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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Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Adventure · Comedy · Family · 1993
Before the Seavers leave for a family vacation to San Francisco, they drop off their pets -- Chance, an adventurous American bulldog; Shadow, a wise golden retriever; and Sassy, a cautious cat -- at a friend's ranch. But when the animals start to worry that they've been left for good, the three embark together on a treacherous and thrilling journey to find their way back home through the California wilderness.
Movie details
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
“In the classic tradition of Walt Disney Pictures comes a story about courage, adventure and friendship.”
1993 Adventure · Comedy · Family 1h 24m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.0 / 10
54.2K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
87 %
Tomatometer
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Before the Seavers leave for a family vacation to San Francisco, they drop off their pets -- Chance, an adventurous American bulldog; Shadow, a wise golden retriever; and Sassy, a cautious cat -- at a friend's ranch. But when the animals start to worry that they've been left for good, the three embark together on a treacherous and thrilling journey to find their way back home through the California wilderness.
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 Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey?
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.
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Duwayne Dunham
Written by
Caroline Thompson · Linda Woolverton
Michael J. Fox
Chance (voice)
Sally Field
Sassy (voice)
Don Ameche
Shadow (voice)
Kevin Chevalia
Jamie Seaver
Benj Thall
Peter Burnford
Veronica Lauren
Hope Burnford
Kim Greist
Laura Burnford-Seaver
Court is in session
Put Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey 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.