Air Bud
| Air Bud | |
|---|---|
 Air Bud DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Charles Martin Smith |
| Produced by | Robert Vince Michael Strange Robert Vince Anne Vince |
| Written by | Kevin DeCicco (character Air Bud) Paul Tamasy Aaron Mendelsohn |
| Starring | Michael Jeter Kevin Zegers Wendy Makkena Bill Cobbs Eric Christmas Nicola Cavendish Brendan Fletcher Norman Browning Stephen E. Miller Buddy the Dog |
| Music by | Brahm Wenger |
| Cinematography | Mike Southon |
| Editing by | Alison Grace |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 1, 1997 |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million (estimated) |
| Ratings |
|---|
Air Bud is the 1997 feature film that sparked the franchise centered around the dog Buddy. Buddy is a fictional golden retriever.
Contents |
Plot
The plot revolves around a 12-year-old boy, Josh Framm, who has an interest in basketball. After the death of his father, Josh moves with his family to a new town and is too shy to try out for his middle school's basketball team and too shy to make any friends. Through a series of coincidences, Josh meets Buddy, a dog who escaped his cruel owner, an alcoholic clown. Josh soon learns that Buddy has an uncanny ability to play the sport of basketball. Next, Buddy become Josh's school's basketball team's mascot and begins appearing in their halftime shows. However, when it is discovered that there is no rule that a dog can't play basketball, Buddy joins the roster. But just before the championship game, Buddy's original owner, Norm Snively, decides that it is time for him to cash in on the dog's success and he sues the Framm family for custody of Buddy. The judge decides that it would be an appropriate exercise of our legal system for Josh and Norm Snively to both call the dog's name from other sides of the room and to see which one he comes to. The judge decides that whoever the dog comes to will be his rightful owner. Surely enough, Buddy chooses Josh and everyone lives happily ever after, except for the alcoholic clown who swears revenge on Buddy and the entire Framm family.Sequels
The movie generated one theater-released sequel and many direct-to-video sequels, but the reaction to these have not always been favourable, with most fans of the original expressing annoyance, reflecting the opinion the series had jumped the shark. In each film, Buddy learns to play a different sport.
Movies
The following is a list of the films in the series and which sport is featured in it:
- Air Bud (1997) (basketball)
- Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998) (football)
- Air Bud: World Pup (2000) (soccer)
- Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch (2002) (baseball)
- Air Bud: Spikes Back (2003) (volleyball)
- (2008) (No sport featured as of now, but likely to be Australian rules football)
Spin-off movies (New series of films Air Buddies)
- Air Buddies (2006) (no sport featured as of now)
Cast
- Michael Jeter – Norman 'Norm' F. Snively / Clown the Hound
- Kevin Zegers – Josh Framm
- Wendy Makkena – Mrs. Jackie Framm
- Bill Cobbs – Coach Arthur Chaney
- Eric Christmas – Judge Cranfield
- Nicola Cavendish – Principal Pepper
- Brendan Fletcher – Larry Willingham
- Norman Browning – Mr. Buck Willingham
- Stephen E. Miller – Coach Joe Barker
- Shayn Solberg – Tom Stewart
- Jesebel Mather and Kati Mahter – Andrea Framm
- Buddy the Dog – Buddy
Box office
The movie was a modest hit. It grossed $4 million in its opening weekend and opened at #7 at the box office. Overall, the movie grossed $24 million. [1] [2]
Trivia
- According to the June 6th, 2003 issue of Newsweek magazine, former Iraqi strongman Uday Hussein enjoyed Air Bud so much that he had three copies of the video in his private collection.
- The film's working title was MVP (Most Valuable Pooch). The title is extremely similar to the title of the 2000 film MVP: Most Valuable Primate, which also starred Kevin Zegers and was produced by Ian Fodie, Michael Strange, Robert Vince, and Anne Vince. The film MVP was very similar to Air Bud because it revolved around a monkey who plays the sport of hockey. Much like the Air Bud series, MVP was so successful that it spawned a number of sequels in which the monkey plays other sports.
See also
External links
Categories
Air Bud | Films about animals | Basketball films | 1997 films | Comedy-drama films | Disney films | Films distributed by Disney | Films shot in Vancouver