A DOG’S PURPOSE – Rated PG

“Finally, a film made especially for ALL THE DOG LOVERS of this world…”                Kathy Kaiser

A DOG’S PURPOSE – Rated PG – 2 hours

Starring Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, Britt Robertson and K.J. Apa

Based on the novel by W. Bruce Cameron, and brought to the big screen by the man who directed such touching films as WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES & THE HUNDRED FOOT JOURNEY ~ Lasse Hallstrom ~ so get ready to have those heartstrings tugged, and tugged, and tugged, as we find out exactly what is A DOG’S PURPOSE!

As we venture into the day-to-day life of one spunky pup named Bailey (voiced by Josh Gad), it seems that he is the best friend and inseparable companion of his adorable human by the name of Ethan (Bryce Gheisar / K. J. Apa / Dennis Quaid).

Making a life filled with growing pains, family woes, and more fun that you could ever imagine for Bailey and Ethan, it seems the time has come for Bailey to move on to the great beyond…but, surprisingly it seems, Bailey has moved on to inhabiting a new puppies life, and now he goes by the name of Tino…

As we watch Bailey’s future unravel again, and again, and again, its seems that he’s destined to be on this planet for quite sometime, as he is reincarnated, to live our the lives of many different dogs, all with very different existences, as our story unfolds…

I give A DOG’s PURPOSE a rating between MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN or WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON DVD. Even with all the unsubstantiated abuse allegations hitting the Internet prior to release, I was anxious to see this film, and all it’s furry creatures ~ as I have been blessed with having a dog or two in my life since the age of 6, and through the years all of my dogs are a part of my family too! Josh Gad is perfect as the voice of the numerous doggies we get to meet along the way. And it was great to see Dennis Quaid back on the big screen too, even though you have to wait quite a while for him to arrive on screen. The storyline of this film is so cute and cuddly one minute, then so sad and tragic the next, you better bring along a few Kleenex, just in case! And talk about adorable dogs, this film is filled with them, making you want to adopt each and everyone, as you begin to see and hear their story play out on screen. But, I’m guessing that this might have been one of those films that I hyped up so much in my mind over the last few months, that when I got to see it play out on the big screen, it fell a little short of my expectations. It is really good, don’t get me wrong, it just wasn’t quite as fabulous as I was hoping for. And if you haven’t read the book, and are going in blindly like I was, there are a few scenes that may bee too graphic for younger viewers (2-8 years old), so take heed that you may want to view it at a theater near you this weekend with your older children in tow, before you allow the little ones to catch it in the theater or on DVD when it is released in a few weeks.

Kathy Kaiser