Talking dog movies are irresistible.
Bow wow down to these, the greatest talking dog movies we’ve ever seen.
Strays (2023)
The first of two Will Ferrell films on this list, this not-for-kids film is an R-rated film about a dog (Ferrell) who assembles a pack in search of vengeance when his owner commits the ultimate betrayal.
Again: Not for kids!
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
In this remake of Disney’s 1963 The Incredible Journey, two dogs and a cat voiced by Don Ameche, Michael J. Fox and Sally Field are separated from their human family and must overcome miles of wilderness to reunite.
The ending is one of greatest in the history of talking dog movies, and of film itself.
Balto (1995)
Balto is a true story, kind of: It’s the lightly fictionalized story of a half-wolf half-dog who carries an essential serum from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska at the height a 1925 diphtheria outbreak.
Balto is notable for the exceptional vocal talents of Kevin Bacon, Bridget Fonda, Bob Hoskins and Phil Collins (Hopkins plays a goose and Collins a pair of polar bears). It’s also intriguing to hear the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Jim Cummings, play way against type by voicing the vain and villainous Steele.
Balto II: Wolf Quest, in which Balto and Jenna’s daughter embarks on a vision quest, is one of the wildest movies we’ve ever seen in or out of the talking dog movie genre.
Air Buddies (2007)
Our sole complaint about the beloved Air Bud franchise is its initial failure to give voice to Buddy, aka Air Bud, the hero Golden Retriever who becomes a basketball star, because, as it turns out, there’s no rule preventing a dog from playing basketball.
Air Buddies, released nearly a decade after 1997’s Air Bud, corrects the original film’s misstep by finally allowing Bud’s five pups, the Air Buddies, to talk. No explanation is given and none is needed. The poster celebrates the achievement with the tagline, “They Shoot. They Score. They TALK!”
Air Buddies is also the final film to feature Don Knotts, further securing its place in film history.
Scooby Doo (2002)
This very Gen X, big-budget live-action/CGI mashup is a fascinating watch for a host of reasons. First, it’s co-written by James Gunn, who would go on to make the greatest of all talking raccoon movies with Guardians of the Galaxy, before becoming the head of DC Films and making Superman.
It also features the very strong cast of Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and Neil Fanning as Scooby Doo.
It also manages to retain the funky ’70s vibes of the cartoon Gen Xers grew up with, and, like the best Scooby Doo episodes, is kind of scary. Also great is 2004’s Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, a very memed movie to this day,
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023)
A curious revamping of the Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups special episode, the latest addition to the legacy of talking dog movies similarly involves a meteor that bestows superpowers on Chase, Marshall, Rocky, Skye, Rubble, Zuma, and, eventually, Liberty.
It also features the introduction of a new generation of hero pups, Nano, Mini and Tot.
Featuring an all-star cast that includes Kristen Bell, James Marsden, and Taraji P. Henson, the film is also notable for a soaring Christina Aguilera number that highlights Skye’s majestic arc: Her discovery that even though she was once the runt of the litter, there is truly no meteor too big or pup too small.
A Dog’s Purpose (2016)
The frequently reincarnated dog at the center of this Lasse Hallström epic may not talk — in the movie — but he talks to us, via the voiceover of Josh Gad.
Mixing insights into the meaning of life with food reviews (“Why does food taste so much better in the trash?”), A Dog’s Purpose was invented for one purpose only: To make you cry your eyes out.
Isle of Dogs (2018)
At long last, auteur Wes Anderson turns his keen eye to the world of talking dogs in Isle of Dogs. But all is not well: The film takes place in a world in which the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki has banished dogs to a place called Trash Island.
Even with that name, it still sounds better than a place without dogs. The film features the formidable vocal talents of Courtney B. Vance, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Yoko Ono, and other actors who are pretty good… for non-dogs.
101 Dalmations (1961)
The greatest talking dog movie of all, expect perhaps for Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmations chronicles the romance of Pongo and Perdita, the birth of their 15 — no 14 — no 15 pups, and the unlikely chain of events that brings 84 additional dalmations into their family.
It is the first film to portray, on film, the Twilight Bark.
There are also some humans in it, too, who sing some pleasant-enough songs.
Summer of Sam (1999)
Spike Lee’s magnificent examination of cross-cultural paranoia reaches its hallucinogenic crescendo of insanity when a black dog walks into David Berkowitz’s hovel and announces, with slow-building rancor, “I want you to go out and kill. Kill. KILL.”
It’s one of the best things we’ve ever seen in a movie.
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
The gold standard of talking dog movies, this swooning Disney masterpiece is a low-key, patiently paced charmer notable for its deft characterizations, first-rate music, painterly animation, and deep layers of subtext.
We discover something new to enjoy about this film every time we watch it, which is more often than you’d expect.
Anchorman (2003)
The second Will Ferrell film on this list may not seem, on first glance, to be a talking dog movie. But it is.
When all is lost, who is it who saves Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) from a bear mauling? A dog, of course.
Baxter, who earlier in the film heroically eats a wheel of cheese, returns Lazarus-like from a watery grave to speak (via subtitles) to the mama bear and establish a shared connection: the bear known as Katow-jo. Through Baxter’s diplomacy, sanity is restored.
If you like this list, you might also like this list of 10 Gen X Film Stars Gone Too Soon.
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Main image: Scooby Doo. Warner Bros.