Welcome to Tubi Tuesday. An ongoing experiment where we dig into some of the weird, underrated, and downright abysmal movies we don’t think our real life friends would let us talk at length about. At the time of writing, all of these movies (except one*) are streaming for free on Tubi, the home of Super Bowl LIX!
*We left the one that isn’t on Tubi on the list because it’s easily accessible online and we feel like it’s streaming on Tubi “in spirit.”
Dog movies have been around since the dawn of time and will continue to get made long after the sun has completely burned out. Finding consistent success on medium or small budgets, family films centered around cute, strange, or fantastical canines have become a staple of the straight-to-video film world.
As with any major genre that finds large success on the home video market, this led to as many ideas as studios could fit onto a whiteboard getting produced. We’re all familiar with the classic types of dog movies like “dog plays sport” and “dad is turned into dog to win his family’s love back,” but what if there was an under-sung dog genre that I would argue has them both beat in sensationalism?
That’s right, I’m here to tell you about movies where dogs save the day and solve crimes.
Sherlock Bones: Undercover Dog (1994)
In this assumed Oscar winner (I didn’t check) a dog detective that can talk to humans must enlist a young boy to help him rescue his kidnapped partner. However, the dog must keep his ability to talk to humans a secret, so the boy has to deal with looking crazy for the whole movie. It’s all in the name of justice.
Karate Dog (2004)
Part karate master, part cop, all dog. Karate Dog follows Cho Cho, a dog voiced by a surely regretful Chevy Chase, as he teams up with detective Simon Rex (yes, really) to solve the murder of his owner and karate teacher. This movie sets up that Cho Cho is not only a karate expert but also the only dog that can easily speak to humans. Props to the film for just smashing that hurdle immediately.
Necessary to mention in regards to a movie of this magnitude is that the dog actually does karate. It is maddening, with CGI allowing Cho Cho to flip and move in a million ways, dodging ninja stars and delivering roundhouse kicks left and right. It’s absolutely stunning.
Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail (2003)
There’s an odd trend on display with many of these films where they go through multiple titles, ultimately having the official title listed online being far different than what shows up on the poster. This is especially a crime in the case of this film, as there is no chance I will be calling a movie Dog Gone when I have the option of calling it Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail.
The film follows a police officer named Kyle and his police dog Howie. When Howie is killed, his spirit comes back in the body of a criminal, to help his human partner and best friend solve his murder.
Cop Dog (2008)
See title.