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Do you act like a dog?

Will Smith and Abbey the dog in I Am Legend
  • Posted at 11:01am
  • 20 March 2009
  • by AndrewCollins-RT
  • 1 comment

It's the oldest adage in showbusiness: "Never work with children or adults."

But animals never listen. Dogs, in particular, seem unable to bark "No!" when offered the chance to star alongside a human. Ever since Rin Tin Tin and Lassie, canine actors have risked being upstaged by people walking on two legs.

Look at the gamble Abbey the German shepherd took by agreeing to appear in dystopian sci-fi horror I Am Legend (from Saturday 21 March, Sky Premiere) opposite Will Smith.

Abbey was the newcomer in her first film role, while Smith was well established as a charismatic screen performer. He plays "the last man on earth" (according to the posters) after a nasty virus has reduced the rest of the population to vampiric mutants, while Abbey plays his faithful dog, Sam (short for Samantha), immune from the airborne strain.

Although the gorgeous and engaging Abbey dominates the screen in all the scenes they share together as they explore a seemingly unpopulated New York City, the playful Smith often threatens to upstage her by doing the human equivalent of rolling over and exposing his tummy. He's a real scene-stealer.

After filming was over, Smith begged Abbey's trainer to let him adopt her, so enamoured was he, but the trainer said no. (What Abbey thought goes unrecorded.)

"Human movies", as they're known in the dog world, are all the rage. Marley & Me, currently in cinemas, is based on a bestselling non-fiction book that was sold to humans as being about "the world's worst dog".

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston play the unimportant roles – Marley's "owners" – whose lives are enriched by the maverick labrador's personality. Marley himself is such a complex and important part that at least three principal pups were cast to fill it – Clyde, Jonah and Woodson – along with 19 other highly trained pooches.

We've also recently had Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Hotel for Dogs – not to mention the box-office-topping animation Bolt.

Clint Eastwood can currently be seen in cinemas in Gran Torino, acting his grizzled, iconic socks off to match the on-screen presence of Daisy the labrador, his porch-front confidante. This is a fool's errand next to an animal so wise and effortlessly cool – after all, who remembers the bloke who played opposite Beasley the French mastiff in buddy-buddy cop caper Turner & Hooch (Saturday 21 March, Wednesday 23 March, Sky Comedy)? Tom something? Or the hapless Homo sapiens expected to distract us from the live-action 101 Dalmatians?

The only time a dog is really likely to be acted off the screen is by a cat. Especially a computer-generated cat voiced by Bill Murray, as in Garfield and its sequel Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties (Saturday 21 March, ITV1).

Poor old Odie. May as well have stayed in bed.

One Man And His… Dogs may claim to be man's best friend, but the wildlife in these movies suggests there are more unusual contenders for the title.

Every Which Way but Loose Clint Eastwood buddies-up with an orangutan who can perform menial duties around the home and can signal traffic at the prompt "Right turn, Clyde". Sequel Any Which Way You Can repeats the winning formula.

Ring of Bright Water
He may have tamed lions in Born Free, but Bill Travers fails to exercise the same control over a mischievous otter that he installs in his rented flat, no doubt losing his deposit in the process.

Babe
Stern farmer James Cromwell encourages the sheep-herding talents of a gifted young porker that's facing the chop. "That'll do, pig."

Bringing Up Baby
It's a case of love me, love my leopard as Katharine Hepburn sinks her claws into Cary Grant. The big cat even gets serenaded by the two stars to the tune of I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby.

Kes
David Bradley plays a bullied boy who finds solace with a young kestrel. With director Ken Loach at the helm, don't go looking for that Disney happy ending.

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Comments

  • Posted on 25 May 2009
  • at 2:04am
  • by Annie

How could you leave out Chris Guest's insanely hilarious "Best of Show"! It's a classic in the dog genre. We show it at almost every Camp Unleashed session and it never fails to get large laughs if not big barks!

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