to be menaced by a human hunter and several predatory beasts; the do-gooder dog also tries to get a mother cougar to bond with four orphaned cubs. Unlike the more comical "Benji" movies of the 1970s, this one's a nail-biter all the way through.
'Eight Below' (2006)
Paul Walker plays an Antarctic guide forced to abandon the sled dogs who saved his life; miraculously, most of them survive six months of harrowing adventures until he can return to rescue them. In the real-life incident that inspired the film, there were 15 Huskies, only two of which survived.
'Frankenweenie' (2012)
Naturally, Tim Burton's stop-motion-animated film about a boy who reanimates his dead dachshund is on the macabre side. Still, if anyone can wring pathos and tears out of a dark-humored premise like this one, it's Burton.
'Hachi: A Dog's Tale' (2009)
Based on a true story of a real-life dog in Japan, this tale of canine loyalty (directed by "A Dog's Purpose" filmmaker Lasse Hallstrom) centers on an Akita pup that greets its master (Richard Gere) every day at the train station. After the man dies, hopeful hound Hachiko continues to go to the station every day, for the next nine years.
'Lassie Come Home' (1943)
The movie that made a pop culture icon out of the brave collie sees her on a perilous journey, escaping from the rich aristocrat who bought her and returning to the poor but loving lad (Roddy McDowall) who was her first master. Yes, that's an 11-year-old Elizabeth Taylor as the girl who helps reunite Lassie with McDowall.
'Marley & Me' (2008)
You think anyone went to see this story of a couple's beloved Labrador retriever because Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston were in it? No, it's because of the best-selling memoir by John Grogan, which covered his pet's life from puppyhood to its heart-rending end 14 years later.
'My Dog Skip' (2000)
Memoirist Willie Morris (played as a boy by Frankie Muniz) recalls growing up in the 1940s, in a small Southern town, and learning life lessons from his very smart Jack Russell terrier. When Skip behaves bravely and gets brutally injured as a result, young Willie bawls his eyes out -- and you will, too.
'Umberto D.' (1952)
Vittorio De Sica's neorealist classic is about a penniless old man who clings to life only because he can't bear to leave his terrier uncared for. Reportedly Ingmar Bergman's favorite movie, which should tell you how bleak it is, "Umberto D." may be the only movie that rivals De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves" in its ability to generate sobs.
'Wendy and Lucy' (2008)
Michelle Williams plays Wendy, a dog owner struggling to keep herself and her pet alive. Stranded in Oregon on her way to look for work in Alaska, Wendy finds her life quickly spiraling into disaster, including her heart-wrenching separation from Lucy. Think of it as a modern, American "Umberto D."
'Where the Red Fern Grows' (1974)
Imagine "The Waltons" crossed with "Old Yeller" and you'll have the gist of this weepie about a Depression-era boy who buys two Redbone coonhounds and trains them to become prize hunting dogs. Still, poverty and tragedy stalk the family and the dogs every step of the way. The 2003 version is not quite as wrenching.
'Old Yeller' (1957)
The grandpappy of all tragic dog tearjerkers, Disney's classic is about a frontier boy and his self-sacrificing Labrador retriever/mastiff mix. When a wolf bite turns the heroic hound rabid, and young Travis (Tommy Kirk) has to put him down, it's a rite of passage -- and five-box-of-tissues kind of affair.
