User Reviews

Homeward Bound is a great family film, one of the last best used with talking animals. Still to this day I cannot resist watching this film, and I still laugh, keep my eyes glued to the screen and I cannot help but cry. I always have to have a major box of tissues next to me when I watch this movie. It has such a soul and is a great story with wonderful characters. All of us as children had pets who were like our best friends and they were just as loyal back and Homeward Bound shows us the love that animals could have for their owners.

Chance, an American Bulldog, explains that he is the pet of Jamie Burnford, but expresses no interest in his owner or having a "home". He shares his home with Shadow, an older Golden Retriever owned by Jamie's brother Peter, and Sassy, a Himalayan cat, owned by their sister Hope. Bob Seaver is marrying Laura Burnford, joining the family. Shortly after the wedding, the family goes on a trip to San Francisco, leaving the pets at a ranch belonging to Kate, a family friend. Kate later goes on a cattle drive, leaving the animals at the ranch to be looked after by one of her ranch hands. However, the animals think they have been abandoned, and Shadow begins to worry about Peter, so he decides to go find them. Sassy and a reluctant Chance follow. They head into the rocky, mountainous wilderness, with Shadow leading by instinct but of course the road is a bumpy one and it's not an easy journey coming back home.

I'm going to give a few spoilers here, so don't read on if you haven't seen this movie. There are some absolute great laughs, with Sally Field as Sassy you just couldn't go wrong. Her leading the vet security guard around was so cute and very funny. Plus when Chance is curious about a porcupine, Shadow and Sassy warn him to get away, but being a dog he can't help but wonder and BAM, "it bit me with it's butt!", he's stung with the needles, poor Chance, but what a funny scene! Then there are some very touching moments where Chance is learning how wonderful life could be having a home. The scene where Sassy is reunited with Chance and Shadow was wonderful. Then there are the tear jerker moments that are killer. Shadow falls into a muddy pit where he hurts his leg and can't get out, Chance tries to help him but Shadow thinks he's too old and can't move and says to Chance "I've taught you everything you needed to know, now all you need to learn is how to say good-bye", I'm actually tearing up as I'm writing it, seriously. Then Shadow makes a triumphant return into Peter's arms and seeing him act like a puppy was so wonderful. I adore this movie, the voices, the setting, the story, it's just a touching family movie that is perfect to watch. I have no complaints about this movie and could go on, but trust me when I say it's more than worth the watch.

10/10

While, it's loosely based on the Walt Disney 1960's film, 'The Incredible Journey', Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey prove to be a great movie. I do remember, watching this movie, when I was a child, and finding myself, very entertain. This thrilling and thoroughly captivating movie has become an instant favorite with audiences of all ages. It's been years since I first saw this, and even today, I can find myself, tearing up for this. Based off, the best-selling novel, The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford, the movie directed by Duwayne Dunham, tells the story about three household pets getting lost in the wilderness, on their way to reunite with their owners. The movie is told by narration by Chance, a young American bulldog (voiced by Michael J. Fox), whom tells the misadventures, he had with a wise old golden retriever, Shadow (Voiced by Don Ameche) and a feisty Himalayan cat, Sassy (voiced by Sally Fields). While, the movie is for children, the movie did had some really get frighten scary action scenes for adults. With great editing, the animals really did look like they were in endanger, from waterfalls, mountain lions, and even porcupine. My heart was racing in every scene. I really care for them, and really hope, they survive the journey. This movie made me care, more than 1987's Benji the Hunted. These three animals are so well trained in this film. The owners did such an amazing job with the animals. I was deeply surprised that the cat that play Sassy AKA Tiki was train so well to not only interact with the dogs, but also do a lot of active things. My cat just sit on her butt, all day. Even the small stuff like the dog that play Shadow, AKA Ben sighing on the porch at the home they were left at, was amazing. There was also a great shot of Shadow look like he's shouting run, when the mountain lion appears. Don't get me started with the emotional scene toward the end. Goes to show Hollywood does not need all the computer work involved in animating animals. Still- there were so badly done takes that they kept in, for some inside laughs. It has to do with the dog that play Chance named Rattler. He always tripped or knocking into things like trees. A good example of this is in the reunion scene with Sassy where he trip over a gopher hole. Rattler still had some really funny reactions. I love the cake eating scene, and him playing with the chickens. I do like the movie is view as the animal's POV. You truly get the sense of how life is like for a dog and a cat. They don't truly understand, vacation or short-term leave. They only know, how it feels to be abandoned. I like how the journey starts by misunderstanding. This being a pre-1996's Babe talking critter flick. The dogs and character don't actually talk with their mouth. It just pasted instead on top of their filmed behaviors, a technique which looks more convincing in some scenes than others. Other times, what is being said, doesn't matched what's happening on screen. Great voice actors. Don Ameche really got the token of wisdom/insight down. Michael J. Fox was both funny and youthful. Still a lot of what he said, like Birdzilla and Arnold Schwarzen-kitty is so out there, that makes you need to suspense your disbelief, even more since they don't understand human speech or some human actions. Last, Sally Field indeed got the lady charms balance. She wasn't too unlikeable. She was snarky, but kind and heroic. The characters are way different than the ones in the book. Shadow is Luath's breed type which is a retriever, but has the personality of Bodger's old age. Chance in the book is English bull terrier named Bodger and has the goofy personality of Luath's age. The other big different is that, Sassy in the book is a male Siamese cat named Tao. Even the family was change, from the Hunters to the Burnfords as homage to the original author. Not only is the characters different from the book, but most of the story. In this movie, the three don't meet up with any Native Americans during their trip. The location was switch from the wilderness of Canada, to Sierra Nevada Mountain Range as well. Beautiful use of locations. The soundtrack by composer Bruce Broughton always remembers me to my man's best friend or a really good Western. The Reunited part is just epic. It even used great establish songs, fine, like the Mission: Impossible theme plays as Sassy infiltrates the pound. That was fun to listen and watch. There was a sequel released in 1996, Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco. In my opinion, it's not worth watching, the sequel. They should had just stick to one film. Overall: This is a movie for all ages but especially kids will love this due to the animals and the clever humor. Animal enthusiasts' adults would love it for the action and depth. It has everything what a movie for the whole family needs. A must watch.

This is a sweet movie with themes of friendship, perseverance, love, loyalty and dedication. It is comedic and heartwarming, completely clean, and ultimately everything works out well in the end. However, the scenes of peril for two of the main animal characters are entirely too realistic, with gaps that are too long between the apparent death/loss of each of those two main animal characters and the ultimate happy reunion/resolution for each. Some suspense is important for storytelling, but this was entirely too much for a young, or even older, more sensitive child.

Disney remakes The Incredible Journey: the location is different (Oregon here, doubling for California), the breeds of the itinerant trio have been tweaked, the family is a bit higher profile, and this time there is no narrator: the animal threesome are voiced by notable talent (Don Ameche, Sally Field, Michael J Fox).

Otherwise, the mixture is much as before - a journey full of trials, with spectacular scenery as a backdrop, chuckles here and there, and a handful of tear-jerking moments.

The scenery is indeed spectacular, the editing is very skillful, the script is none too special, but is largely saved by the sheer professionalism of the voice talent. This is one for a family Sunday afternoon: adults in the absence of kids will find it sugary enough to induce diabetes.

I remember seeing most of this family adventure movie as a kid. It was released early in 1993, and I think I saw it on video later that year. Towards the end, I came across a scene which I found too overwhelmingly sad, and I guess I didn't watch what little was left of the film, though I did watch the sequel, "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco", from beginning to end shortly after it was released on video in 1996. I believe it's been nearly seventeen years since I watched any of "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey", but after all these years, I still remember it. After renting it this month, I can say I've finally seen it all. While it's not what I would call a bad movie, I was definitely not as impressed as many others clearly have been.

Chance is a naïve young Bulldog who was once stuck at the pound, a place he hated, but is now owned by a boy named Jamie Seaver. He lives with two other domestic animals: Shadow, a wise old Golden Retriever owned by Jamie's stepbrother, Peter Burnford; and Sassy, an arrogant Himalayan cat owned by Peter's sister, Hope. After Laura Burnford and Bob Seaver get married, meaning that the two families are now one, they go on a trip to San Francisco and the pets are left at a friend's ranch. Chance, Shadow, and Sassy do not understand what has just happened, and don't realize that their owners will come back, so they think they've been abandoned! Shadow decides to leave the ranch and set out to find the family, and Sassy and Chance soon follow! The three of them find themselves on a journey through the wilderness, facing the dangers of this terrain! Chance's lack of experience definitely won't help him on this adventure.

The silly things Chance does and the rivalry between Chance and Sassy are meant to be comical, which they sometimes are, but not usually. Chance's antics can also get tiring after a short while. I didn't care much for these two characters, and don't think Michael J. Fox and Sally Field did a very good job providing their respective voices. Don Ameche as Shadow might be the only decent voice-over of the three, and this character is the most likable of the leads. After I started watching "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" this month, I soon realized how boring I found the film, and that didn't change until I got to the part where the journey begins. There's lots of beautiful scenery through the mountainous wilderness and the adventure of the three domestic animals is often exciting. Shadow's wisdom can be another intriguing aspect of the film, and some scenes are fairly touching, such as the Golden Retriever saving a little girl lost in the forest. However, there's still more weak humour during the adventure, and the scenes with the humans looking for the animals are certainly not as interesting as the ones showing the pets on their journey. None of the human characters really stand out.

With a spoiler warning, I will tell you which part made me really sad all those years ago, and the ending that follows. If you haven't seen the film, you might not want to read on, but if you have, then maybe you've already guessed. It's the part where the three pets are almost home, but Shadow falls into a pit and injures his leg, and it appears he can't get out! When I watched "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco", I knew the aging dog obviously got out of the pit somehow, since he's in that sequel. After over a decade and a half, I finally found out that "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" doesn't show how Shadow gets out, but at the end, we see the three animals returning to their owners, even though it takes the Golden Retriever longer to show up than it does for the other two. Anyway, overall, this particular animal movie is hit-and-miss, with an exciting adventure and cute animal stars, but also with several significant shortcomings.

Remakes are a very dubious thing to do, but this one from Disney, based on its own 1963 original, based on an aspiring true story, is actually quite good. Basically Chance the dog (voiced by Michael J. Fox), Shadow the dog (voiced by Don Ameche) and Sassy the cat (voiced by Sally Field) are left behind by their family, and when they are delayed, the pets begin a perilous journey through forest, across mountain, countryside and rivers, in order to get back to their owners. Danger is bound nearly every step of the way, whether it is from rushing water, giant cats, uneven floors, they pull through and manage to get back to their family for the happy ending. Also starring Airplane's Robert Hays as Bob Seaver, Kim Greist as Laura Burnford-Seaver, Benj Thall as Peter Burnford, Veronica Lauren as Hope Burnford and Kevin Chevalia as Jamie Seaver. Having seen the original myself, I would say it is very, very slightly better, but with the addition of the animals having voices, it gives them more personality, and it certainly makes for fun viewing for all the family. Worth watching!