With their boundless energy and endless capacity for cuddles, it’s not hard to fall in love with dogs.
But dogs can also bring people together. Over the years many films have shown the matchmaking power of ‘man’s best friend’ with the latest movie Dog Days, being among the cutest yet. Get ready to unleash the love!
Set in sunny Los Angeles, Dog Days follows the lives of multiple dog owners played by Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries), Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) plus of course their beloved fluffy pals.
When these human and canine paths start to intertwine, their lives begin changing in ways they never expected. These stories of everyday people and their best friends are woven together and told in a way that the dog lover and non-lover alike will fall in love with.
But Dog Days isn’t the only film in Hollywood history connecting our canine pals and romance. Read on for our rundown of the most loved-up dog tales around. Love comes when you call it!
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
This canine classic came all the way back in 1955 and is peppered with iconic moments setting the standard for dog-based love stories to follow. The story of a rich, pampered princess falling for a scrappy streetwise scamp may be as old as time, but it had never been told quite like this before.
Lady is the lucky Cocker Spaniel from a fancy home while mongrel Tramp is the rough and ready stray that comes to her rescue when she winds up on the streets. A scene where the pair fall in love over dinner at an Italian restaurant, and the spaghetti-slurping first kiss, have gone down in movie history making this Disney animation a Bone-afide hit!
Beethoven’s Second (1993)
While audiences fell in love with giant St. Bernhard Beethoven in the 1992 family-comedy favourite, there’s a whole lot more love in this sequel released after the success of the first film.
Now settled into happy family life with the Newton family, Beethoven has begun sneaking out of the house to meet his girlfriend Missy. It’s not long before the pair produce a pile of cuddly pups, forcing put-upon father Charles Grodin to deal with a whole new set of slobbery fur-balls all over again.
Love’s also in the air for teenage daughter Ryce when school heart-throb Taylor turns his attention on her, but it’s once again left too Beethoven to save the day when his intentions turn out to not be so pure. After saving the day, Beethoven’s soon back to making sweet music with his Missy!
The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996)
This 90s romantic comedy featured Janeane Garofalo (Mystery Men, Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion) as Abby, the host of radio show The Truth about Cats and Dogs. When Abby receives a call from Brian (Ben Chaplin), a man having trouble with an angry canine wearing roller blades loose in his apartment, she manages to talk him through the canine conundrum.
After the call leads to a blind date, unconfident Abby convinces her beautiful friend Noelle (Uma Thurman) to take her place. Comedy ensues as both women begin to fall for Brian, though he’s unable to tell the difference between the voice he fell for and the women he meets in person.
Luckily Brian has his best canine bud to help him though the confusing situation.
Must Love Dogs (2005)
“Must Love Dogs”is the line in the online dating profile of unlucky-in-love Sarah (Diane Lane, Under the Tuscan Sun) that leads to an encounter with fellow divorcee Jake (John Cusack, High Fidelity).
The pair meet for a date in a dog park, Jake with a borrowed Yorkshire Terrier and Sarah with her brother’s sizeable Newfoundland ‘Mother Teresa’. They hit it off (despite not making the best first impression) and in true romantic comedy style, the course of love doesn’t run smooth.
Trouble comes in the shape of handsome love-rival Dermot Mulroney. However, Jake’s not barking up the wrong tree, and Mother Teresa’s on hand to put Sarah back on track. For a fun rom-com packed with cute and cuddly moments, then no look no further than this canine caper.
Marley and Me (2008)
Hit comedy-drama Marley and Mefollows the trials and tribulations of a couple of newly-weds John and Jenny, played by Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers) and Jennifer Aniston (Friends).
Soon after marriage, the pair pick up Marley from a litter of new born Labrador retrievers as a test run for starting a family. The adorable yellow puppy proves to be rather troublesome, leading the pair on a variety of comedy mishaps, which make perfect material for John’s newspaper column.
As Marley grows so does the family, and despite the chaos caused by the mischievous mutt they can’t help but love him… get some tissues ready for the ending.
Icon Film Distribution presents Dog Days on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download 3rd December. Order from Amazon.co.uk
