History Film / ADogsPurpose

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Tino the corgi usually loves eating pizza, ice cream, and other human foods. In his old age, he suddenly stops accepting pizza due to [[spoiler:dying from old age]].

An upcoming sequel called ''A Dog's Journey'' (the same name as the novel) will premier in May 2019.

* AdaptationalSpeciesChange: Buddy in the book is a Labrador Retriever. Buddy in the film is a St. Bernard/Australian Shepherd mix.

An upcoming sequel called ''A Dog's Journey'' (the same name as the novel) will premier in 2019.

''A Dog's Purpose'' is a 2017 film based on Bruce W. Cameron's [[Literature/ADogsPurpose 2010 novel of the same name]], produced by Creator/{{Universal}} and Creator/AmblinEntertainment.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
** A few gags are made on Tino having short, stubby legs. Corgis are actually pretty agile because they're herding dogs. They still can have difficulty with steps or jumping though.
** While Corgis are good family dogs, they are ''not'' recommended to be around young children, as they tend to herd small kids and nip at their ankles. They're also ''incredibly'' barky without intense training.

* RaceLift: Jakob (or Carlos as he is called) went from white to latino because he is a CompositeCharacter of book!Maya and book!Jakob.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: A few gags are made on Tino having short, stubby legs. Corgis are actually pretty agile because they're herding dogs. They still can have difficulty with steps or jumping though.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Tino the Corgi becomes very sad after his dog friend Roxie dies and never recovers, passing away himself a few years later. This is very similar to what has been observed in elderly couples -- that one dies within six months to a year afterwards.
** It's also TruthInTelevision, as people with more than one pet have sworn that one will be inconsolable when the other dies.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Ethan is still alive at the end of the film.]]

* TruthInTelevision: One of Bailey's thoughts on football.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: A few gags are made on Tino having short, stubby legs. Corgis are actually pretty agile because they're herding dogs.

* DemotedToExtra: Toby and his siblings are regulated to a very short intro sequence.

---> [[spoiler:"I need to rest. That life wasn't a lot of fun, but I did a lot of good work."]]

* DeathByAdaptation: Bailey lived a full life as the German Shepherd Ellie in the book, but in the film dies from a gunshot wound from a criminal Ellie helped stopping.

* MisterSandmanSequence: Several of the decades -- 50's, 60's, 80's -- the vignettes take place in are well-represented by the cars, clothing, and hairstyles.

* RaceLift: Jakob went from white to latino because he is a CompositeCharacter of book!Maya and book!Jakob.
* RunningGag: Bailey's Corgi incarnation Tino and his owner develop a game where she asks him, "Do you know what I'm thinking?" He responds, always correctly, with some food item, "Pizza", "Ice cream", etc. [[spoiler:It becomes a {{Tearjerker}} when she asks him this for what turns out to be the last time and he responds:]]

---> [[spoiler:"One of my best lives yet."]]

* AdaptationalSpeciesChange: Buddy in the book is a Labrador Retriever. Buddy in the film is a St. Bernard.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Bailey's first life as a stray. He's scooped up and put into an animal control van. The scene fades out, then fades back into his next life as Bailey. Younger viewers might easily fail to realize that that the stray was taken to a shelter and eventually euthanized, as shown in the book.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Some aspects were watered down because the film is more kid-friendly than the book. For example, sexual references are deleted. Ellie saving a girl from a child SerialKiller is changed to Ellie saving a girl from her abusive father.

* CompositeCharacter: The film shortens Ellie's life and mixes her two handlers together. Jakob is given a RaceLift from white to latino. Maya in the book was latina. Maya in the film is black and is a completely different character.

* AdaptationalSpeciesChange: Bailey in the book is a Labrador Retriever. Bailey in the film is a St. Bernard.

* {{Bowlderise}}: Some aspects were watered down because the film is more kid-friendly than the book. For example, sexual references are deleted. Ellie saving a girl from a child SerialKiller is changed to Ellie saving a girl from her abusive father.

* CompositeCharacter: The film shortens Ellie's life and mixes her two handlers together. is given a RaceLift from white to latino. Maya in the book was latina. Maya in the film is black and is a completely different character.

** Ethan's father. Even before he became a drunk he was clearly a very stern type of parent, and while he never outright hits Ethan or his mother, he get rough enough that Ethan and Bailey leap in to defend her and order him out of the house.

The film was directed by Lasse Hallström, and starred Creator/DennisQuaid as Ethan and the voice of Creator/JoshGad as the main character (referred to as "Bailey" here, as that's the name he has the longest and identifies most as.)

** Ethan's father. Even before he became a drunk he was clearly a very stern type of parent, and while he never outright hits Ethan or his mother, he's get rough enough that Ethan and Bailey leap in to defend her and order him out of the house.

** In the film, his first life is particularly short. The film version just shows him playing with his littermates as a stray and then being put in an animal control van before fading out, while in the book his first life lasted a whole 54 pages: he was a stray, found by humans and raised in a place he called "the Yard" with dozens of other dogs, and named "Toby". There was some detail about his life there, and he learned how to open gates, which would help him in his later lives. The Yard was shut down due to too many dogs in what they considered inhumane conditions, and he was put to sleep.
** The film ends perhaps a year or two at most after Bailey [[spoiler:has reunited with Ethan as a different dog. In the book, Bailey and Ethan live together for many years until Ethan passes away.]]

--->[[spoiler: "[[{{Pun}} I always hated getting shots]]. This was definitely the worst shot I ever got."]]

** As Ellie the police dog, he saves a drowning girl, then saves his handler's life, [[spoiler: but is shot in the process. His dying thoughts?]]
---> [[spoiler: "I need to rest. That life wasn't a lot of fun, but I did a lot of good work."]]
** As Tino the Corgi, he has a wonderful time, getting to be with his owner through college, marriage, and the birth of her children, who grow into their early teens before he passes on. [[spoiler: But he becomes depressed after the death of his dog friend--like the other half of an elderly couple dying soon after the death of the first one--and never recovers. It's sad to see him go as well, but ''his'' dying thoughts are to fully acknowledge:]]
---> [[spoiler: "One of my best lives yet."]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Tino the Corgi becomes very sad after his dog friend Roxie dies and never recovers, passing away himself a few years later. This is very similar to what has been observed in elderly couples--that one dies within six months to a year afterwards.

* MisterSandmanSequence: Several of the decades--50's, 60's, 80's--the vignettes take place in are well represented by the cars, clothing, and hairstyles.
* RunningGag: Bailey's Corgi incarnation Tino and his owner develop a game where she asks him, "Do you know what I'm thinking?" He responds, always correctly, with some food item, "Pizza", "Ice cream", etc. [[spoiler: It becomes a {{Tearjerker}} when she asks him this for what turns out to be the last time and he responds:]]
---> [[spoiler: "I'm thinking. . . I'm ready"]]

* DepartmentofChildDisservices: Well, the pet version at least. An animal control officer comes to the house where Buddy has repeatedly been left outside in the cold. Kudos to whatever concerned neighbor called the cops, but the officer doesn't do anything more than give them a ticket. Buddy's bewilderment as to why she isn't taking him with her (because he remembers his life as a police dog), is [[{{Tearjerker}} wrenching]].

--> "If I can get you licking and loving, I have my purpose."

[[redirect:Literature/ADogsPurpose]]