Movies - Beethoven

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	Movies - Beethoven

Beethoven (1992) is a movie about a St. Bernard dog named after the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. It is believed that the film helped to redeem the St. Bernard's image after being defamed in the Stephen King thriller, Cujo.

Plot

Beethoven starts off the movie as a puppy in a pet shop. Every child that walks by seems to pick out another puppy, and the owner of the store is having a terrible time selling Beethoven. Things look up when a leather-clad girl shows up looking for a puppy and takes an interest in Beethoven. This doesn't work out however, for when the girl is holding the him in the air, Beethoven decides to pee all over her. Eventually, though, two thieves (Platt and Tucci) steal Beethoven and most of the other dogs in the pet shop, hoping to take him to the laboratory of Herman Varnick (Jones), who plans to test weaponry on the dogs. Another small dog, Sparky, however, helps Beethoven escape his cage. The other dogs notice and become excited. When one of the two thieves come to check on the dogs, Beethoven and Sparky jump out of the back of the truck.

Sparky is pursued by one of the thieves while Beethoven hides overnight in a trash can. In the morning, Beethoven sneaks into the Newton house and subsequently finds Emily (Karr), who believes that her father has finally bought her a puppy. While her father, George (Grodin) demands that the puppy be thrown out, his wife, Alice (Hunt), and his children insist that the puppy should stay, and George finally gives in to their demands. While they are naming the dog, Emily plays a famous part of one of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies, and the dog immediately begins to bark. Thus, the family decides to name him Beethoven.

As the family grows attached to him, George is left to single-handedly housetrain the pup, who instead chooses to relieve himself in George's suitcase and on the living room rug. As the pup grows into middle size, the antics only increase. The adolescent pup scratches apart the door, sheds endlessly upon the furniture, and dines off of the kitchen counter. The climax of the movie is as Beethoven reaches 189 lb. status and begins chewing the house apart. He also takes a liking to daily mud romps, usually ending with a brisk run around the house, or a leap upon a nearby human.

Still as Beethoven grows up, he helps the children of the Newton household to become more confident. First, he helps Ted (Castile) gain more confidence in combatting the bullies at his school. Ted challenges the bullies to a fistfight, and Beethoven growls at them from behind him. Subsequently, Beethoven runs away when Ted sees that the bullies have fled, making Ted believe that he caused the bullies to run.

He also helps Ryce (Tom) to talk to her crush, Mark. Beethoven forcibly drags Ryce nearer to him after Ryce confesses her obsession. Thus, Ryce is finally able to talk, even if non-romantically, with Mark and overcomes her insecurity of not being perfect.

Eventually, Herman Varnick, who's been asked to acquire a very large dog for deadly experiments, examines Beethoven and, to get the Newton family to give up the dog, tells them the falsehood that St. Bernards have been heavily inbred, and been known to turn aggressive; George doesn't accept this; Varnick returns to "examine" Beethoven, makes himself look attacked and urges Beethoven to knock him over. George hurries to the rescue, Varnick says Beethoven must be euthanized or he may have to bring legal action. Emily, however, saw Varnick hit Beethoven and protests, but the final judgment falls on George Newton, who decides to side with the veterinarian in order to keep his children safe. The veterinarian subsequently takes Beethoven to his testing facilities, where he plans to test explosive firearms on Beethoven.

Meanwhile, the Newton family has second thoughts about sending Beethoven away. The family follows Varnick to the facilities and sees what he has planned for Beethoven. George leaves the car and crashes through the glass ceiling of the building, while Ted drives the family car through the wall of the facility, knocking over some toxic chemicals and impaling Varnick with many syringes full of poison. Varnick is drugged and later arrested, and the Newton family adopts all of the dogs he was keeping captive.

Cast

George Newton, played by Charles Grodin
Alice Newton, played by Bonnie Hunt
Ryce Newton, played by Nicholle Tom
Ted Newton, played by Christopher Castile
Emily Newton, played by Sarah Rose Karr
Herman Varnick, played by Dean Jones
Harvey, played by Oliver Platt
Vernon, played by Stanley Tucci
Brad, played by David Duchovny
Brie, played by Patricia Heaton
Beethoven (the dog), played by Chris

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Movies - Beethoven

Plot

Cast

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