I was going to start my review that saying in spite of being an awful film that children might enjoy it, but half an hour into the film, there was a horrible scene that insinuates that the dog pound is actually beating one of the pooches they have captured. The storyline has no build-up, and its seemingly sweet old lady heroine played by silent screen sweetheart Lillian Gish isn't really all that sweet here, an impatient and demanding old lady who thinks that miracles can happen just because she demands it. It makes it all the more of a blessing that she ended her film career for years after this with "The Whales of August" rather than having this as her last film.
We are supposed to believe that the visiting dishes lost dog can find its way from New York City to Los Angeles within the period of 90 minutes. In fact, the dog is able to find its way into Manhattan before hitching a ride with trucker O. J. Simpson then finding canine friendship which results in the sequence with the dog pound. That sequence is resolved favorably but is still disturbing by its insinuations.
I'd suggest the original "Incredible Journey" or its remake "Homeward Bound" or even "Milo and Otis" over this film which just is not believable from the start. Those films certainly weren't totally realistic, but this one defies unbelievability. A sweet moment with Alan Hale of Gilligan's Island as a friendly farmer is nice, but like O. J.'s cameo, Hale's and all the rest are so quick that there's no real time for them to make an impact. Hale and his wheelchair bound granddaughter in their Christmas sequence just stopped the plot cold. It's easy to see why this one has fallen off the map. It just isn't worth rediscovering.
We are supposed to believe that the visiting dishes lost dog can find its way from New York City to Los Angeles within the period of 90 minutes. In fact, the dog is able to find its way into Manhattan before hitching a ride with trucker O. J. Simpson then finding canine friendship which results in the sequence with the dog pound. That sequence is resolved favorably but is still disturbing by its insinuations.
I'd suggest the original "Incredible Journey" or its remake "Homeward Bound" or even "Milo and Otis" over this film which just is not believable from the start. Those films certainly weren't totally realistic, but this one defies unbelievability. A sweet moment with Alan Hale of Gilligan's Island as a friendly farmer is nice, but like O. J.'s cameo, Hale's and all the rest are so quick that there's no real time for them to make an impact. Hale and his wheelchair bound granddaughter in their Christmas sequence just stopped the plot cold. It's easy to see why this one has fallen off the map. It just isn't worth rediscovering.