Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco is the 1996 sequel to the 1993 film Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey. The film is directed by David R. Ellis who later directed other films such as Snakes on a Plane, Final Destination 2, and Cellular, but is more famous in Hollywood as a stuntman and a stunt coordinator. The film stars a Golden Retriever named Shadow (voiced by Ralph Waite), a Himalayan cat named Sassy (voiced by Sally Field), and an American Bulldog named Chance (voiced by Michael J. Fox).
The film features characters from Sheila Burnford's novel The Incredible Journey, but the plot did not originate from the book.
The film was released on March 8, 1996, and went on to gross over thirty million dollars at the box office. The movie grossed less than the first movie, but is still considered a moderate success. The film features voices from other famous actors and sports figures, who include: Sinbad, Carla Gugino, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Adam Goldberg, Al Michaels, Tommy Lasorda, and Bob Uecker.
The film was shot at various locations in San Francisco, Vancouver and Abbotsford Airport.
This film was rated G by the MPAA.
Synopsis
The film focuses on the further adventures of Shadow (voiced by Ralph Waite), Sassy (voiced by Sally Field), and Chance (voiced by Michael J. Fox). Shadow is the old, wise one and presumably the leader of the three. Sassy is the smart-aleck of the bunch, but helpful in times as well. Chance is the young, anxious one who usually gets into trouble and relies on the other two to assist him, but he comes in handy sometimes as well.
In the first film, the animals had to venture through the wilderness of America in order to be reunited with their families. In this sequel, they must venture through the urban areas of San Francisco, evading dangerous, street-wise dogs Ashcan (voiced by Jon Polito) and Pete (voiced by Adam Goldberg), animal control units, and illegal dog catchers to get back to the Golden Gate Bridge and home.
The adventures start when the family decides to take a trip to Canada, taking the animals along as well. At the airport in San Francisco, however, the animals escape while being loaded into the airplane after Chance panics and breaks free from his carrier. With assistance from other dogs and by helping each other, the animals make the journey and are once again reunited with their humans.
During the journey, Chance falls in love with a street dog Delilah (a Kuvasz voiced by Carla Gugino) who's never had a human family, but is forced to leave her behind by Shadow and Riley (voiced by Sinbad), the leader of Delilah's pack. He thinks humans are cruel since he was abandoned by his original owners, and at first does not agree to help Shadow, Sassy, and Chance because they are "pets". Riley later has a change of heart when he sees Shadow and Sassy rescue a boy and kitten from a fire. After the trio return home, a depressed Chance is soon reunited with Delilah, who decided to follow her nose and her heart. The family accepts her as their newest member, much to Chance's glee.
Themes
The film deals with social themes such as human nature, duty and loyalty, and collectivist vs more individualist societies in the animal world. As well as inspiring questions similar to those of the film Sliding Doors when a human life was saved by the animals' original unnecessary escape attempts.
Cast
- Robert Hays - Bob Seaver
- Kim Griest - Laura Seaver
- Kevin Chevalia - Jamie Seaver
- Veronica Lauren - Hope Seaver
- Benj Thall - Peter Seaver
Voice Cast
Trivia
- Don Ameche, who provided the voice of Shadow in the first movie, died in 1993, and was replaced by Ralph Waite in this one.
- The animals make various references, especially at the beginning, to the animal shelter from the previous movie. Their experience was so bad that they no longer call it "the pound," but rather referred to it as "the Bad Place."
- Unlike the first movie, where the animals seem unable to recognize language spoken by the human characters, the animals are clearly able to understand the human characters in this movie.
Awards and nominations
- Kids' Choice Awards
- Favorite Animal Star "Chance the dog" (nominated)
- Favorite Animal Star "Sassy the cat" (nominated)
- World Champion Ball Fetcher "Ben" (champion)
External links
