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In 1942 an unpopular nine-year-old boy (Frankie Muniz) gets a Jack Russell terrier who helps him gain confidence and make new friends when his older friend, neighbor and hero (Luke Wilson) is sent to fight in WWII. Based on a memoir by Willie Morris and narrated by Harry Connick Jr. Also with Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane, Caitlin Wachs, Bill Butler, Bradley Coryell, Polly Craig, Peter Crombie, Susan Carol Davis, Lucile Doan Ewing, Winston Groom, Daylan Honeycutt, Clint Howard, Jerome Jerald, Nathaniel Lee, Cody Linley, David Pickens and John Stiritz. [1:35]
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 – We hear a shot, then see a deer collapse on the ground; a boy touches a small bloody gunshot wound on its side (he gets some blood in his fingers) and as he walks away, we hear the hunters shoot it again. A boy slaps a dog (we dont see it, but we hear the dog yelp); also, a dog is hit with a shovel (again, we dont see it but we hear the dog yelp and then see him lying motionless on the ground; we later see him recovering on a table at a veterinarians office while a boy talks to him and sobs — this scene could be quite upsetting to some). A boy hits a man in the eye with a rock to stop him from hitting a dog with a shovel. Men chase a boy through a graveyard and finally grab him; they make him sit on a mausoleums steps, throw and shatter an empty bottle near his head, then verbally threaten him (we also see a dog with its mouth tied shut with a bandana). We briefly see boys chasing each other and pretending to shoot each other with sticks, a dog being trained for military service (it attacks a stuffed Nazi uniform) and a boy pretending to be a military commander and telling his “troops” that they must kill Hitler. Two men struggle with each other over a shovel, then one pins the other against a wall and grabs his shirt. Boys knock books out of another boys arms, knock a box out of a boys hands and rip up his letter, hit a boy on the side of his head with a football and hit him in the head with hard candy. Several shoves and pushes to the ground; during a football game, boys tackle and shove each other roughly. In a scene played for laughs, boys run into each other and fall on the ground while trying to catch a dog. During show and tell at school, a boy points a large shotgun at people and they duck (the scene isnt threatening, but rather comical). In a scene from a movie we see soldiers riding horses during battle (one shoots his gun into the air). A dog is trapped inside a mausoleum. A man wears a prosthetic leg and limps throughout the movie. We see several people spitting. In a frightening (but not violent or gory) scene, boys go to a graveyard at night during a thunderstorm and tell a story about a witch who killed people; some of the boys scare another one by jumping out from behind a gravestone, then they make one stay alone in the graveyard. A jump scene in which a boy grabs another and puts his hand over his mouth. We hear of a dog being arthritic and then dying peacefully of old age (we do not see anything).
Parent Movie Review by
For Willie Morris (Frankie Muniz), an only child growing up in 1942 Mississippi, liking books more than football and being too small to intimidate school bullies leads to loneliness.
While he dutifully unwraps birthday presents containing bow ties and classic literature from parents and grandparents, what he really wants is a dog. His father Jack (Kevin Bacon), who has become quiet and stern since he lost his leg in a war, has repeatedly rejected his request. Consequently, when Willie’s mother Ellen (Diane Lane) appears with a pooch in a package, Willie’s surprise is only exceeded by his father’s disdain. Though Jack and Ellen disagree, the dog soon to be named Skip, wins in the end.
Skip instantly enjoys a popular reputation around town, even getting a daily feed of bologna at the butcher shop. This is not a bone of contention between master and dog because Skip seems to understand his primary job is to be Willie’s friend. Besides, Skip’s most impressive trick is his talent for listening.
Skip also acts as a tour guide through the best teaching moments of Willie’s life. When he wanders through the part of town designated for the “colored” folk, Willie learns about prejudice (“dogs are colorblind”). When he rolls over and looks cute, he helps Willie to make a friend. When Skip stands up to bullies, he teaches Willie how to win respect. And his example of unconditional love helps Willie accept a fallen hero. But when Skip gets too excited about helping his sports-inept master win his baseball game, and Willie hits him – we all learn the importance of not taking out our frustrations on those we love.
Based on the real-life memoirs of Willie Morris (a former editor of Harpers), this film contains mild profanities and a few scary moments, like a challenge to spend one night in a cemetery, some threatening bootleggers, and a deer killed by hunters. Yet the many little gems included in this script make it an uncommon movie even if Skip is a common name for a dog.
Willie was often teased and picked on by his peers. Did Willie have to do what these bullies told him to do?
For their own protection, the bootleggers also try to intimidate Willie and Skip. What should a child do if it is an adult that threatens them?
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