Snow Dogs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Snow Dogs |
|
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Brian Levant |
| Produced by | Jordan Kerner |
| Written by | Jim Kouf Tommy Swerdlow Michael Goldberg Mark Gibson Philip Halprin |
| Starring | Cuba Gooding Jr. James Coburn Sisqó Nichelle Nichols Graham Greene |
| Music by | John Debney |
| Cinematography | Thomas E. Ackerman |
| Editing by | Roger Bondelli |
| Studio | Walt Disney Pictures The Kerner Entertainment Company |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
| Release date(s) | January 18, 2002 |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $33 million |
| Money made | $115 million |
Snow Dogs is a fun adventure comedy movie from 2002. It was directed by Brian Levant and stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Coburn. Walt Disney Pictures released the movie in the United States on January 18, 2002. The story for Snow Dogs was inspired by a book called Winterdance by Gary Paulsen.
Contents
The Story of Snow Dogs
This movie is about a dentist named Dr. Theodore "Ted" Brooks. He lives in sunny Miami, Florida. Ted is quite famous in Miami, and his picture is on many city buses.
A Surprise Inheritance
When Ted is 25, he gets a letter from Alaska. The letter says he is the only person to inherit things from a woman named Lucy Watkins. Lucy lived in a small village called Tolketna.
Ted's mother, Amelia, then tells him a big secret. Ted is adopted, and Lucy was his birth mother.
Ted's Alaskan Adventure
Ted travels to Tolketna to claim what Lucy left him. He inherits seven Siberian Husky sled dogs and a smart Border Collie named Nana.
In Alaska, Ted finds himself in a completely new world. He faces many challenges he never imagined. These include big blizzards, thin ice, and wild animals like foxes, skunks, and even bears.
He also meets a tough old mountain man named James "Thunder Jack" Johnson. One of the sled dogs, Demon, is very aggressive and hard to control. All of this happens just two weeks before the big Arctic Challenge Sled Dog Race.
Finding Family and Love
Ted wants to learn why he was given up for adoption. He also wants to know who his birth father is. He meets Barb, who owns a bar and was a close friend of Lucy.
Barb helps Ted learn how to handle the dogs and drive a sled. They start to fall in love. Ted also has many meetings with Thunder Jack, who tries to buy the dogs, especially Demon. Barb eventually tells Ted that Thunder Jack is his birth father.
The Truth About His Past
Ted talks to Thunder Jack about being his father. Jack offers to tell Ted the whole story if Ted gives him the dogs. Ted agrees. Jack takes Ted to a cave in the woods.
Jack explains that he and Lucy were stuck in that cave during an Arctic Challenge race. That's where Ted was conceived. The next morning, Lucy was gone, and Jack could never find her. After hearing this, Ted decides to go back to Miami.
The Arctic Challenge Race
Thunder Jack adds Demon to his sled dog team for the Arctic Challenge. Another musher, Ernie, has finished last in the last three races. He always gets the "Arctic Flame" award for being the last to finish.
The other mushers stop at a checkpoint because of a bad storm. But Jack keeps going. He is annoyed by Olivier, the defending champion, who seems too fancy.
A Hidden Picture
Back in Miami, Ted tells his mother about his trip. She accidentally breaks a picture frame holding a photo of Lucy and Demon. Inside, they find another picture of Lucy and Jack with a baby.
Ted realizes Jack lied to him. He gets very angry and rushes back to Alaska.
Searching for Thunder Jack
When Ted arrives back in Alaska, he learns that Jack is lost on the trail. The weather is too bad for anyone to search for him. Ted decides to go look for Jack himself. He takes Lucy's dogs, with Nana leading the team.
As he heads out, he almost crashes into Olivier, who wins the race again. A few hours later, Ted's mother, Amelia, arrives and meets Barb. She learns that Ted is out looking for Jack. The "Arctic Flame" is still burning over the finish line, waiting for the last musher.
A Happy Ending
Ted finally finds Thunder Jack in the old cave. Jack admits that he and Lucy were together when Ted was born. He also says he loved Lucy. But they both agreed they couldn't raise a baby at that time.
Ted also discovers that Demon is grumpy because he has a bad tooth. Ted pulls the tooth, and Demon becomes friendly, even though he keeps his name. On the way back to Tolketna, the sled almost falls off a cliff. But the dogs pull it back up. Ted finally brings Thunder Jack across the finish line.
Ted introduces Thunder Jack to Amelia. Ted and Thunder Jack decide to share the "Arctic Flame" trophy.
Later, Ted moves his dental practice to Tolketna. He and Barb get married, and she becomes his receptionist. Barb is also pregnant. Nana and Demon have four puppies named Avalanche, Little Aleutia, Chinook, and Demon Jr. Back in Miami, Ted's cousin Rupert, also a dentist, becomes the new famous dentist. His face is now on all the city buses.
Meet the Cast
This movie features many talented actors and animals!
Human Characters
- Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Theodore "Ted" Brooks (also known as "Teddy Bear")
- Joanna Bacalso as Barb
- James Coburn as James "Thunder Jack" Johnson
- Sisqó as Dr. Rupert Brooks
- Nichelle Nichols as Amelia Brooks
- Michael Bolton as Himself (a famous singer)
- M. Emmet Walsh as George
- Brian Doyle-Murray as Ernie
- Graham Greene as Peter Yellowbear
- Jean Michel Paré as Olivier
- Frank C. Turner as Neely
- Alison Matthews as TV Reporter
- Jascha Washington as Young Ted
- Angela Moore as Lucy
Animal Characters
- Fly plays Nana, the smart Border Collie.
- Dash was Nana's stunt double.
- Don Juan/D.J. plays Demon, the lead husky.
- Cody was Demon's stunt double.
- Floyd plays Mac.
- Speedy plays Scooper.
- Nando plays Diesel.
- Buck plays Sniff.
- Koda plays Yodel.
- Gloria plays Dutchess.
- A real Grizzly Bear plays the Bear.
- A real Flower plays the Skunk.
- A real Red Fox plays the Fox.
In some parts of the movie, the dogs' faces were partly animated. This made them look like they were winking or smiling. The special robot version of Demon was made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. It was controlled by David Barclay.
Making the Movie
The movie Snow Dogs cost about $33 million to make. The fictional town of Tolketna, Alaska, was actually filmed in Canmore, Alberta, Canada.
Many of the dogs and mushers (people who drive dog sleds) in the film were local people and their dogs. Some of the dogs, like D.J., Koda, Floyd, and Buck, also appeared in another adventure movie called Eight Below.
The dogs for Olivier's team came from Nakitsilik Siberians in British Columbia. The Thunder Jack team was provided by Mountain Mushers from Golden, BC. Old Ernie's team came from Russ Gregory in Calgary, Alberta. Many other kennels also supplied background dogs for the film. The amazing robot effects were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The special effects were done by The Secret Lab, which is Disney's special effects team.
Awards and Recognition
The movie's music was composed by John Debney. He won an ASCAP Award in 2003 for his work on the soundtrack.
In Pop Culture
Snow Dogs was mentioned in an episode of the TV show Gilmore Girls. It was in the Season 2 episode titled "Teach Me Tonight."
See also
In Spanish: Snow Dogs para niños
