#VeronicaLauren

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 90's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon...Homeward Bound II: Lost In San Francisco (1996) on classic DVD 📀! #movie #movies #comedy #HomeWardBound #homewardboundii #homewardboundiilostinsanfrancisco #michaeljfox #SallyField #ralphwaite #ripralphwaite #kevinchevalia #KimGreist #benjthall #CarlaGugino #Sinbad #JonPolito #AlMichaels #BobUecker #RobertHays #veronicalauren #rossmalinger #tommylasorda #tishacampbell #stephentobolowsky #PhilHartman #ripphilhartman #rickducommun #riprickducommun #AdamGoldberg #keeganmacintosh #maxperlich #DVD #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual90sfest

[adamwatchesmovies]

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)

I won't call Homeward Bound bad but its appeal is limited to its target audience. Everyone else will find it at least a bit cloying. I’m certain many are greasing up their pitchforks and sharpening their torches as they read this but before you form a mob, hear me out.

Chance, a disobedient young American bulldog (voiced by Michael J. Fox), Shadow, a wise and aging golden retriever (voiced by Don Ameche), and a smart-mouthed prissy Himalayan cat named Sassy (voiced by Sally Field) are taken aback when their owners leave them at a farm to go on vacation. Convinced something is wrong, the pets escape and go on a long journey that will take them through the wilderness and back home.

I get the appeal. People love their pets. Kids love them even more than adults do and Homeward Bound was made for them. It doesn't strive to appeal to adults. Your intelligence won't be insulted but it's not a sophisticated tale. If you like it, that's fine but it's probably nostalgia influencing you.

You might've heard of the term “peanut butter mouth movie”, a film where they feed an animal peanut butter and hire an actor to voiceover and “match” the lip movements. Sometimes, high-tech options are used to create a more convincing illusion. In Homeward Bound, they don’t do anything. The voice actors just talk over the pets. Call it nitpicking, but it feels like a cheap shortcut. You can’t admire the film on a technical level like you would Babe, and you can’t put the animals in any sort of truly perilous/"perilous" situation because stunts would put them at risk. I guess it's a polite way of saying the movie's low-budget.

I understand seeing a real-life dog with Michael J. Fox’s voice jumping around in the woods is a selling point, but too often all I could think of was the trainer off-screen waving a handful of bacon back and forth to get the animals to look in a certain direction.

There are a lot of juvenile pop-culture jokes here. Nothing poop-related, just safe stuff that will make the toddlers howl while the adults occasionally crack a smile. Kids have never heard “Arnold Schwarze-kitty” or “Turkey-zilla” type of play on words so they'll be impressed.

Despite the flaws, it's hard not to be a little bit taken by the story. I wanted the pets to get back home safe even if it’s just because they’re poor, dumb domesticated animals whose owners would be heartbroken if they didn't. I wanted to see the family reconciled and I knew that was only going to take place if everyone, including Chance, Sassy, and Shadow all made it. Yes, the perils are mild and often contrived but the eleven-year-old next to me loved it and it managed to melt my ice-cold heart.

Sometimes Homeward Bound is like a sleazy ice cream truck driver. He employs cheap tactics to make the sale. He’s not evil. It’s just what needs to be done to ensure the kids leave with a mouthful of frozen sugar. There’s no reason to hate him, but don't come around every day. Homeward Bound grated on my nerves and made me roll my eyes on more than a few occasions but I don’t buy into these talking animal movies. Keep in mind, I'm not meant to. Your kids will love it and while I can’t fully endorse it for any adults or older teens if they invite you to sit down on the couch, join them. (October 28, 2015)