A Dog's Purpose (2017)

A Dog's Purpose

A Dog's Purpose knows exactly how to tug on the heartstrings of animal lovers everywhere. It is heartwarming and hear wrenching all at the same time. It starts off by killing the main protagonist immediately. It is a stray puppy captured by the town's dog catcher. From there he is reborn ready to begin a new life.

The film is based on the novel of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron and the idea is that dogs are constantly reincarnated. Voiced by Josh Gad we first meet the puppy killed at the pound, he is then born again as Bailey, then as Ellie the police dog, then as Tino the corgi and finally Buddy the Saint Bernard. 

Since his first true taste of life comes in the form of Bailey, that is how the dog sees himself throughout his other lives and names. He remembers every event of his past lives. This causes him to question his purpose. He wants to know why he keeps coming back to life and what his goal is meant in each. He never truly learns why, but he learns he decides that the most important thing he has learned is live in the moment. The last words of advice from Bailey before the credits roll: "Be here now". If we lived as dogs do, we would appreciate all our experiences and live life to the fullest.

The bulk of the film follows Bailey and his boy Ethan (Bryce Gheisar as a boy, K.J. Apa as a teen) during the 1950's and 60's. We see all the events from Bailey's point of view including Ethan's relationships from his first love to his alcoholic father.

Maybe because it is seen from Bailey's point of view, things do not truly develop. We do see Ethan growing older and we see his relationships change, but the more difficult moments are solved quickly and life moves on as if those moments never occurred. 

Still it is a cute film, though that's about it truly has going for it. Josh Gad voices the dog well and we are truly transported to the dog's thoughts and feelings through him, but there are many moments which are left hanging simply because the dog doesn't know what's going on. Yes I want to hear Bailey's thoughts and questions as he explores the human world, not understanding why we do certain things, but I also want to know his impact on the human world and while we see him live these lives, except for Ethan, the his owners do not grow too much by his presence.

I almost did not see this film as the recent video of the german Shepard used for the "Ellie" sequence was seemed to be forced to do something against his will and this is behavior against animals that I will simply not tolerate. After doing research it seems that the video was edited to make it look like the animal was being abused and many people involved in the film have spoken against the leaked video's validity. Be aware that when you're watching the film you are going for the pure heart and soul of the dog and his life, story wise there is not much going for it.