Video/DVD Review: My Dog Skip

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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that there are a couple of strong words in the script, a deer is killed by hunters, a child tells a scary story, menacing bad guys threaten Willie and Skip, and Skip is badly injured. When Skip finally dies (of old age) it is still very sad. One four-year-old boy sitting was inconsolable and kept repeating, "Skip died?" all the way to the car.

Families can talk about WWII-era America, with its ration books and scrap drives. Families can also talk about the era's segregation, including separate ticket booths and seating areas at the movie theater and an adult black man calling a white boy "sir." Families can also talk about what makes bullies behave the way they do and how the skills that make a child successful are very different from the skills that make an adult successful.

Based on the memoir of Willie Morris, who grew up in 1940's Mississippi in a small, sleepy town, MY DOG SKIP centers on bookish outsider Willie (Frankie Muniz), who doesn't have a single friend to invite to his 9th birthday party. But one of his birthday presents is a friend, a puppy he names Skip. Willie's mother (Diane Lane) gives him Skip over the objections of his stern and overbearing father (Kevin Bacon). Skip is a good listener and a loyal companion who helps Willie develop confidence and make friends with other boys and with the prettiest girl in school. Willie grows up in the segregated South, but Skip makes friends without regard for color, and takes Willie along. Willie learns about the world with Skip. He learns about himself, too. Angry and embarrassed at his poor performance in a baseball game, he hits Skip, who runs away, devastating Willie. Taking responsibility for his behavior and facing the consequences start him on the road to his adult self.

This is a good, old-fashioned boy and his dog movie that is lyrical and very touching, with many important issues for family discussion. One of the most interesting scenes in the movie for older kids is the parents' debate. Willie's mother says, "He is a responsible boy who needs a friend." His father says that pets are "just a heartbreak waiting to happen." Having lost his leg -- and much of his sense of hope about life -- in a war, he wants to protect Willie from loss as long as he can. But Mrs. Morris knows that loss is the price we pay for caring, and that what we gain from caring -- and from loss -- is well worth it.