One of the things I love most about animated films are the vast differences in them all. The biggest differences usually come from the varying countries of origin to each animation style. The latest, A Dog’s Courage comes from Korea and from the trailers looks like some great animation, but does it deliver on the promise or will it fail to find its way home?

 

A Dog’s Courage follows Jacob, a feisty, playful dog abandoned by his owners who joins a pack of strays and comes to terms with his unwanted and abrupt freedom. With his new friends in tow, Ralph heads north and finds the perfect place of safety and peace -- the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

 

You never know with animated films to what you are really getting. There have been so many that offer up an interesting trailer and fails to impress. More often than not it’s a budget thing and poor animation, but that is thankfully not the case here. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this film. What I didn’t expect was how sad things kick off. The opening moments are disguised as a fun happy moment but quickly works out to be anything but. This is the catalyst to kick off the adventure that I fully expected to circle back for more story or closure, but instead goes off on its own adventure.

 

To some this might feel like a missed opportunity, but I found it refreshing as it was a better outcome for Jacob. From here we meet a cast of characters that are fun bunch that you will no doubt instantly fall in love with. The overall tone and look of the film harken back to old Disney films like Lady and The Tramp and 101 Dalmations. Sure the animation and look is not the same, but the overall tone and adventure were spot on. Once it gets going it never lets up and seems to coming to an end a few times, but then takes off again. It got a bit much on this front as it could have been trimmed down, but I admit it was still entertaining each and every time.

 

I didn’t expect much from this film and honestly expected it to be a throwaway cartoon flick, but instead it was fun, heartfelt with an old school vibe that delivered way more than you expect. Grab your copy of A Dog’s Courage when it hits Blu-ray and DVD on August 18th from Well Go USA.