This may sound a bit saccharine, but I’m really looking forward to this movie. The Newbery Honor awarded book that this movie is based on was written by Kate DiCamillo who wrote the excellent, Newbery Medal winning book, The Tale of Despereaux. I’ve read Tale and am in the process of reading another one of her books, The Tiger Rising. She is a very gifted writer and if this movie is anything like her books in tone then it is going to be a great family film.

Part of the reason I’m excited about this is that I’m a dog lover. The fact that the dog smiles (check out the movie trailer) excites me even more. Our beloved dog Razz, adopted from the Jimmy’s House family, is a smiler (not computer generated, mind you) and its a source of family pleasure to try to get him to smile. I also have to admit that I just really enjoy movies like this. My Dog Skip was another excellent dog movie based on a book, the memoirs of Willie Morris. (Willie Morris also wrote a cat book, My Cat Spit McGee, for you cat lovers).

There is a shortage of high quality, heartwarming family films on the market. In a letter to educators Kate DiCamillo talks about her hopes and aspirations for this movie and I’d have to say that they echo my sentiments exactly. I have to warn you, however, that the music in the trailer is downright awful.