The dog and his or her connection to our human collective heart is well documented. When A Dog’s Purpose bowed in 2017, it took a wish fulfillment premise of anyone who has ever had a canine and brought it to life in a story that produced tears, sure, but also legions of smiles. Given the nature of that Dennis Quaid starring story (that featured the voice of Josh Gad as the pup), a sequel should hardly surprise. This series could keep following Gad’s character for decades (in human or dog years!).
Out now on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download formats is the sequel, A Dog’s Journey. Quaid and Bailey are back and this time out, this is firmly the story of a girl and her dog and boy oh boy does she need the unconditional love that comes hand-in-hand with having a pup. Prepare for lots of smiles, and yes … do not forget the tissues when popping this must-see movie for the dog appreciators out there in the world.
As shown in A Dog’s Purpose, the unbreakable bond between canine and human knows no earthly and life bounds. It possessed countless and priceless lessons that spotlight the true meaning of friendship and interpersonal commitments that transcend species, time and physical manifestation.
As A Dog’s Journey commences, Gad’s Bailey is living his best life. The boy of the boy and his dog part of this story, aka Quaid’s Ethan, is all grown up and Bailey is still there (in a different form, obviously)—right by his (and his wife, Hannah (Marg Helgenberger) side. As it should be. There’s a new (adorable) face on this farm and it belongs to Ethan and Hannah’s granddaughter. CJ is merely a baby when we first meet (she will grow into a fantastic little actress, Kathryn Prescott). There is something innately electric about Bailey and CJ’s connection and sure enough, that bond will serve as the main heartstring that connects this entire film.
Life is great on the farm. I mean what a place for a child to grow up! Then, CJ’s mother (GLOW’s break out star from last season, Betty Gilpin), decides that life is short and her dream of living in the big city isn’t going to arrive without action. So, she takes her little girl away from Bailey and her grandparents in pursuit of her lifelong aspirations. No one can fault her, that is for sure. But one can see how Bailey would be quite upset and miss his little angel. So, Ethan asks Bailey to go with CJ, to keep an eye on her. Thus begins Bailey’s latest series of lives over the course of the film that somehow manages to up the heartwarming ante that was delivered on the first film. Each time Bailey is “reborn” is another opportunity to explore that priceless connection between us and those four-legged furry fellows. Just as was the case in the first film, A Dog’s Journey is a delightful and freeing film that allows us to vicariously live something that would be embraced by anyone who has ever loved and been loved by a dog—to be able to stay with that “soul” through our own long and winding road.
Bonus features include nine deleted and extended scenes, a surprisingly fun gag reel and a quintet of featurettes. The Fab Five featurettes begins with A DOG’S Sequel. It finds the cast from the first film talking about coming back for the second and the new cast members share insight into the joys of joining the ensemble for a movie that is so heartwarming and of course … is all about dogs! The entire cast shines an appreciative light on director Gail Mancuso as well.
For dog lovers, do not miss the Everyone’s Best Friend featurette. It finds the entire cast talking about their life with dogs and what it is about our four-legged, furry friends that is so special to all of us and why they are firmly human’s best friends. In that vein, Working with Dogs is exactly as it sounds—a featurette that explores the nature of working with the animal actors and what each person learned about the experience and how that made them appreciate pups ever more.
A Healing Journey finds Gad, Quaid and others discuss the priceless connection between dogs and humans that was what made these two films so appealing for them to become a part of and relish the experience of making them.
Love it when the film’s composer gets a featurette shout out and that arrives on Scoring the JOURNEY. Director Mancuso and composer Mark Isham discuss the score for the film and the insight is a revelation.
Film Grade: B+
Bonus Features: B