A Dog's Purpose

2017 • 100 minutes
4.5
3.21K reviews
34%
Tomatometer
PG
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Based on the beloved bestselling novel by W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose, from director Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, Dear John, The 100-Foot Journey), shares the soulful and surprising story of one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad) who finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he teaches to laugh and love. The family film told from the dog's perspective also stars Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, Britt Robertson, K.J. Apa, Juilet Rylance, Luke Kirby, John Ortiz and Pooch Hall. - ( Original Title - A Dog's Purpose )
Rating
PG

Ratings and reviews

4.5
3.21K reviews
Kyle Vansteelandt
May 9, 2021
For decades, dogs in many movies have delivered a strong emotional impact to the hearts of many movie goers, especially the ones who are considered to be a dog person. Sometimes, we wonder "what is the purpose of a dog as well as ourselves?" Well, this tearjerker has the answer, and it's very nice. It shows us what a dog's purpose is by showing us what the meaning of life for each dog breed is, as well as living through several lives of different dog breeds and seeing what it's like living with several different owners. But my big issue with this movie is the story. The storyline is confusing because it's quite incohesive; I don't know it was supposed to be about a dog named Bailey who is adopted by Ethan and as they grow old, Bailey is on a journey to find his beloved owner, or is it about the one soul of a dog voiced by Josh Gad (of which I don't what the actual dog is supposed to be) who comes back to life by going into a different dog's body and shows us what the purpose of each dog is. I don't get this. I also wish Does this confuse anybody else, or did I miss something? I also wish that the filmmakers could've add more scenes or more detail so that I can understand clearly. For some reason, It kind of reminded me of the storyline for Jumanji, because it was also an incohesive story for my opinion. Another problem that I had with this film is that there has been footage of a German Shepherd that was forced to be dipped into rushing water according to TMZ. Still, there are some redeemable qualities here; The whole cast of actors did an exquisite job with their performances to deliver strong personalities from their characters. Josh Gad as a narrator or the verbal thought process that anthropomorphizes Bailey or any dog was a great choice; the material of his voice that he delivers is charming and the script that Josh was reading for the dog's mind based on what the dog sees and experiencing makes it so clever and makes it so engaging. The way that Lasse Hallstrom directed this film was first-rate too due to how well each scene was timed, handled, and structured. I thought that this movie is a very good-looking movie or it is so wonderful to look at with such uplifting results; it's got some nice scenery and bright colors to make the movie look so beautiful and serene. In conclusion: It has some big flaws but I am not going say I don't like it. I liked this movie and I enjoyed it; It is an appealing drama that will intrigue and tug at the heartstrings of families. Recommended.
Jeff Shellow
April 26, 2017
Nope nope nope the heck you say.... Seriously guys coming through with stupid non relevant reviews and admitted 'offsets' to combat PETA's imdb crusade is just as bad. AND to be completely honest i didn't see the film in theatres for the explicit reason that animals are exploited for films. Listen the point is not whether the animals were so badly mistreated, i concede that the water scene pales in comparison to animal testing and such but the single cogent point is the unwillingness of participation. UNWILLINGNESS WHICH CAN UNDENIABLY BE SEEN IN THE CAININES EFFORTS TO RESIST. I cant say definitively what occurred and i refuse to anthropomorphize on the canines behalf BUT I WILL GIVE HIM THE BENIFIT OF DOUBT. Just make a statement for the benefit of any creature traumatized for human benefit however small. However trivial... For ffs do it for Tili because he was tortured and mistreated till the day he died and personality i cant ever be aparty to anything that horrific again! Tilikum rest in peace, for the love of fish and apricots, please forgive us ! //guys I want it to be known that i believe it bears stating that I was EXTREMELY excited to see this film, i had been looking forwards too it for a while, and this is inspite of the fact that I purposely take umbrage with the title alone, please bare with me on this. Using 'purpose' in the title rubs me the wrong way, for it suggests that (even though canines were bred to be domesticated companions and helpers of man) the concept that its sole purpose on earth is to ultimately serve mankind, again even as arguably as it does as portrayed in this film, detracts from the organisms existance as an antonyms and sentient creatures. Allow me one more rant, when i was younger there was a commercial that ran nationally and it depicted a whitefish with a thought bubble and inside the bubble were the fishes existential thoughts. They went as so 'what is the meaning of life?' 'why am i here' 'what is my PURPOSE?' and just then a skillet came down and slammed dowm upon said fish ... What followed were the words "pan fried whitefish at the Daily Grill" amd the price. And that disgusting add, first attributing sentience and then suggesting that its existence and purpose was to be dinner at a mediocre diner left me disgusted and that add campaign stayed with me for the remainder of my life. I apologize for this long entry and im not gonna contest that humankind should not ingest animal protien but come on right? I mean seriously is that acceptable to make such a claim re the 'purpose' of another organism that is, in my opinion, just as important to the earths ecosystem as any other and sadly but certainly MUCH MORE SO THAN HUMANKIND THAT HAS ALREADY PROVEN THAT WE ARE AKIN TO A VIRUS UPON THE PLANET. Ok then im very sorry to have taken up so much of yalls time and im not trying to preach or influence anyone to subscribe to my personal philosophy but shouldn't we as intelligent organisms be wise enough to educate ourselves and listen to others view points without becoming defensive and then decide if the information is valid or relevant to us? ... Take care yall and finally i want to add that i did end up paying for this title so that i have the right to add a review to it, as i have objectively to HUNDREDS of films before on Google play , and this is the only one that ive made purely as an ethical agendum. And i did so purchase it even though i shall not watch it out of principle HOW EVER MUCH I MAY WANT TOO. TY and i apologize if ive offended you.. Xoxo J 'Lovitz'
54 people found this review helpful
Brody
June 2, 2017
This "one-star" rating is not for the movie being bad but the practices taught by the studio. They ABUSED Animals in the making of this film. Anyone who hasn't seen the video I'll sum it up here if you don't have the heart to watch it: basically it's on set, where someone is forcefully shoving a dog into water nearly drowning it. In the clip you can tell just how terrified this dog looks. We can not promote these practises by paying them money for this movie. If you don't believe me, go find the video on Google. WE CAN NOT BE PROMOTING THIS BY PAYING FOR THEIR MOVIE.
274 people found this review helpful