Animal Friendship Stories
by jared_hillman | created - 25 Apr 2013 | updated - 25 Apr 2013 | PublicStories that chronicle a bond between a main human protagonist and an animal co-star.
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1. Free Willy (1993)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
When a boy learns that a beloved killer whale is to be killed by the aquarium owners, the boy risks everything to free the whale.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Jason James Richter, Lori Petty, Michael Madsen, Jayne Atkinson
Votes: 82,888 | Gross: $77.70M
2. Fly Away Home (1996)
PG | 107 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A father and daughter decide to attempt to lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney
Votes: 27,098 | Gross: $24.51M
3. Flicka (2006)
PG | 95 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Young Katy claims a wild horse as her own -- an effort to prove to her father that she is capable of taking over the family horse ranch one day.
Director: Michael Mayer | Stars: Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw, Maria Bello, Ryan Kwanten
Votes: 8,502 | Gross: $21.00M
4. Andre (1994)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
The true story of how a seal named Andre befriended a little girl named Toni and her family in 1962.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Tina Majorino, Keith Carradine, Chelsea Field, Shane Meier
Votes: 7,256 | Gross: $16.82M
5. Lassie Come Home (1943)
Passed | 89 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
After her destitute family is forced to sell her, a collie named Lassie escapes from her new owner and begins the long trek from Scotland to her Yorkshire home.
Director: Fred M. Wilcox | Stars: Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, May Whitty, Edmund Gwenn
Votes: 5,931
6. Dolphin Tale (2011)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Family
A boy finds a dolphin that was injured in a trap. They become friends, but the dolphin needs to have its tail amputated to survive. With the help of a biologist and a prosthetics specialist, the boy tries to save the animal.
Director: Charles Martin Smith | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Nathan Gamble
Votes: 25,687 | Gross: $72.29M
7. Big Miracle (2012)
PG | 107 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In small-town Alaska, a news reporter recruits his Greenpeace-volunteer ex-girlfriend on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly-forming ice in the Arctic Circle.
Director: Ken Kwapis | Stars: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, John Pingayak, Ahmaogak Sweeney
Votes: 20,503 | Gross: $20.11M
8. Seabiscuit (2003)
PG-13 | 140 min | Drama, History, Sport
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Cooper
Votes: 76,733 | Gross: $120.28M
9. Dunston Checks In (1996)
PG | 88 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A young boy befriends a larcenous orangutan in a luxury hotel.
Director: Ken Kwapis | Stars: Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, Eric Lloyd, Rupert Everett
Votes: 13,396 | Gross: $9.87M
10. Duma (2005)
PG | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Alex Michaeletos, Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Mary Makhatho
Votes: 8,596 | Gross: $0.86M
11. National Velvet (1944)
Passed | 123 min | Drama, Family, Sport
A jaded former jockey helps a young girl prepare a wild but gifted horse for England's Grand National Sweepstakes.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp, Anne Revere
Votes: 7,996
12. Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris, John Omirah Miluwi
Votes: 29,162 | Gross: $24.72M
13. Secretariat (2010)
PG | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Family
Penny Chenery Tweedy and colleagues guide her long-shot but precocious stallion to set, in 1973, the unbeaten record for winning the Triple Crown.
Director: Randall Wallace | Stars: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Margo Martindale, Nelsan Ellis
Votes: 30,540 | Gross: $59.71M
14. The Horse Whisperer (1998)
PG-13 | 169 min | Drama, Romance, Western
The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 43,507 | Gross: $75.38M
15. Old Yeller (1957)
Approved | 83 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A teenage boy grows to love a stray yellow dog while helping his mother and younger brother run their Texas homestead while their father is away on a cattle drive. First thought to be good-for-nothing mutt, Old Yeller is soon beloved by all.
Director: Robert Stevenson | Stars: Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, Tommy Kirk, Jeff York
Votes: 15,144 | Gross: $21.91M
16. My Dog Skip (2000)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A shy boy grows up in 1940s Mississippi with the help of his beloved dog, Skip.
Director: Jay Russell | Stars: Frankie Muniz, Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane, Luke Wilson
Votes: 21,333 | Gross: $34.10M
17. The Black Stallion (1979)
G | 118 min | Adventure, Family, Sport
After being shipwrecked with a magnificent horse off the coast of Africa in the 1940s, a boy bonds with the stallion, and trains him to race after their rescue.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Clarence Muse
Votes: 14,024
18. Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A mischievous dog befriends a lonely young girl in a new town and helps her make new friends.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: AnnaSophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Eva Marie Saint, Cicely Tyson
Votes: 12,651 | Gross: $32.65M
19. Dreamer (2005)
PG | 106 min | Drama, Family, Sport
Cale Crane catalyzes the rescue and rehabilitation of Sonador, a race horse with a broken leg.
Director: John Gatins | Stars: Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Oded Fehr, Kris Kristofferson
Votes: 14,072 | Gross: $32.70M
20. Flipper (1996)
PG | 95 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A teenage boy sent to spend the summer with his eccentric uncle on the Florida coast befriends a remarkable dolphin and takes on local bad guys who are polluting the water.
Director: Alan Shapiro | Stars: Paul Hogan, Elijah Wood, Jonathan Banks, Robert Deacon
Votes: 11,655 | Gross: $20.05M
21. Firehouse Dog (2007)
PG | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Family
Rexxx, Hollywood's top canine star, gets lost and is adopted into a shabby firehouse. He teams up with a young kid to get the station back on its feet.
Director: Todd Holland | Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Bruce Greenwood, Bree Turner, Bill Nunn
Votes: 6,316 | Gross: $13.92M
22. Buddy (1997)
PG | 84 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A depiction of the true life story of Gertrude Lintz, an eccentric 1920's socialite who tries to raise a gorilla, like many chimps before him, as part of her family.
Director: Caroline Thompson | Stars: Rene Russo, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming, Irma P. Hall
Votes: 2,816 | Gross: $10.01M
23. Shiloh (1996)
PG | 93 min | Drama, Family
A small-town Southern boy named Marty Preston must rescue a young beagle from his abusive owner, Judd Travers.
Director: Dale Rosenbloom | Stars: Blake Heron, Michael Moriarty, Scott Wilson, Bonnie Bartlett
Votes: 3,757 | Gross: $1.00M
24. Whale Rider (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Family
A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
Director: Niki Caro | Stars: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis
Votes: 44,024 | Gross: $20.78M
25. Beethoven (1992)
PG | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A slobbering St. Bernard becomes the center of attention for a loving family, but must contend with a dog-napping veterinarian and his henchmen.
Director: Brian Levant | Stars: Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones, Nicholle Tom
Votes: 76,423 | Gross: $57.11M
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