Beethoven (1992)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Brian Levant

Writers:

John Hughes (written by) and
Amy Holden Jones (written by)

Release Date:

3 April 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family

Tagline:

He'll grow on you.

Plot:

A slobbering St Bernard dog becomes the center of attention for a loving family but its vet secretly wants to kill him.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Veterinarian | Animal | Barefoot | Redemption

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Charles Grodin	...	George Newton
Bonnie Hunt	...	Alice Newton
Dean Jones	...	Herman Varnick, D.V.M.
Nicholle Tom	...	Ryce Newton
Christopher Castile	...	Ted Newton
Sarah Rose Karr	...	Emily Newton
Oliver Platt	...	Harvey
Stanley Tucci	...	Vernon
David Duchovny	...	Brad
Patricia Heaton	...	Brie
Robi Davidson	...	Mark
Laurel Cronin	...	Devonia Pest
O-Lan Jones	...	Biker Woman
Nancy Fish	...	Miss Grundel
Craig Pinkard	...	Homeless Man

Also Known As:

Beethoven: Story of a Dog (Australia) (cable TV title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Northern Lights Entertainment

Trivia:

Eleanor Keaton, Buster Keaton's widow, trained the dog Beethoven for this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the vet gets the bullets to the gun, it is said that the bullets will explode on contact. Well, when the gun is shot later on in the movie, the bullet does not explode.

Quotes:

George Newton: We're goldfish people, we're antfarm people. We're not dog people.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mad About You: Just My Dog (#3.15)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Roll Over Beethoven

The Good & Bad Of 'Beethoven'

This was almost like an old-fashioned type of nice movie "the whole family will enjoy," as the stupid trailers used to always say. They aren't always right about that, but they are with this one.

BAD NEWS - The "bad news" was (a) the silly ending, (b) some silly-stupid scenes earlier in which what you saw could never really happen, and (c) the three kids were annoying and bossy at times.

GOOD NEWS - The "good news" is, of course, "Beethoven," the lovable Saint Bernard who is a lot of fun to watch, especially with all his facial expressions. Also, it's a very entertaining story and there is absolutely nothing offensive, language-wise, in here.

OVERALL - This was popular enough to spawn some sequels, none of which were close in caliber to this one. A good family film worth viewing, but mainly if you like big, lovable dogs.