A Dog's Way Home

When Bella's mother is taken by animal control, the puppy takes shelter with a feral cat. Lucas Ray adopts her. Because pit bulls are banned in Denver and Bella is logged as one, Lucas sends her to another city to protect her. She escapes and sets off on a journey of more than 400 miles that takes two and a half years, befriending a cougar cub and surviving a coyote attack and an avalanche. Charles Martin Smith directed, from W. Bruce Cameron's 2017 novel. Bryce Dallas Howard voices Bella's thoughts, with Ashley Judd, Jonah Hauer-King and Edward James Olmos in the cast. A dog named Shelby plays Bella on screen. It opened on 11 January 2019 and took 80.7 million dollars worldwide against an 18 million budget. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 59 percent, the consensus saying its familiarity makes it no less heartwarming. The CinemaScore grade was an A minus. Some critics called it manipulative fluff. Who it is for: viewers who like animal films and emotional family viewing. Who it is not for: anyone put off by manipulation. The film presses the emotional buttons in order and in the open.