Snow Dogs
Short description
A Miami dentist discovers he was adopted and travels to Alaska after inheriting a team of sled dogs from his biological mother. While adjusting to the frozen environment, he must learn to manage the energetic animals to keep them. He faces opposition from a gruff local man who wants the dogs for himself and hopes the city dweller will return home.
The film was directed by Brian Levant, following his work on six previous projects, including The Flintstones and Jingle All the Way. The cast features Cuba Gooding Jr. as the lead character, alongside James Coburn, Sisqó, Nichelle Nichols, M. Emmet Walsh, and Graham Greene. This production was a joint effort between companies in Canada and the United States, including Walt Disney Pictures.
Produced with a budget of 35 million USD, the movie earned 81 million USD at the worldwide box office. Audience reception is mixed, with a rating of 5.2/10 on IMDb from 30,000 votes and 5.6/10 on TMDB from 803 votes. These viewer scores are slightly higher than the rating provided by film critics, who gave the movie a 4/10 based on 85 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Some of the dogs involved in the film also participated in the filming of Frank Marshall's “Eight Below” (2005).
- Dog trainers were constantly present on set, giving the dogs commands with gestures and sounds – to growl, lie down, sit, stand, and even dig. One scene shows the dogs lying and resting, when suddenly one of them starts digging and unearths a flask. The trainer had simply hidden treats in the snow near the flask and gestured for the dog to dig.
- In a nightmare scene, Ted's dogs are lounging on beach chairs wearing sunglasses. To prepare for this scene, each dog was assigned a dedicated trainer, and preparation took an entire month. Each dog had its own custom-fitted lounger and individual swimsuit. The trainers positioned the dogs on the loungers, put sunglasses on them, and stepped out of the frame, attracting the dogs' attention so they would look in different directions.
- All the dogs were pre-trained to work in harness. The snow covering the ground was real – unlike the snow falling from above.
- The film is set in Alaska, where the main character is attacked by a striped skunk. However, striped skunks are found in all US states except Alaska and Hawaii.
- Filming took place in the United States and Canada from January 29 to April 23, 2001.
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