Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

A Dog's Purpose Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 28, 2017

It's not difficult to label a movie like A Dog's Purpose based on its cover and a blurb. It has "fluffy tearjerker dramadey" written all over it, and indeed, that's exactly what Director Lasse Hallström's (Hachi: A Dog's Tale) film, based on the book of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron, offers. But it offers a little more than that, too, a critical piece that is perhaps itself a bit predictable -- it's in the name -- but necessary in appreciating not just the movie, but what it has to say. And that's purpose, not just for the dog(s) in the film but in the movie's subtly beautiful messaging on life. Sure it's breezy, sentimental, maybe a little forced in places -- particularly its middle stretch -- but the movie has an enormous heart, plenty of goodwill, and a positive, reinforcing message to share.

A dog (voiced by Josh Gad) is born. It grows up a little bit, runs around, is captured, and awakens again in a different body. The dog finds itself inhabiting another body. It escapes from an animal shelter and eventually finds its way into the loving arms of a young boy named Ethan (Bryce Gheisar). Ethan talks his parents into allowing him to adopt the animal, and even as the dog gets Ethan in trouble over the years, the two form an unbreakable bond that remains even as Ethan matures into a teenager (KJ Apa) who earns a football scholarship and begins courting a girl named Hannah (Britt Robertson). But as is prone to happen, circumstances change, time passes, and the dog moves along through several more reincarnations and owners along his journey to discover what it means to live, no matter the time, place, company, or even its own appearance.

Hallström never strives to shed the movie's family-friendly structure, lighthearted approach to storytelling, or the affable manner in which it goes about sharing its thoughts on life through a dog's eyes, a dog that's very much human in its search for purpose. Certainly the dog sees things in a different way. It doesn't understand the world's complexities the same way people understand them, but in many ways that naïveté is its best asset. The "dog" in the movie goes through several lifetimes, but it's inhabited by a single soul, a single voice, one that builds on experiences and gradually comes to better understand not just the world in which it lives but the people with whom it exists. It feels and experiences, but doesn't always understand. Through its eyes, audiences will see life's major ebbs and flows, the big moments and critical details, the passing of time, and getting old through a perspective that's overflowing with charm, heart, and soul. The movie finds joy and pain in almost equal amounts. Life is never easy, but a smile, a cuddle, even a familiar scent can bring one back home, to a place of safety and comfort, literally, often, but also figuratively or symbolically, too.

The dog is a multipurpose metaphor for the stages in life. It doesn't know that, but the audience does. And that's so much of what makes it so touching, that the journey is never derailed by anything the dog does but only through life's inescapable truisms and, certainly, some human influence along the way. It's beautifully outwardly simple but surprisingly deep and complex below the surface, uncovering life's layers gradually, tenderly, honestly. The film's best qualities are embodied in the Bailey segment. It's here that the dog, or the dog's narrative soul, as it were, makes the most connections, (seems to) experience the longest life, and finds its best friend in Ethan. The other stories are essentially a bridge to the end, shorter, more condensed tales that certainly build up some critical details but largely pave the way for the movie's touching final act in which the dog discovers its true purpose and the audience the movie's. It's certainly a fair bit saccharine, but it's so sincere, so simple, so honest, so upbeat, so true that it's impossible not to love it on some level. The movie might have some flaws, but its heart and soul are too big to dismiss the film.

A Dog's Purpose Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Dog's Purpose was digitally photographed and the resultant 1080p Blu-ray release appears fairly accurate to the source and fairly typical of today's video-based home video content. For the most part, the image is sharp and clean, a bit on the smooth and glossy side, but enjoying plenty of textural consistency and stability. Facial qualities and period clothes, which span about half a century or so, are appropriately complex. Various environments, including suburban homes, farms, and cities, are also sharp and nicely defined. The farmhouse areas fare best, offering plenty of intimately defined grasses and plenty of attractively worn manmade and natural elements. Close-ups of all the dog breeds reveal finely defined and almost countable fur strands, and dog nose close-ups show off that familiar bumpy texturing with ease. A few frames show some smudgy corners, but only a couple truly stick out. Colors are well saturated and appropriately punchy. There's a noticeably different color temperature to the various timeframes. It's a bit bronzed in the Bailey segment, a grittier darkness during Ellie's time, and a bit more neutral for Tino and Buddy. Back levels are healthy and deep. Flesh tones are fine, influenced only by the general color temperature of any given sequence. Issues are few. Noise tends to spike, severely on a few occasions, in lower light shots. A serious example of shimmering is visible at the 45:42 mark on a car bumper in the background. Overall, however, there's not a lot to dislike about Universal's steady, enjoyable transfer.

A Dog's Purpose Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Dog's Purpose features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, one that's largely straightforward but capable of handling the film's sonic needs with relative ease. Music plays with satisfactory width along the front. Back channel support is light but aids in creating a fuller stage. Clarity through the film's various musical styles of its in-film years is pleasing. The track offers some impressive, open width, depth, and immersion during a carnival sequence in chapter six. Rattly rides, chatter, and various familiar ringing bells and general din draw the listener into the environment. Lighter atmospherics, in the city and on the farm in particular, aid in recreating the film's many environments. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and cleanly positioned in the front-center channel.

A Dog's Purpose Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A Dog's Purpose contains deleted scenes, outtakes, and two featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 9:24 total runtime): He's a Keeper, We're Raising a Monster, I Wouldn't Eat That, A Member of Our Pack, Bailey Soaks Ethan and Hannah, Bailey's Ball Stuck in a Tree, Bailey Sees Hannah in Town, Ellie Finds an Alzheimer's Patient, Carlos Doesn't Want to Socialize, Good Girl, Old Photos - Version 1, Old Photos - Version 2, Buddy Searches for Food, A Familiar Place, and Ethan or Nothing.
• Outtakes (1080p, 2:11): Fun moments, animal training, and green screen footage from the shoot.
• Lights, Camera, Woof! (1080p, 8:46): "Roxy," one of the other dogs in the film, guides viewers through the making of the movie, from a dog perspective: dog actors and performances, the book on which the film was based, the different dogs used in the film, dog point-of-view footage, the film's timeframes, shooting locations, Josh Gad's voice work, and more. Human interview clips are included, too.
• A Writer's Purpose (1080p, 4:44): A quick look back at story origins, the author's history with dogs, and the novel's success.

A Dog's Purpose Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Dog's Purpose might not shed any new light on the human condition -- even as the dog's experiences are metaphors for the ways man doesn't always see the world -- or what it means to be alive, but it's incredibly heartwarming, honest, and a lot of fun. The middle stretches lack depth, but its stories serve as necessary bridges to the movie's lovable finale. This is warm, easy cinema with a purpose, a quality film that melts the heart and offers a few honest insights into some of life's most difficult questions. Universal's Blu-ray offers solid video and audio alongside a few supplements. Highly recommended.