I remember seeing most of this family adventure movie as a kid. It was released early in 1993, and I think I saw it on video later that year. Towards the end, I came across a scene which I found too overwhelmingly sad, and I guess I didn't watch what little was left of the film, though I did watch the sequel, "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco", from beginning to end shortly after it was released on video in 1996. I believe it's been nearly seventeen years since I watched any of "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey", but after all these years, I still remember it. After renting it this month, I can say I've finally seen it all. While it's not what I would call a bad movie, I was definitely not as impressed as many others clearly have been.
Chance is a naïve young Bulldog who was once stuck at the pound, a place he hated, but is now owned by a boy named Jamie Seaver. He lives with two other domestic animals: Shadow, a wise old Golden Retriever owned by Jamie's stepbrother, Peter Burnford; and Sassy, an arrogant Himalayan cat owned by Peter's sister, Hope. After Laura Burnford and Bob Seaver get married, meaning that the two families are now one, they go on a trip to San Francisco and the pets are left at a friend's ranch. Chance, Shadow, and Sassy do not understand what has just happened, and don't realize that their owners will come back, so they think they've been abandoned! Shadow decides to leave the ranch and set out to find the family, and Sassy and Chance soon follow! The three of them find themselves on a journey through the wilderness, facing the dangers of this terrain! Chance's lack of experience definitely won't help him on this adventure.
The silly things Chance does and the rivalry between Chance and Sassy are meant to be comical, which they sometimes are, but not usually. Chance's antics can also get tiring after a short while. I didn't care much for these two characters, and don't think Michael J. Fox and Sally Field did a very good job providing their respective voices. Don Ameche as Shadow might be the only decent voice-over of the three, and this character is the most likable of the leads. After I started watching "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" this month, I soon realized how boring I found the film, and that didn't change until I got to the part where the journey begins. There's lots of beautiful scenery through the mountainous wilderness and the adventure of the three domestic animals is often exciting. Shadow's wisdom can be another intriguing aspect of the film, and some scenes are fairly touching, such as the Golden Retriever saving a little girl lost in the forest. However, there's still more weak humour during the adventure, and the scenes with the humans looking for the animals are certainly not as interesting as the ones showing the pets on their journey. None of the human characters really stand out.
With a spoiler warning, I will tell you which part made me really sad all those years ago, and the ending that follows. If you haven't seen the film, you might not want to read on, but if you have, then maybe you've already guessed. It's the part where the three pets are almost home, but Shadow falls into a pit and injures his leg, and it appears he can't get out! When I watched "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco", I knew the aging dog obviously got out of the pit somehow, since he's in that sequel. After over a decade and a half, I finally found out that "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" doesn't show how Shadow gets out, but at the end, we see the three animals returning to their owners, even though it takes the Golden Retriever longer to show up than it does for the other two. Anyway, overall, this particular animal movie is hit-and-miss, with an exciting adventure and cute animal stars, but also with several significant shortcomings.
Chance is a naïve young Bulldog who was once stuck at the pound, a place he hated, but is now owned by a boy named Jamie Seaver. He lives with two other domestic animals: Shadow, a wise old Golden Retriever owned by Jamie's stepbrother, Peter Burnford; and Sassy, an arrogant Himalayan cat owned by Peter's sister, Hope. After Laura Burnford and Bob Seaver get married, meaning that the two families are now one, they go on a trip to San Francisco and the pets are left at a friend's ranch. Chance, Shadow, and Sassy do not understand what has just happened, and don't realize that their owners will come back, so they think they've been abandoned! Shadow decides to leave the ranch and set out to find the family, and Sassy and Chance soon follow! The three of them find themselves on a journey through the wilderness, facing the dangers of this terrain! Chance's lack of experience definitely won't help him on this adventure.
The silly things Chance does and the rivalry between Chance and Sassy are meant to be comical, which they sometimes are, but not usually. Chance's antics can also get tiring after a short while. I didn't care much for these two characters, and don't think Michael J. Fox and Sally Field did a very good job providing their respective voices. Don Ameche as Shadow might be the only decent voice-over of the three, and this character is the most likable of the leads. After I started watching "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" this month, I soon realized how boring I found the film, and that didn't change until I got to the part where the journey begins. There's lots of beautiful scenery through the mountainous wilderness and the adventure of the three domestic animals is often exciting. Shadow's wisdom can be another intriguing aspect of the film, and some scenes are fairly touching, such as the Golden Retriever saving a little girl lost in the forest. However, there's still more weak humour during the adventure, and the scenes with the humans looking for the animals are certainly not as interesting as the ones showing the pets on their journey. None of the human characters really stand out.
With a spoiler warning, I will tell you which part made me really sad all those years ago, and the ending that follows. If you haven't seen the film, you might not want to read on, but if you have, then maybe you've already guessed. It's the part where the three pets are almost home, but Shadow falls into a pit and injures his leg, and it appears he can't get out! When I watched "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco", I knew the aging dog obviously got out of the pit somehow, since he's in that sequel. After over a decade and a half, I finally found out that "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" doesn't show how Shadow gets out, but at the end, we see the three animals returning to their owners, even though it takes the Golden Retriever longer to show up than it does for the other two. Anyway, overall, this particular animal movie is hit-and-miss, with an exciting adventure and cute animal stars, but also with several significant shortcomings.