If you’ve been to a movie theater in the past few months, chances are pretty good that you’ve seen the trailer for A Dog’s Purpose, a film starring Dennis Quaid and several adorable dogs. The film is about the same dog-soul who is reincarnated through the years into several dog bodies. You know it’s the same dog-soul because every dog is voiced by Josh Gad. Here’s the trailer:
Like, I had to put my dog (my BFF and my roommate) down last year, so I already know that I’m not going to see the movie because I will cry too much. But now I have another reason for not seeing it: apparently, no one was really looking out for the dog actors in the film. TMZ got their hands on a video from the set of the film where it seems like the German shepherd was being forced into a risky stunt involving a manufactured “rushing river” situation. The dog didn’t want to go in the water and he was basically shoved in. He was quickly overwhelmed by water and… yeah, I’m not even going to watch the video, it will make me too upset (the description alone is enough to make me teary). You can see the video here on TMZ.
As soon as the video came out, PETA released a statement saying: “PETA is calling on dog lovers to boycott the film in order to send the message that dogs and other animals should be treated humanely, not as movie props.” Producers of the film released a statement about the video:
In the statement, obtained by PEOPLE, the film’s production team, Amblin Entertainment, and distributor, Universal Pictures, defends its treatment of the animal actors.
“A Dog’s Purpose is a celebration of the special connection between humans and their dogs. And in the spirit of this relationship, the Amblin production team followed rigorous protocols to foster an ethical and safe environment for the animals,” the statement reads. “While we continue to review the circumstances shown in the edited footage, Amblin is confident that great care and concern was shown for the German Shepherd Hercules, as well as for all of the other dogs featured throughout the production of the film,” it continued.
“There were several days of rehearsal of the water scenes to ensure Hercules was comfortable with all of the stunts. On the day of the shoot, Hercules did not want to perform the stunt portrayed on the tape so the Amblin production team did not proceed with filming that shot.”
The statement concludes by saying, “Hercules is happy and healthy.”
Yeah, no. Whenever filmmakers work with animals, there are supposed to be animal cruelty watchdog people on the set at all times, monitoring the situation, so I don’t know how this incident was allowed to happen. That being said, there it a lot of anecdotal evidence that those animal cruelty watchdog people have a history of turning a blind eye. The Hollywood Reporter did a cover story several years back about some of the recent films in which animal actors have been harmed, nearly drowned, hurt or worse. So, will you boycott A Dog’s Purpose?
As a palate cleanser, here’s a video of good dog doing his own stunt work.
I tell people my dog is the worst, they don't believe me. Now hard video evidence emerges. pic.twitter.com/Z8gMK34i5f
— Al Baker (@alandhisguitar) January 18, 2017
Stills from ‘A Dog’s Purpose’.
The worst (ok not the worst, but super bad!) part is the stupid cameramans voice ohh the dog will calm down when he realizes its warm, just gotta throw him in. He wants to go in, just throw him in. Wtf!!!
That poor dog!
I was just going to say that I wanted to punch the cameraman.
“Lol, poor doggy doesn’t want to go into the dangerous pool of turbulent water, lol, PUSH HIM!”
The hell is wrong with people?
I would like to kick him into some rapid flood like water and see how he likes it.
I own a German Shepherd, they’re easy to train, and if they had taken the damn time they could easily have trained the dog to jump into that water ( my guy would be in it in a heartbeat, he LOVES water- in fact if you ever see my twitter page, half his mornings are spent in mud and water 🙁 ) But forcing a terrified animal in like this is utterly disgusting.
Exactly, you could tell by the dog’s actions that he was scared and they just threw him into the fake river. Disgusting.
Exactly!!!! I am so glad to see so many people, esp women, who care about how animals are treated.
I really wanted to see this movie…now I won’t. It’s awful because they could have taken the time to train the dog instead of tossing a terrified animal in. Poor puppy!
And he was laughing. LAUGHING. I never planned to watch this movie anyway, but now I’ll urge the people I know who would have gone to see it not to.
Also, TMZ has posted an update that the rep on set who was supposed to supervise the animals’ welfare has been put on administrative leave pending investigation.
I can’t boycott a movie I never intended to see.
That poor animal. It was most likely the owner of the dog that forced the animal in the water. If the animal doesn’t do the stunt, owner doesn’t get paid. The film industry is a joke. Just a bunch of people (basically all dudes) who just want relevance and money at any costs. I used to work in the industry years ago and it was stressful! Never again!
+1 it looked like a schlock-fest to begin with, and now this. already too sensitive for animal movies, usually, and this is just layers of nope all around.
No. Just no.
My dog is my baby (yes, I am one of those people who consider their pet their child) and my blood boils when I see/hear about animal abuse. I cannot see the video and I hope the scum involved in this cruelty go to hell. Poor baby 🙁
No shame here, my dog is my baby as well and I work hard to give her the live she deserves 😀
I would have watched this movie with my mum, but now they ruined it for me… idiots.
I never understood “my pet is my baby” people. The eye-rolls I dolled out! Until a few months ago, when a cat landed in my life — and holy smokes do I love my little asshole (because truth: cats can totally be assholes, and mine is one). But oh yes, he’s definitely my best bud; my baby. (And yes, I spoil him rotten!)
My dogs are both rescues, have more clothes than me, more toys than some children, and are the joy and light of my life. And yes, I will show their picture when people share photos of their human children.
If CGI can create whole worlds out of thin air, then it can do this. All those assholes should be waterboarded to see how they like it.
Yuuuuup. My mother once called me late at night. The call woke me up. I was worried something was wrong. She said, “Put the dog on the phone.” No lie.
kNY bahahahahaha !!!! My mom likes to get in fights with people on Facebook that she usually loses… Late one Sunday evening I get a Facetime request from my mom…somewhat intoxicated…. “People are being mean to me on Facebook. Let me talk to Hobbes!” Hobbes is our older cat. Fortunately our younger cat, Skinny, didn’t mind that he was not requested and still joined the chat with grandma.
Every animal I’ve ever had was rescued, including our latest dog who came from county animal control last June. She’s the laziest bitch we’ve ever had and I’m not kidding. Rain? Ewwww!!! Warm? I’m dying!!!!!! She’s my husband’s mistress and gloats over me.
That is to say I’m in your club, Ostone! Although my baby’s the cat. She’ll be 18 this year and would want me to tell you she doesn’t look a day over 10.
And I won’t watch the video (i saw stills from it) or the movie.
@bluhare, my dog, a westie, never got the memo that she’s “supposed” to be feisty, fearless, and generally trouble. she probably needs xanax, she WILL NOT go outside if it’s raining, snowing, or if it even looks like either will happen soon. unless she’s leashed, but then, she’s practically up my butt, so we no longer take walks when it’s raining, not a fan of being tripped. she would snack on fresh cat poop if allowed, and i suspect she and my asshole orange tabby (my babycat 4eva) are secretly best friends, but just pretend not to get along while i’m around. little fuzz butts. also have a nearly 15 year old cat, the old man of the house, who doesn’t really act a day over one year. he’s bad at maintaining boundaries, but great at massages! 😉
Westies are the dog of my dreams. I’ve always wanted one, but the closest I’ve got is our Jack Russell Terrier who died last year. The Lazy Bitch is his “replacement” although he can never be replaced. He wasn’t scared of anything . . . except horses and a Leonburger (HUGE dog and excuse the spelling). We’ve got a couple of Westies in the neighborhood and I get all googly with them but I miss our JRT like you would not believe.
I don’t have a furry friend in my life at the moment but I’m loving all these anecdotes.
bluhare, i choose me, anytime either of you are in saint paul 😉 my dog loves new people! as well as old man cat. asshole tabby, only if you can repair a major appliance.
i don’t call my dog my baby, but i call her my companion a lot. she really does feel like a good friend. dogs are amazing.
I’ve had dogs, I’ve had a baby. They aren’t the same as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think of a dog as a human baby; I can love it (or rather him or her) without it being a quasi human: and I respect it as a domesticated, eventually adult, wolf. But dogs are wonderful companions who love you no matter what you look like, what you do for a living, or how much you earn. They are always there for you.
I agree with both of you. I can love a highly dependent human being without calling him my baby and I can love an animal without referring to it as my baby. If you were in a burning building and only able to save either a strangers actual human baby or your dog, and you know you would save the strangers human baby then perhaps its time to rethink the “my baby” line.
I think “baby” is a relative term. I don’t think of mine as babies either, but they are totally loved members of my family who are a lot smaller than me. 🙂
My boyfriend and I talk all the time about what a great friend our dog is. She turns 15 this April, and she has brought so many laughs and so many cuddles to my life. Such a good friend.
When she was a puppy, there was a Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo commercial out where this little girl was getting pissed at her older siblings for using her baby shampoo. I may have said the tagline to my dog a million times, “You’re not the baby, I’M the baby!” She makes me do crazy things, what can I say?
I do call my cats “babies” (at home…) and I consider them like children, but maybe that is because I am childless (and will always be), so the crazy cat lady thing fits in my case 😀
I call my cat my hairy ESL Daughter.
I was all excited to see this movie, now I won’t I will also not watch the video, it would make me even more upset and probably cry. I’m sensitive when it comes to animals.
I yell at my boyfriend if he raises has voice at my husky.
I don’t know how old this German Shepard is, but he appears to possibly be young?? Just my guess. My point in his age is, there was probably another stunt dog that would have done this scene, no problem, so why didn’t they just use a more experienced stunt dog? Hercules was obviously terrified, but they still tried to force him in. The worst part is when he goes under. They can release a statement acting like everything is ok, but in that moment the woman in the water is yelling & trying to get to him as fast as she can, while other people on set are yelling as well & someone yells to “cut” the video. They weren’t sure in that instant if he was ok.
Yes, that is such a disturbing moment. He was so scared. I feel so bad they forced him when he was so obviously afraid.
I want to vomit. That is beyond horrible.
I watched the TMZ video last night and it upset me so much. The poor dog was clearly terrified of the “rushing river” that had been created. He clung to the sides in a panic until his trainer pried him away and threw him in the water, where he went under. They immediately yelled “cut” and went to rescue the dog. If anyone treated my dog like that they would feel my most protective rage. We have a Lab who loves the water, but he would have been frightened of that situation. I won’t be seeing this movie. As for the guy laughing at Hercules’ panic, I would love to tell him what a bastard I think he is and then throw him in some rapids.
I agree. I could only stomach a few seconds. That dog may be physically fine but they are emotionally traumatizing that dog. Dog’s don’t cope well with trauma and I wouldn’t be surprised if the dog displays some behavior problems around water after that.
I have a tall friend with a beard that my dog is irrationally afraid of (she is a 120lb anatolian/great pyrenees rescue) and he tried to pet her (good intentions)…I said, listen don’t pet her- it scares her. Why scare her? She’s a dog…I don’t force my dog into situations that will traumatize her.
This is obviously a working dog in the video but how can you inflict emotional stress like that on an animal and not feel like a horrible person and dog owner?
If I was there, I would have marched over and taken the dog out of his hands. I never would stand by and allow that to happen on my watch. Don’t care what anyone thinks!
Zero surprise. Anytime you have such a highly profitable industry + time sensitivity + animals…no way animals aren’t being treated badly in one form or another, as they always have been in Hollywood (same with children! I do not believe child actors should be cast in plots with scenes of violence, esp). I generally avoid movies starring animals as a result.
I now realize that animals are as vulnerable in the film industry as children. Pushed to perform, even if they are not comfortable or just too tired to do so.
An animal doesn’t understand, and poor Hercules may be forever changed because of this experience. No more animal movies for me, either.
I totally agree Greenieweenie. As in could not agree more.
“Hercules is happy and healthy.” – Hercules didn’t look happy. The camera doesn’t lie, a$$hole. You got caught and now you’re trying to save your a$$. I’ll be boycotting this movie.
What a BS statement from Amblin Entertainment. We all can see that the dog can’t wait to jump into the water and the trainer is the one who is holding him back *eye-rolling emoji* – what a lying disgusting POS -.-
There is absolutely no reason to terrorize/harm animals for a movie with today’s CGI effects.
Exactly!
Thank you! Same for photo shoots. Gucci just did an ad campaign with tigers. There is simply no need to force an animal to do those things.
They could have very easily CGI’d the scene, considering they do it for human actors ALL THE TIME.
I wasn’t going to see the movie because I knew it would make me cry. Sadly, however, it is based on a basically good story about the special bond between dogs and their human companions and, even with the unnecessary reincarnation twist, it’s an important story to tell. I’m so sorry that it has been ruined by the cruel and unnecessary treatment of this particular dog. (And I couldn’t watch the video; most of my dogs have been German Shepherds.)
I have been on the fence about watching this movie. I am a blubbering mess whenever something happens to animals in movies, but I love the concept of your dog’s spirit coming back again. My heart broke when I saw a portion of the video of Hercules yesterday. Couldn’t watch the rest.
I’ve bawled every time I watched the trailer and am glad for a reason not to go see it! And my 13 yo kid came downstairs this morning and announced nope, not seeing it for this reason. Done.
I won’t watch the video. I never attend movies where the dog(or cat or deer or cow, etc.)dies, so I won’t be attending this one. I’ll snuggle with my fuzzy, fluffy babies instead.
Now I’m worried about Hercules’ wellbeing, given this fallout.
What in the name of Shirley MacClaine’s thirteenth life is this mess??? This movie just looks creepy and weird.
As a proud, lifelong German Shepherd Mom, I’m calling abuse. If ANYONE tried to force my dogs into a situation like that, they’d find themselves in the pool! I saw the video and the cameraman and the dog’s handler were both fools who should be charged with animal abuse. As for Amblin Entertainment that was a lame statement. They are only “investigating” the matter because TMZ outed them with the video. TMZ did a great public service. I won’t be seeing this movie. I also plan to contact Amblin and voice my concerns.
amen girl! Not only would I not allow my own dog to be treated that way, I would have intervened in that situation no doubt. I would have raised hell. That dog should be taken away from the owners, they make poor choices. If you are willing to subject an animal to that in the name of profit or your career, you are not a PET-owner! You are exploiting animals for profit.
From the first time I saw an ad for this film, I was struck by how emotionally cheap and unnecessary it seems. This is a movie made to make people cry and apparently the filmmakers weren’t above abusing the animal stars to craft such a movie. You want to cry? Watch “Beaches” again. No need to watch this garbage.
I would not have seen this movie anyway but I will now actively promote NOT seeing it to everyone that I know- and I do dog rescue so that is a fairly large pool of people that may have seen it.
With that being said, please don’t ever use PETA as a moral guide to anything. They are the literal worst and kill like, 95% of every animal that they get their hands on- often by lying to the people saying that they are a legitimate, no-kill rescue. They have more blood on their hands than a dog fighting ring.
I am with you on PETA, @the_blonde_one.
Co-sign about PETA. They are the worst.
There are so many great animal organizations out there who need our support, PETA is not one of them.
I read another article that said PETA was aware of this video way back in 2015. if they were truly concerned about the animals, we would have seen this video then. They are nothing more than self serving terrorists.
I saw the trailer bef La La Land, and the trailer looked good. In fact, one of the scenes in the trailer was the GS “incarnation” in the water- presumably from this shot. Then saw this video😁😁. Wasn’t going to see the movie anyway, but good grief, who’d go to see it now? Shudder to think about what else may have happened!
BTW- read on another comment section that Mel Gibson CGI’ed all the horses in the battle scenes in “Braveheart”. After reading the Hollywood Reporter article, wish there would be more of a push to make this the industry standard. And certainly hope that cameraman’s(?) name never gets released for his own safety!
I’m sorry, but I almost laughed out loud at the Braveheart CGI comment. You must be very young not to remember how CGI looked back in ’95, when the movie was made; there was really no way they could have pulled it off. It’s almost akin to saying Lincoln enjoyed video games.
Here’s how they actually did it, in case you are curious:
http://www.humanehollywood.org/index.php/movie-archive/item/braveheart
Guess what? Not young at all, and never saw Braveheart in theaters. Appreciate the link, and still hope CGI for animals will become the standard.
My entire family was excited to see this movie. I cry every time the preview shows the dog being put down, I had to put my 15 year old cat down last year, but now there’s no way I’ll pay to support that type of animal cruelty. I watched the video yesterday and it’s gut wrenching, especially the end when the poor thing gets sucked under the rushing water and everyone freaks out when they should’ve known that would happen, freaking idiots.
One thing to note is that the video edits together two different shooting days. The first part where the dog is scared was one day, and they stopped shooting that day because the dog needed a break. The part where the dog goes under for a few seconds was a different day.
So they pushed him in twice? D:
It’s like the movie creators completely missed the point of the movie. Or I guess a dog’s purpose is to have his loyalty exploited by humans who would rather make a terrible movie than see to his well-being.
I saw this yesterday and I really hope it gets lots of publicity and is spread by word of mouth. I usually don’t feel like boycotts really hit their intended target, but in this case, the studio really needs to feel it to keep it from happening in other films.
I agree. I don’t normally believe in interfering with peoples ability to make a living simply because we have a difference of opinion but this is abuse and exploitation of an innocent animal…And to be honest, they are freaking idiots to allow it in the film and deserve all consequences for being so stupid as to include it.
Can’t bring myself to watch the video because it will end in tears and I’m at work
But – Fuck ’em. Dogs (and all animals) are not here for our fucking entertainment or to perform ‘stunts’ for our amusement. He may be ‘trained’ to jump in the pool or whatever, but he is a freaking DOG, he doesn’t know what the hell is going on. ARGH.
And most of all, Fuck the handler. YOU’RE MEANT TO LOOK AFTER THE ANIMAL YOU ASS!
noooooo, i hate this. i also have a dog, and she’s so dear to me. they give you so much love and trust you so much, if you mistreat them there’s something wrong with you. can’t even begin to think of watching the video.
and sorry about your dog, kaiser.
I love dogs as much as anyone but I have a teensy observation. Where is all this outrage over the refugees drowning and freezing to death? Or police clearly killing black people. Humans are a pile of garbage who value their pets over any non white people. Sometimes I despair so much that the only bright spot is captain Cheeto monster and his merry band of climate change deniers will hasten all our destructions.
Outrage for refugees and black people is clearly seen in reactions to articles on those topics. This article is about dogs.
It is possible to care about more than one thing.
apples and oranges dear
I see where you are coming from though I don’t think it’s either / or. Many wild canids are in terrible danger of extinction, the African Wild Dog and the Ethiopian Wolf among them. Hopefully the dog lovers will find some energy for that issue. Personally I think there’s probably enough Labradors in the world, but again it’s not either / or.
It’s a shame as the book is lovely and poignant. The author wrote it after his girlfriends’ dog died and it’s supposed to be about how the animals that we love and that love us never really leave us. It’s a tearjerker but great.
I recommend folks read that instead of this awful movie. Why would they do that to that lovely dog? Apparently the humane society handler on set was also reprimanded after the footage leaked.
Ugh. This makes my heart hurt. I can’t even force my dog to go out in the rain if he doesn’t want to (he’s a total diva about getting wet). I can’t imagine forcing an animal to do something like this that obviously frightens them. Just no.
I just finished the book and was so excited to see the movie, well, forget it. I just can’t stand seeing people treat animals poorly. I love my doggies…all three!
American Humane has repeatedly dropped the ball on film sets, yet request donations. I used to donate to them, but emailed them that unless they do what they are given money to do, they won’t be getting money from me. I hope people voice their displeasure to them.
I am sure not gonna watch it. IG is full of this story I am certain people with pups will not pay for the crap.
Horrible. Just horrible. Clearly an instance of animal cruelty.
Saw the previews and thought it was a really interesting and original concept for a nice family movie but alas, now I won’t be watching. Jerks.
So I decided to watch the video and while the dog is honestly scared , it doesn’t look like the handler is throwing the dog in or pushing him in. Merely trying to lower him in and when the dog freaks out, he raises him back up. In the second clip, we never see how the dog into the water. If the dog was still scared and was truly thrown or pushed in, well they can all go f*** all themselves. But perhaps the dog was more comfortable to get in the water this time. Maybe they tried a different tactic. We just don’t know because there isn’t any other further footage to go on. Still scary to see the dog go under though, but at least the handler was quick to jump in.
You might want to watch again. That poor pup is doing everything he can to get away from that water and that trainer is still forcing and forcing – while sure he never literally lifted the dog above him and threw him with great force in- although he may have at some point- what he was doing was essentially the same thing. No concern for this dogs stress and wellbeing and he constantly trying to “push” the poor dog in the water over and over again. Not to mention the dog could have drowned at the end, he went under the water and couldn’t come back up on his own accord. I mean What more do you need to see?? Just sounds like you are trying to justify this in some manner.
And what do you think happens when rescue dogs are being trained to this exact same thing? They all have to be acclimatized to the water as well. Maybe they have a different tactic, but still dogs in general are going to be hesitant of new things and have to get used to that new thing/environment. You can even see the handler giving the dog some reassuring pats.
As I said, the dog going under is scary to watch, but we just don’t have the footage that directly comes before it. We do not know for certain if the dog was ok with the water at that point and voluntarily went in (as the producers claim) or if the dog was thrown or pushed in.
No one likes seeing a dog in distress, but I feel like so many people are blowing this out of proportion and making it out to be that they just threw the dog in the water and almost let it die and never cared, when we just simply dont know all the facts.
I agree with you. It’s definitely a spliced video. Am I really the only one who thought the tmz video wasn’t that bad?
No, I also didnt think it was that terrible. Sure, the dog didnt want to jump in. But the handler was first trying to prod him into doing it, and with big dogs who resist, it never looks gentle, lol. He knew the dog was having a hard time and I think he was trying to ease him into it – because when he was hanging on the sides he picked him back up, and didnt just loosen his paws. I go through the same thing with my dog every time I have to bathe her.
I agree with Harpy, I have a GSD and she’s a big girl. Getting her into the bathtub is feat of strength and she absolutely HATES it. In winter we don’t have a choice, it’s too cold to wash her outside. If someone recorded us trying to get her into a full tub, well, it would make us look cruel even though we aren’t.
I didn’t watch the video though, and it’s no secret that animals are indeed mistreated on movie sets. They should’ve CGI’d that stunt. Or found a dog who wasn’t afraid.
I wasn’t going to go anyway as even the trailer made me cry, but now, definitely no.
There’s just no excuse for this.
Take the $10 you’d spend on this movie and give it to your local shelter or rescue.
lucy2, great idea!
I was going to see the movie but definitely won’t now! Disgusting to put a movie over an actual living, breathing being with real emotions but not surprising I guess. I’m the one in our household always saying, “You are sooo handsome – I love you so much.” To which my husband sarcastically replies, “Aw, thank you,” because he knows I’m talking to our dog almost every time. 🙂
I don’t feel shame about my overwhelming love for our dog. Watch the video of Michelle Obama on David Letterman where she says she has two daughters and a son (Bo, their dog). She’s half-joking about him being a “son”, but it’s obvious how much she adores him and views him as part of their family. It’s really genuine and one of the reasons I like her even more!
Wanted to see the movie, but it’s not gonna happen… I hope the boycott Will send a message! It is not acceptable 🙁
I wasn’t sure I wanted to see this because if an animal dies in a movie I cry a river of tears, but it also just felt like emotional torture pr0n to me (ie, something devised solely to make you unbearably sad). I also thought it looked sort of obvious that the young boy from the beginning was Dennis Quaid?
Anyway, I couldn’t watch the video but I’m definitely not seeing this.
My dog is the daughter I’ve never had.