Movie Type: Animal Picture, Family-Oriented Comedy
Themes: Adoption, Man's Best Friend, Fish Out of Water
Main Cast: Cuba Gooding, Jr., James Coburn, Sisqo, Nichelle Nichols, Joanna Bacalso
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 99 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Two Oscar-winning actors add a family-oriented comedy to their resumes with this Disney-produced arctic adventure. Snow Dogs stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as Ted Brooks, a Florida-dwelling dentist with a successful chain of offices and a comfy, poolside lifestyle. All this changes, however, when he finds out that he was actually adopted as a child, and that his birth mother has died and left him an inheritance in her home state of Alaska, of all places. After arriving in the snow-bound clime, Ted learns that he has been willed a pack of cutely named sled dogs: Demon, Diesel, Dutchess, Nana, Mack, Scooper, Sniff, and Yodel. Problem is, the town's premiere sled-dogger, Thunder Jack (James Coburn), wants the pack for himself, and encourages Ted to go back to his tropical environs. But with a major sled-dog race looming, Ted's inspired to learn the ropes, as it were, and prove himself worthy of his birth mother's inheritance -- any way he can. Snow Dogs was directed by Jingle All the Way's Brian Levant and features some animatronic dog effects by Jim Henson's Creature Shop; the script was very loosely adapted from popular author Gary Paulsen's nonfiction book Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Review
No review of Snow Dogs would be complete without a couple obligatory words bemoaning how far Cuba Gooding Jr. has fallen since Jerry Maguire. It's possible Gooding never wanted to uphold the reputation of Oscar winner, and accepted being on a downward slide since that career pinnacle. But it's doubtful he imagined himself scrambling through the Alaskan wilderness, over-emoting like a buffoon, eyes and mouth fighting to see which could open the widest. Such slouching toward stereotypes is a disturbing trend in Disney movies, though the premise itself might be more directly responsible for turning the film into a walking punch line. To be sure, Gooding gives it his all, but Snow Dogs may have needed less than that to work. For the youngest children, just giving the dogs facial expressions might be enough. But older ones will probably find it square at best. Since this is Disney, the movie is assembled with a certain tidy competence and at least a minimum of good cheer; another Disney byproduct is that it deals with an orphan type seeking out his long-lost parentage, part of an ongoing thematic preoccupation. And sure, it's nice to empower Alaska as a demographic, as well as the tragically ignored sport of dog sledding. But unless you're a Star Trek fan peeking in to see Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) as Gooding's mother, mush onward. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Doug Byggdin - Art Director, Cathy Sandrich - Casting, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Monique Prudhomme - Costume Designer, Benjamin Rosenberg - First Assistant Director, Brian Levant - Director, Roger Bondelli - Editor, Casey Grant - Executive Producer, Christine Whitaker - Executive Producer, John Debney - Composer (Music Score), Stephen Lineweaver - Production Designer, Thomas E. Ackerman - Cinematographer, Jordan Kerner - Producer, Casey Grant - Producer, Elizabeth Wilcox - Set Designer, Rob Young - Sound/Sound Designer, Tommy Swerdlow - Screenwriter, Michael Goldberg - Screenwriter, Jim Kouf - Screenwriter, Mark Gibson - Screenwriter, Philip Halprin - Screenwriter, Tim Landry - Visual Effects Supervisor, Gary Paulsen - Book Author
Theodore "Ted" Brooks (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a dentist in Miami, Florida. His picture appears on city buses, in ads promoting his dental practice. When he receives a letter from Alaska one day naming him as the only heir of a Lucy Watkins, his mother reveals that he is adopted. Brooks travels to the village of Tolketna, Alaska, to claim his inheritance left by his late birth mother - seven Siberian Huskies and a Border Collie - and discovers his roots. Totally out of his element, he has to face challenges he has never dreamed of: blizzards, thin ice, an intimidating, crusty old mountain man called Thunder Jack (played by James Coburn in one of his final roles), and the aggressive, defiant lead dog, Demon. All of this happens with the buzzing excitement of the Arctic Challenge Sled Dog Race which is only two weeks away.
During his stay in Tolketna, Brooks tries to find the reason he was given up for adoption, including any information about his father. Ted meets a barmaid named Barb who was a friend of his late birth mother Lucy. She helps Ted deal with the dogs and teaches him how to drive a sled, and falls in love with him during the course of the movie. Ted continues to encounter Thunder Jack, who wants all of his late mother's sled dogs, especially Demon. (Lucy was once a winner of the Arctic Challenge.)
Eventually Brooks learns from Barb that Thunder Jack is his real father. Brooks feels that the truth is worth the dogs themselves, and trades them to Thunder Jack. Jack tells Ted that he and Lucy stayed in a cave during one of the Arctic Challenges. It is there that Ted was conceived. Lucy leaves after the race and gives Ted up for adoption.
With Demon, Thunder Jack takes part in the Arctic Challenge Race but is unable to finish it because of a storm. Meanwhile Brooks, who has returned home to Miami, is learning that his personal journey isn't yet finished. Infuriated by evidence found proving that Thunder Jack was at the hospital when he was born, Brooks returns to Alaska looking for answers. When he learns of the missing musher and his team, he feels that this may be the opportunity to save a man, and perhaps find out the whole truth once and for all.
Brooks sets out to rescue his father, with Nana as the lead dog. He finds Jack in the old cave, who confirms that he had been there when Ted was born. Jack reveals that they agreed then that neither one of them could raise a baby, and confesses his love for Lucy. Ted finds out the reason for Demon's bad temper is the pain caused by a bad tooth. He pulls it out and Demon becomes a friendly dog. During the journey back, the sled nearly goes over a cliff into a river but the dogs pull it back up. Ted brings Jack across the finish line.
Ted and Barb get married and Nana and Demon have four puppies. Now having grown to love the region, Brooks moves his practice to it with his wife, who is pregnant at the end of the film, as his secretary.
The movie ends with Ted's cousin Rupert becoming the new famous Miami dentist with his face on every bus.
Cameos
Also appearing in the $33 million budget film are Star Trek'sNichelle Nichols as the mother of Ted Brooks and R&B singer Sisqó as his cousin. There is also a brief sequence with singer-songwriter Michael Bolton. Christopher Judge of Stargate SG1 fame also appears as Ted Brooks' father at the start of the movie.
Cast
Human roles
Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Theodore "Ted" Brooks (aka "Teddy Bear")
D.J., Koda, and Floyd also starred in Eight Below.
Production
Canmore, Alberta was used to film the fictional city of Tolketna, Alaska.
Many of the dogs and mushers used in the film were locals. Two of the hero team doubles and all of Olivier's team were supplied by Nakitsilik Siberians of Bridge Lake, BC. Mountain Mushers' from Golden BC supplied the Thunder Jack team. Old Ernie's team was supplied by Russ Gregory from Calgary, Alberta. Arcticsun Siberian Husky Kennel from Edmonton, Alberta was one of many kennels - including Czyz, Snowy Owl, Gatt racing and others - from the area that supplied background for the film. Two of the dogs came from Kortar Kennels, in Ontario.
Awards
John Debney won the ASCAP Award in 2003 for the soundtrack of "Snow Dogs".
