Video/DVD Review: Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

By Heather Boerner

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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that while there's no real violence, there's enough mild peril to frighten sensitive children. For instance, Shadow, Sassy, and Chance almost get hit as a plane takes off and Jamie thinks Chance has been hit and killed by a semi. There are also several dog fights or scenes where dogs bare their teeth menacingly. The villains steal dogs to sell for experiments, and one of them smokes a cigar the whole time.

Families can talk about better pet adventure movies, like the first Homeward Bound and 101 Dalmatians. What makes those movies family favorites? Do you wish your pets could talk? What actor's voice would you like them to have?

This sequel to the book-to-film favorite Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey also stars Chance the American bulldog, Sassy the Himalayan cat, and Shadow the Golden Retriever (voiced by Michael J. Fox, Sally Field, and Ralph Waite respectively). On this adventure all three pets are headed to Canada for a family camping trip. When Chance refuses to take his tranquilizer and then worries that he's being taken back to the "bad place," he escapes his pet carrier and Sassy and Shadow follow, determined to save their friend. Unfortunately, they find themselves not saved but lost -- in a San Francisco filled with cartoonish dognappers and bullying boxers and mastiffs. With the help of a pack of kind-hearted stray dogs, can they make it back to their owners safely?

Good thing that pet stories are in a class by themselves, because on its own, this one's pretty bland. While the pace is slow and the dialog boring, the loveable cast of characters will carry some viewers through. There's the street-smart lady dog Delilah ( A Night at the Museum's Carla Gugino), a dog who stutters when he scratches himself, and the tiny hound who, like Alfalfa, comically pines for his Delilah.

Kids may also learn from some of Chance's mistakes as he bumbles his way home, but overall this movie and its cute pets don't have much to say. Better to stick with the original or other great pet movies.