FetchDog's Top 20 Dog Movies of All Time

Posted on Feb 20, 2008 By FetchDog Comments (4)

Here are FetchDog's reviewers' picks for the Top 20 Dog Movies of All Time.

We have not reviewed all of them (yet), and we're still looking for some Fido flicks to recommend to fans of this fetching sub-genre. Tell us your favorites. We'll consider adding them to our "Top 20" list and our upcoming review list. Stay tuned!

101 Dalmatians (1961) - In London, a fur-ocious fashionista named Cruella DeVil schemes to deprive 101 adorable spotted pups of their pelts. A Disney classic later remade as a live-action feature starring FetchDog's favorite actress as the diva Dalmatian destroyer.  

A Boy and His Dog (1975) - Apocalyptic sci-fi road movie stars Don Johnson as the "boy" and the mutt from the Brady Bunch as his dog, who communicates with him telepathically. The title is ironic - this movie, based on Harlan Ellison's "Vic and Blood," is strictly for grownups.  

A Dog's Life (1918) - Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp rescues a mongrel bitch from a pack of marauding mutts and the two become fast friends.  

Best in Show (2000) - Hilarious "mockumentary" about a canine beauty contest. Any resemblance to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is purely accidental.  

El Perro (2005) - Recently laid off and out of luck, Juan meets a big, gorgeous Dogo Argentino (Argentine mastiff) and experiences a reversal of fortune.  

Goodbye My Lady (1956) - Family-friendly fare about a boy and his Basenji, starring Brandon DeWilde and based on the book of the same title.  

Greyfriars Bobby (1961) - Based on the true story of one of Scotland's favorite heroes, a plucky little Skye Terrier, and the book of the same title by Eleanor Atkinson.  

High Sierra (1941) - Raoul Walsh's classic film noir partners the charismatic Humphrey Bogart with the equally charismatic mutt Zero.  

I Am Legend (2007) - Will Smith and his German Shepherd Sam are the only inhabitants of a deserted New York City in this haunting depiction of the human-canine bond.  

Lady and the Tramp (1955) - Another Disney classic that improves with repeated viewings, this tells the story of romance between a mutt named Tramp and his  purebred Cocker Spaniel lady-love. Eating spaghetti will never be the same.  

Old Yeller (1957) - The tearjerker to trump all tearjerkers: Boy meets dog, dog defends boy from rabid wolf, boy must shoot beloved dog. Bring Kleenex, and lots of it.

Port of Shadows (1939) - Marcel Carne's moody noir romance features a multispecies cast of Gallic heartthrobs: Jean Gabin, Michele Morgan, and an adorable terrier mix.  

The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005) - This docudrama about nomadic life in Mongolia celebrates the friendship between a girl and her best friend, a stray dog.  

The Courage of Lassie (1946) - The ultimate girl-and-her-dog tale. During WW2, Elizabeth Taylor is separated from her beloved Collie (in this film, the dog's a male) as he's accidentally drafted. After demonstrating great bravery in battling the enemy, the dog returns home shell-shocked.   

The Incredible Journey (1963) - Another Disney great, and the subtle, elegant original upon which those Michael J. Fox-voiced remakes are based. It tells the story of three lost pets - dogs Bodger and Luath, and their feline friend Tao - as they team up to find their way home.  

The Road Warrior: Mad Max 2 (1981) - What more appropriate fellow traveler for Mel Gibson in Mad Max mode than a brilliant Australian Cattle Dog?

Umberto D. (1952) - Vittorio De Sica's neorealist masterpiece about an old man and his only friend, a little mutt.  

Sounder (1972) - This powerful screen story of a dog and his family in the Depression-era American South is widely believed to surpass the book it's based on.  

Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) - The adventures of a boy and his two beloved coonhounds, Dan and Ann, based on the beloved book by Wilson Rawls. Serious masochists will sit through this one right after Old Yeller; not to be attempted without Kleenex.

White Dog (1982) - One of the great Samuel Fuller's last films, about a white dog trained to attack black people and the trainer who works to re-program him, is a controversial examination of racism for grownups. 

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