Air Bud (1997)

Excellent but underrated film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

(Some Spoilers) After being abandoned on the highway by his master the drunken clown Norm Snively played by Michael Jeter, no relations to Yankee star infielder Derek, Buddy the dog is befriended by young Josh Framm, Kevin Zegers, who found Buddy lost and hungry wandering around in the woods. Josh is having trouble adjusting to his new life in Fernfield Washington and Buddy is just what he needs, a friend, to spend his time with. As it soon turns out Buddy has this talent in shooting basketballs through hoops by bouncing them off his snout that can put Michael Jordon and Jerry West to shame! The film has Josh together with his dog Buddy become the sensation of Fernfield High School who do a half-time show that's draws more people them the basketball game itself. It's the teams new coach school janitor and boiler room attendant,it gets real cold up there in Washington State during the winter, former professional basketball player for the New York Knicks Arthur Chaney, Bill Cobbs,who sees potential in Buddy's,the team's mascot, ability to play on the team and waits just for the right moment to put him into the game. That comes at the critical game for the state championship honors between Coach Chaney's Timberwolves and last years champions Warriors! It's during this time that Buddy's former owner Snively, while recovering from the DT's, sees Buddy on the local TV news shooting baskets and a light bulb lights up in his head. Seeing dollar signs and six packs of beer in his future Snively decides to get Buddy back legally despite having abandoned him months ago. Something that both Buddy and his new found friend Josh will do everything in their power to prevent.Corny at times but heart warming film with the sharp shooting Buddy, who sadly passed away six months after the films release, making every basket count as well as stealing ever scene in the movie. Not only was Buddy able to score points but as Coach Chaney predicted motivate the players, especially Josh, to improve their game as well. While Snively tried to get Buddy back and make money with him by doing beer and dog food commercials the dog with Josh's help escaped and ended up in court in a dog custody case with Josh and Snively as the complainants.***SPOILERS***Even though the presiding judge in the case Judge Cornfield, played by Eric Christmas,is a big Knick, as well as former Knick player Arthur Chaney, fan and was very sympathetic for Josh in seeing what a crazy nut, coming to court dressed up as Bozo the clown, Sinvely was it was in fact Buddy who made the decision to whom he want's to stay with. And as it turned out that decision was final!

I like this movie, I really do. I saw this movie with my uncle for my birthday when I was 10, and I was so excited about this. And now, six years later, I still am. Josh is an 11 year old boy who moves with his sister and his mum after his father died. He's lonely, and he doesn't make friends at his new school. Until he finds a dog, also lonely. The dog belongs to some sort of clown who mistreats him and isn't really nice to him, but the dog got lost and escaped from him. And then they, the boy and the dog, become friends. Josh is the 'waterboy' of the school's basketball-team, but that changes when he discovers that the dog, with the name Buddy, can play basketball. There's nothing wrong with this film. It's a warm movie about a special friendship between two 'loners'. The story is not always really logical; it's never explained how the dog did find Josh back, but that isn't important. It's a kids movie, and children don't think about the logicalness of the movie. The actors are all wonderful in this film. Wendy Makkena, the shy Maria Roberta in the Sister Act-films, the young Kevin Zegers, a sympathetic Bill Cobs in a cliché role, and most of all Michael Jeter. It's really a shame that he died, it was such a wonderful actor. And of course Buddy, with his wonderful trainer Kevin DiMaccio, also one of the writers and producers. In this time of tragic, bloody and heavy cinema, people should enjoy this kind of films. Warm, light-hearted, and most of all: funny.

A young boy who's father has passed away moves to a new town with his baby sister and mother, with little hopes of making new friends or getting over his father's death: until he finds a dog who can play basketball! Turning suddenly from being an incompetent water boy, whom only dreams of joining the school basketball team, to an admirable young athlete with his great new dog, Buddy.A mildly entertaining afternoon special for kids. With it's innocence and slitly comicle charm, this movie, like all other afterschool specials has it's moments. I wouldn't say it was funny, it dosn't have what most of the modern day kids or pre-teens are looking for in their entertainment: Bombs going off, blood, martial arts or showy costumes. It's the type of thing for a family with three or four children of mixed ages to watch with their mother before nap time. Isn't obscene like most movies even a nine year old might watch these days, yet isn't Barnie or Elmo either.

This is a good movie, really. The late dog was charming, and very talented. Zegers is a good actor.It's been a while since I've seen this film, but I can tell you that it had a good, if seeming a little cliched, story. Zegers is Josh Framm, he's been upset since his test-pilot father was killed in an accident. After moving to Washington, he doesn't fit in and becomes even more upset, but things turn around when he finds a stray dog that has run away from its previous owner.When he discovers that this dog can shoot baskets, he's cheered up, and decides to join the basketball team, bringing the dog Buddy along as a mascot.This movie is a little too melodramatic for a kids' movie in certain places. For example, there's the scene in which the basketball coach, after a game in which the character Tom had trouble catching passes, is alone with Tom in the gym, repeatedly firing balls at Tom that batter him all over his body. When Josh and the principal find them, Tom turns and we see bruises on his face and a black eye. That's a little disturbing.Other than that, this movie is not that bad. All of the sequals suck. Dogs can't play baseball, that's why the ball in the fourth movie is computer animated, completely ruining the spirit of the series.