A Dog's Way Home

A pit bull cross undertakes a perilous journey from New Mexico to Denver in this live-action adaptation of a novel by regular canine chronicler W Bruce Cameron. Bella (played by impressive pup Shelby) has been brought up on a tumbledown building site, but local by-laws against pit bull ownership have seen her parted from her kindly adoptive owners (Ashley Judd and Jonah Hauer-King as mother and son) and placed with temporary carers hundreds of miles away. Dog-movie connoisseurs familiar with the likes of Lassie Come Home and The Incredible Journey will already be anticipating the trials and tribulations to come. This isn't quite on the classic level of those stalwarts, but is an effective heart-warmer in its own right - largely achieved using well-trained real animals, with some intermittent, rather so-so CGI assistance. Possibly a little too slow-moving for the very youngest viewers, but a solid bet for pooch-friendly families seeking improving (but not too icky) celluloid diversion.