Our family’s review of A Dog’s Journey movie that we had the privilege to see before its release on May 17 is directed by Gail Mancuso and written by W. Bruce Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Maya Forbes, and Wally Wolodarsky. The film is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Cameron, and a sequel to the 2017 film A Dog’s Purpose.
The film stars Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott, and Henry Lau. A Dog’s Journey is based on the second book in W. Bruce Cameron’s series. The movie continues the story of Bailey (voiced by Josh Gad), who’s reunited with Ethan (Dennis Quaid), after many years and adventures.
My oldest daughter watched A Dog’s purpose when she was in 5th grade and she was delighted to find that the sequel didn’t depart from the original formula of adorable dogs with human interaction. I grew up in Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa, with a dog in our home and I could totally relate to the beautiful and loyal love between a dog and its owner.
I remember vividly when I was about five years old, I decided to follow my 2 big brothers on their outing unbeknownst to them with our dog Medor tagging along. I somehow lost them in the crowd and started to panic. Medor got very close to me and I held on to its tail and said “home” in French. Somehow, Medor knew what to do and we found ourselves right back home. It’s a memory that I will always cherish and share with my girls often.
Bailey reminds me a lot of my childhood dog Medor with his sense of purpose throughout the movie. He was driven to make sure that Ethan’s grand-daughter, CJ, was safe and protected at all time. He does his best to be there for CJ as she struggles with growing up, following her dreams, heartbreak, and finally returning home to her family.
Our family’s review of A Dog’s Journey movie is to encourage you to go see it and make it a family time while getting prepared to discuss reincarnation, various family dynamics, dating and its challenges, following your dreams and the fact that there is no place like home. My daughters and I talked at length after we were done watching the movie and the overall review is that we give a unanimous YES with the clear consensus to bring tissues with you because the movie is definitely a tear jerker.
