In the process of doing some reviews there, I had the chance to review a movie called Adventures of Bailey: Christmas Hero
which is a cute movie about a dog. We were excited to see it because we'd just watched the original about Bailey - Adventures of Bailey: The Lost Puppy
- on Amazon. When the movie finally arrived though, this is what we got....
I was pretty taken aback and emailed the PR about a replacement. Then I took a moment to look around and see what I could about this movie. It's Dove Family approved. The dog eats "jelly" (we call it by a similar name brand here, but it's gelatin) and talks. Yep, talks. So, I was intrigued and we watched it anyway.
I am so glad we did! We were so pleasantly surprised by this movie that I asked about going ahead with a review of it on my personal blog, though the company quickly and without a blink sent the correct movie for the review on ParentPalace.
This really is a cute movie, and has absolutely nothing to do with vampires. Nothing. There's no biting in the story at all, ever. No scary moments. Nothing. The reference in the movie has to do only with the dog's back story. The tyrant ruler of Transylvania was a vampire, he says, and when he went to attack the dog Fang's owner, Fang jumped in front of him and was bitten instead. His owner was then able to defeat the vampire, the last one on earth, and vowed to care for the dog him and his ancestors forever.
So, the boy inherits the dog from a grandfather he never met, and soon is surprised to learn that the dog can talk. He eats "jelly," or probably more accurately "gelly" - here in America (the film was made in Canada) we'd call it Jell-O. Gelatin; the explanation is that instead of hemoglobin - the substance in human blood - the dog has a need for gelatin. Before manufactured gelatin he hate deer horns and hooves!
I wish I'd had that explanation before I watched, as my first viewing would have been much more enjoyable if I'd been able to put my synicism aside. Maybe that's revealing more of the movie than some of you would enjoy, but I know it made a difference for me in thinking about whether this is a movie I'd want viewed in our home. It really is a cute movie, and one my kids have come to love and watched over and over since receiving. We also enjoyed the Bailey movie (which references Jesus Christ as the reason for the Christmas season) as we'd expected, and will definitely be looking to this company for more fun family films!!
