Tear Jerker / A Dog's Way Home

Man reuniting with his best friend

This is a very bleak movie, so you'll be here for quite a while. If you're a dog lover, then we advise you to skip this one (Even if the ending is very heartwarming)

For the movie:

• To start, the film opens with Bella as a puppy, surrounded by her mom, her litter, and a family of cats. No sooner are they introduced when animal control personnel abruptly take away her litter away, some cats, and her mom. Bella comments it was the last time she saw her mom.
• The scenes where Bella interacts with the veterans, especially Terri (Mom). Bella comments she feels Mom is especially sad.
• When Bella is taken into the pound. Bella really does not know what she did wrong and decides to act like a good dog, hoping someone will let her out. She just sits and sits by the gate, waiting for someone.
• The main plot of the movie: Bella inadvertently runs away while trying to get home. She ends up trying to get home for over 2 years. Imagine how Lucas, Olivia and Terri must have felt.
• Little Kitten. Her mom was shot by hunters, seemingly purely for sport. She would have died if not for Bella. Seeing her mew as she watched the hunters take pictures with her mother's corpse is heartbreaking.
• Kurch essentially throwing Dutch away and the way Dutch looks at Kurch. Abusive or not, Dutch obviously loved Kurch as much as Bella loved Lucas. While he is an Ungrateful Bastard, Dutch never saw him that way.
• Doubles with Nightmare Fuel. Right before Axel dies in his sleep, he chained Bella to him so she can't run away. She sleeps with him throughout the night until he is gone. After, the chain is too short for Bella to reach food and water and Axel's body is too heavy for her to move. If the kids did not come across her, she would have died.
• The ending is both this and heartwarming. After briefly reuniting with the cat that looked after her as a puppy, Bella reaches the city's VA hospital, where she joyfully reunites with Lucas, Terri, and Olivia.

  Bella: Lucas, Olivia, Mum! I did go Home!

  • It's the acting that really sells the scene. Jonah-Hauer King, Alexandra Shipp, and Ashley Judd display their happiness excellently. And Bryce Dallas Howard literally sounds like she's about to cry.
  • The music also fits perfectly. It's a beautiful piano piece titled "Don't Worry about Me" by Frances. The fact that it was written about someone very close to her (the same way that Bella is close to Lucas) just adds to the emotional factor.
  • The fact that she went on a 2 year journey to find Lucas is Undying Loyalty in its purest form. It just proves how loyal our canine companions can be.
  • Before she reunites with her owner, she reunites with Mother Cat. Unfortunately, the reunion is cut short. As the dog catcher comes and Bella rushes out of the house. Before she can continue her journey home, Mother Cat sadly looks at Bella before walking off. While the scene is only 40 seconds long, it still manages to be pretty sad. Mostly due to the fact that Bella and Mother Cat (the cat that raised her) have now separated and will never see each other again
    Bella: Mother cat watched me leave, just like big kitten did. I guess that's how cats say goodbye
  • There's also the scene where she says goodbye to Big Kitten (The cougar she raised). It can hit home for people who have parted ways with a close friend. While the scene is already sad enough, the music and this line from Bella really sell it:
  Bella: I knew then that Big Kitten will not coming home with me to sleep on the bed. I will always be your mother cat.
  • The scene where Bella gets hit by a car is both this and Nightmare Fuel. It's probably the most suspenseful scene in the entire movie, and it's unusually scary for a PG film. Imagine if Bella had been killed during that scenario and someone had to break the news to Lucas.
  • Hell, The last 15 minutes of the film are enough to make anyone sob.