Beethoven (film): Difference between revisions

A series of films about a St. Bernard named after [[Ludwig Van Beethoven]]. Unlike in its [[Beethoven the Animated Series|animated spin-off]], '''Beethoven''' could not speak, although he still had [[Amplified Animal Aptitude]]. In keeping with the theme of the composer, the sequels were named ''Beethoven's 2nd'', ''Beethoven's 3rd'', etc. It was originally executive produced by Ivan Reitman, who had previously produced and/or directed such films as ''[[Meatballs]]'', ''[[Stripes]]'', ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', ''[[Twins]]'', ''[[Kindergarten Cop]]'', ''[[Dave]]'', ''[[Junior]]'', and ''[[Six Days Seven Nights]]''. It was also originally co-written by [[John Hughes]], writing under the pseudonym "Edmond Dantes."

The original film, released in 1992, focused on Beethoven's adoption by the Newton family -- grumpyfamily—grumpy father George (Charles Grodin), caring wife Alice (Bonnie Hunt), [[Cool Big Sis]]/[[Bratty Teenage Daughter]] Ryce (Nicholle Tom of ''[[The Nanny]]'' fame), geeky son Ted (Christopher Castile of ''[[Step by Step]]'' fame) and [[Cheerful Child]] Emily (Sarah Rose Karr). However, evil veterinarian Dr. Herman Varnick (Dean Jones, who would later voice George Newton in the animated series) wants to dog-nap Beethoven and some other dogs for use in unethical experiments. Reportedly, the American Veterinary Association was not happy about the film using a veterinarian as the villain, and in response, wrote a scathing letter to Jack Valenti, who was then-president of the Motion Picture Association of America. Possibly as a result, the sequel has a "safer" villain in the form of Regina, a [[101 Dalmatians|Cruella de Vil]]-esque [[Rich Bitch]] played by Debi Mazar. ''Beethoven's 2nd'' was the last film to feature the original cast and the last to be released theatrically. It was also the last film to involve Reitman as executive producer.

Seven years after ''Beethoven's 2nd'', the series was resurrected with some [[Direct to Video]] sequels. The family members were replaced with [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|Suspiciously Similar Substitutes]]s, with the explanation that Beethoven was living "[[Sequel Non Entity|temporarily"]] with George's brother Richard Newton (Judge Reinhold) and his family. This family includes wife Beth (Julia Sweeney), son Brennan (Joe Pichler) and daughter Sara (Michaela Gallo). After two films with them, ''Beethoven's 5th'' featured Sara ([[The Other Darrin|now played by Daveigh Chase]]) bringing Beethoven along on a visit to her Uncle Freddie (Dave Thomas) with the rest of the family absent. Finally, ''Beethoven's 5th'' was followed by ''Beethoven's Big Break'', which [[Continuity Reboot|rebooted]] the franchise. No sequels have been made since then, until recently when Beethoven's Christmas Adventure was announced with last second marketing.