Since the earliest days of film, with audience favorites like Rescued by Rover (1905) and Where the North Begins (1923), canine cinema mythology has helped enhance our appreciation for the dog’s loyalty, heroism, humor and intelligence.
More than any other four-legged actor, the dog has achieved a unique stardom with such longtime box office stars like Lassie, Benji and particularly Rin Tin Tin. The original Rinty (there would be several over the years) was rescued in Germany during World War I by a U.S. soldier, and with training, Rinty became one of the biggest box office draws of the late 1920s. The popularity of Rinty’s films would practically underwrite a struggling studio known as Warner Bros. and afford a young writer named Darryl F. Zanuck some of his earliest success.
Top dog movies
Some of the best live action dog movies of all time include Lassie Come Home (1943), Old Yeller (1957), The Incredible Journey (1963), Benji (1974), My Dog Skip (2000), Eight Below (2006), Marley & Me (2008), and Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009).
No Animals Were Harmed
Growing alongside the popularity of live action pet movies is the American Humane Society’s official animal monitoring program, ‘No Animals Were Harmed.’ The website provides up-to-date listings of recent movies and the rating they have received, ranging from ‘not monitored,’ ‘monitored unacceptable,’ ‘monitored acceptable’ and ‘monitored outstanding’ – along with details of their report.
Dog star treatment
Top dog Uggie starred in the Oscar-winning movie The Artist, which received a ‘monitored outstanding’ rating from the American Humane society’s animal monitoring program ‘No Animals Were Harmed.’
According to their report: “Throughout the film, George (Jean Dujardin) has a pet dog, who is seen performing such mild action as sitting/standing/lying, being held or petted, doing ‘tricks,’ and walking/running on or off leash. For all of these scenes, trainers used hand signals and verbal commands to cue the mild action, which the trained dog was accustomed to performing. The barking/growling was also a trained behavior.
“Veteran doggie ‘actor’ Uggie, who played the role of the dog, was incredibly well-trained to do several special tricks, including putting his paw over his face, jumping/leaping high (typical for a Jack Russell Terrier), dancing, and playing dead.”
It’s a dog’s life – Hollywood-style
At the age 10 – around 56 in human years – Uggie is taking early retirement. Although he’s still performing for smaller jobs, his feature film days are over.
“We don’t force our dogs to do this,” animal trainer Sarah Clifford told The Hollywood Reporter. “And it always has to be fun for them. Uggie’s still enjoying it but he’s getting up there and he’s slowing down a little. He’s at the stage where he just says, ‘I think I want to go and lay in the sun by the pool.’”
If you loved Uggie in The Artist, then you’ll be pleased to know his brother Dash is waiting in the wings, training hard, so he’ll be able to jump in and fill Uggie’s pawprints.