A Dog’s Journey Review

 (A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com)

One of cinemas most unlikely franchises continues, as in the same year as the standalone A Dog’s Way Home comes the latest W. Bruce Cameron adaptation, A Dog’s Journey. This direct sequel to 2017’s A Dog’s Purpose resumes the story of “Boss Dog” Bailey: not just man’s best friend, but A man’s best friend. The forever friend of Ethan (Dennis Quaid), Bailey now graduates to four-legged guardian angel to his boy’s granddaughter CJ (Kathryn Prescott). 

One of the more curious elements of A Dog’s Purpose was how despite following the life story of one boy and his dog, there was never a true explanation as to why their storyline never caught up to the modern age. Here, we get an explanation: where Ethan was a more traditional child of the American Dream, his granddaughter CJ is truly a 21st century baby. Over the 108 minute runtime, not only do we resume the evolution of a dog but also the progression of modern America – albeit, from a distance.  

Yes, it really does get corny
(source: Universal Pictures)

The film does suffer from being removed from Ethan’s family home, the quintessential mid-Western family farm. A Dog’s Way Home also had its own unique setting, a largely Rockie mountain setting which allowed for picturesque and natural cinematography just like Ethan’s diner town did. CJ spends her youth in suburban Chicago and her adulthood in metropolitan New York, and neither city lives up to its usual cinematic iconography; the film moves quickly through any exterior shots to prolonged and basic indoor settings.

Unsurprisingly, one area where the visuals don’t disappoint is in the dogs themselves. What may surprise is how the latest Bailey-reincarnations aren’t exclusively the prototypical “cute” breeds – even the literally-named and slobbering Big Dog gets a moment in the spotlight. Maybe it’s just a ploy to get dog owners of all kinds to buy a ticket, but it’s certainly a fitting marriage to teenage CJ’s journey to accept herself and her own life for who and what it is.

Taking life one step at a time
(source: Universal Pictures)

There are many lessons that A Dog’s Journey seeks to impart upon its youthful audience, and they’re not entirely just the Marley and Me-esque tricks that we’ve seen before. Yes, the passing of a pet is dealt with once again, but the focus becomes how to deal with loss when it is unfair as well as painful. Then, there’s the complicated relationship between CJ and her mother Gloria (Betty Gilpin), which constantly veers into the territory of emotional abuse. Occasionally, it’s daring fare for a cute and fluffy fable.

The problem (if you can call it that) is how far these lessons are reduced children. The moral delivery is spoon-fed, and the dialogue is constantly cringe-worthy, even after CJ grows up. Josh Gad does a fine job pretending to be a dog that can’t quite verbalise his wisdom, but there’s only so many ways you can narrate the mysteries of both life and another dog’s behind before the line between the two starts to blur. Every character and location becomes a hand-drawn stereotype, as if spelt out for the visually-limited canine stars of the film more than the audiences watching it.

Taking things head on? Scratch that
(source: Universal Pictures)

It’s very easy to get cynical about A Dog’s Journey. It employs the same emotional beats as just about every family-friendly dog tale (or is that tail?) all the way back to Lassie and Old Yeller. But it’s not a film that should be punished for its simplicity – there’s no reason to go in expecting a densely-layered drama, when the real-life experience of owning a dog is known for its unfiltered joy. There aren’t really many places you can take the idea of a child and a puppy growing old together, and perhaps that is for a reason; after all, what do they say about an old dog and new tricks?