The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Lassie Come Home
Family · Adventure · Drama · 1943
Hard times come for the Carraclough family and they are forced to sell their dog, Lassie, to the rich Duke of Rudling. Lassie, however, is unwilling to remain apart from young Carraclough son Joe and sets out on a long and dangerous journey to rejoin him.
Movie details
Lassie Come Home
“A Thrilling Saga Of Courage And Loyalty !”
1943 Family · Adventure · Drama 1h 28m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
Hard times come for the Carraclough family and they are forced to sell their dog, Lassie, to the rich Duke of Rudling. Lassie, however, is unwilling to remain apart from young Carraclough son Joe and sets out on a long and dangerous journey to rejoin him.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Lassie Come Home?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Black Beauty
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The fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.
Lassie
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A family in financial crisis is forced to sell Lassie, their beloved dog. Hundreds of miles away from her true family, Lassie escapes and sets out on a journey home.
The Fox and the Hound
Adventure · 1981
When a feisty little fox named Tod is adopted into a farm family, he quickly becomes friends with a fun and adorable hound puppy named Copper. Life is full of hilarious adventures until Copper is expected to take on his role as a hunting dog -- and the object of his search is his best friend!
Fluke
Drama · 1995
Workaholic Thomas Johnson dies in an auto accident and reincarnates as a dog. Remembering some of his previous being, he returns to his wife and son to protect them from the man who caused his accident. But, as time goes by, his memories return, and Thomas realizes he wasn't such a good husband and father.
Max
Adventure · 2015
A dog that helped soldiers in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience.
Dog Gone
Family · 2023
When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man embarks on an incredible search with his parents to find him and give him life-saving medication.
A Dog's Way Home
Drama · 2019
The adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human.
The Call of the Wild
Adventure · 1972
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.
Barbie & Her Sisters in the Great Puppy Adventure
Family · 2015
Barbie and her sisters, Skipper, Stacie and Chelsea, and their adorable new puppy friends find unexpected mystery and adventure when they return to their hometown of Willows. While going through mementos in Grandma's attic, the sisters discover an old map, believed to lead to a long-lost treasure buried somewhere in the town. With their puppy pals in tow, the four girls go on an exciting treasure hunt, along the way discovering that the greatest treasure of all is the love and laughter they share as sisters!
A Dog's Purpose
Adventure · 2017
A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Fred M. Wilcox
Written by
Hugo Butler
Roddy McDowall
Joe Carraclough
Donald Crisp
Sam Carraclough
May Whitty
Dally
Edmund Gwenn
Rowlie Palmer
Nigel Bruce
Duke of Rudling
Elsa Lanchester
Mrs. Helen Carraclough
Elizabeth Taylor
Priscilla
Court is in session
Put Lassie Come Home on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.