Aye chihuahua!
Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a 2008 live-action Disney family comedy film about Chloe (Drew Barrymore), a pampered pet chihuahua living in Beverly Hills. When Chloe is left in the hands of her owner's irresponsible niece, however, a Mexican vacation turns into a four-alarm dognapping. Now, Chloe has to find her way home while her love-struck landscaper, Papi (George Lopez) sets out to rescue her. The movie also features the voice talents of Andy Garcia and Edward James Olmos, as well as Jamie Lee Curtis as Vivian Ashe and Piper Perabo as her niece, Rachel.
Despite pretty poor critical reception, the film was a commercial success, prompting a Direct to Video sequel in 2011 simply called Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 and a third film, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta!, in 2012.
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The first film provides examples of:
Beverly Hills Chihuaha
- Animal Talk: All animals
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Rachel and Sam. She dislikes him and they bicker a lot about their dogs before working together to find them and eventually fall in love.
- Covers Always Lie: Most of the posters for the original centered more on Papi than they did Chloe, even though the latter is technically the main protagonist of the movie.
- Disney Death: Chloe, almost towards the ending of the first film.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Papi, literally. He spends the first movie trying to win Chloe’s affections only for her to snobbishly turn him down. Chloe eventually returns his feelings and becomes his mate in the second movie.
- Dragon-in-Chief: He also has more screentime than Vasquez and while Diablo was technically following his owner's orders all along, he was the most dangerous threat to the heroes and he was the one that kept pursuing them throughout the movie.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Beverly Hills Chihuahua is rather an indicative title.
- Jerkass Realization: Chloe regrets her previous snubbing of Papi after learning that mi corazon (Papi's pet name for her) means "my heart" in Spanish.
- Hollywood California: Chloe is raised in a life of luxury and riches alongside other dogs in Hollywood, California.
- Insistent Terminology: Sam (and, by extension, Papi) prefer to be called "landscaper" rather than "gardener."
- Latin Lover: Papi's owner, Sam, is an example of this while Papi tries being this.
- Mayincatec: In the trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua while Papi talks about how his ancestors fought with Aztec warriors, it shows an aerial view of Machu Pichu, an Incan city.
- Never Trust a Trailer: The trailers were centered on Papi, making it seem it’s solely about his mission to rescue Chloe. In the film itself, not only is the film entirely centered on Chloe and Doberman, but most of Papi’s screentime does have has him serving his owner Sam, and Rachel.
- The tribe dogs from the teaser are not only different characters (who never sing and dance), but the trailer also makes them serve Papi, when in the movie, its only Chloe they meet with and aid.
- Nice to the Waiter: Chloe's owner, Viv, is on quite friendly terms with Sam and Papi.
- Overly Narrow Superlative: The film's Tagline, "The Greatest Chihuahua Movie Of All Time." There are not many other chihuahua movies. (Two of them are direct sequels of this one, even. With a preemptive implied
Sophomore Slump.) - Reality Is Unrealistic: The dogfighting scene has many people puzzled over why would a Chihuahua, domesticated or otherwise would be placed against a Rottweiler that clearly has a refined killer instinct, resulting in a one-sided match. This is actually a phenomenon in real life dogfighting known as "dog baiting", in where small dogs were pitted against larger dogs on purpose to maximize the latters' killer instincts. The only mistake they made would be that the larger dog in question will be less likely to maim and kill than El Diablo and be probably just as scared and confused as Chloe was.
- Single Tear: Papi lets one roll down his muzzle when he thinks Chloe is dead.
- Those Two Guys: Manuel and Chico, the rat and iguana.
- Wacky Wayside Tribe: The group of feral Chihuahuas living in the Mayan ruins is a literal example. It's also subverted by the fact that they do actually have an (indirect) impact on the plot.
The second film provides examples of:
Beverly Hills Chihuaha 2
- An Aesop: Despite not having Papi's pedigree certificate, Sam give a rather heartwarming speech, saying that it doesn't matter if a dog is purebred or not, but they are still loyal kind pets. But...the judges disqualify him and Papi anyways. Yay, high standards...jerks.
- Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Delgado tells this to his sons why he had to leave them behind: they were in danger from a criminal dog who threatened their lives.
- Karma Houdini: The owner of that French poodle who got Papi disqualified. He won fair and square, so she goes and blabs that he isn't purebred to ensure her victory.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Papi Jr. and his four sisters.
- Precious Puppies: Chloe and Papi's five puppies.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Delgado's sons. Despite still being upset at their father, they're willing to listen to him and the Chihuahuas about the missing puppies.
- Technically a Smile: Pedro the pitbull's smile is this. And scares the puppies.
- Urine Trouble: Papi pees on some documents.
The third film provides examples of:
Beverly Hills Chihuaha 3: Viva La Fiesta!
- Cassandra Truth: No one believes Papi's suspicions about Jenny and Oscar at first.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome:
- Covered in Gunge: Jenny gets covered in peanut butter.
- Nice Guy: Zigzagged for Charlotte the Samoyed. She acts quite friendly around Pedro but then acts like a bitch towards Rosa. Finally, she gratefully thanks Rosa for saving her life and acts friendly from then on.
- Sequel Non-Entity
