Big Screen Pooches

13 January 2009

Rate this article

When it comes to animals on the big screen there seems to be nothing more popular than the trusty dog, and this weeks sees that trend continue with the release of Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

The Disney movie follows Chihuahua Chloe who, while on holiday with her owner in Mexico, gets lost took a bite out of the American box office when it was released last year. So here at FemaleFirst we took at look at some of the big screen's most famous four legged friends.

Lady and the Tramp

Released in 1955 Lady and the Tramp was the fifteenth animated film from Disney and had American Cocker Spaniel named Lady and a male stray named Tramp in the lead roles.

The based on a short story written by Ward Greene, called Happy Dan, The Cynical Dog, published in the mid-1940s the film was told from the point of view of Lady who has to deal with a baby joining the family before finding herself on the street.

Despite mixed reviews on release Lady and the Tramp is now considered a classic in the Disney collection and the spaghetti and meatballs scene still remains the film's most famous.

Toto

Toto was the real star of Wizard of Oz as heroine Dorothy's trust companion and they both find themselves blown over the rainbow and into the magical world of Oz.

Toto was immortalized in Dorothy's famous line, "Toto... I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" and in the Wicked Witch of the West's threat to Dorothy: "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"

Toto was the original movie star dog.

Lassie

Lassie has entertained generations of children for decades coming to our screen for the very first time in 1943's adaptation of movie Lassie Come Home.

Ever since then the brave collie has been the subject of television series, films and novels. Lassie Come Home got a twenty first century makeover in 2005 when the film was remade, a film which carried on the family character condition and was warmly met by the critics.

Lassie is just one of three animals, along with Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hooch

The world of a compulsively neat investigator is turned upside down when he's forced to team up with the only witness to a crime - a drooling junkyard dog who wrecks his home, career, and budding romance.

The large and slobbery Dogue de Bordeaux is the heart and soul of Turner and Hooch as Tom Hanks struggles to cope with the energetic dog is the only witness to the murder of his owner Amos Reed.

Beethoven

Also causing trouble is St Bernard Beethoven who, after being stolen from a pet store, escapes and sneaks into the Newton family house. Although George doesn't want the responsibility of looking after a dog he is convinced to change his mind by his wife and three children.

Despite causing chaos in the Newton household Beethoven helps the children overcome their various problems; such as frightening off the bullies that are bothering Ted, helping the eldest girl, Ryce, talk to her crush, and saving Emily when she falls in their babysitter's swimming pool.

The success of the 1992 movie has spawned four sequels as well as a television series.