Our pets are like family. They keep us company throughout the many days and years of our lives without asking for much in return. Any pet owner would know that the true joy of spending time with their furry (or non-furry) friends is a unique and special bond they canât have with just anyone else.
Aside from showering us with their affection and support, our pets even have the ability to take our mind off stress from daily life. If they canât, theyâll stay with us anyway. They can show us their love when we need it the most, without even asking them to do so. Heck, even their silly moments can have us cracking up for days.
Even in our worst moments, they wonât judge us. Perhaps, theyâre the only living beings that see us the same way when weâre happy, hurting, or filled with anger. At the end of the day, regardless of what it brings us, theyâll always be waiting happily for us.
Because of this wonderful friendship, itâs only right that we treat them with the same love and respect that they do us. Not everyone will be as accepting, grateful, or kind. And yet, you have one right at your feet, waiting for you to give them the same things you’re looking for.
Today, we wanted to celebrate this beautiful friendship by giving you a list of â90s family movies that would only make you love your pets more.
Movies to Watch with Your Pets
Movies are great pastimes. Not only can they give you a lot of thought or perspective, they also elicit strong emotions within us and give us inspiration. They also make us realize what truly matters most.
Whether youâre into dogs, cats, birds, rodents, reptiles, or anything in between, the nostalgic ’90s family movies on this list would make you want to hug your pet.
Homeward Bound (1993)
In this movie, three loving pets venture forth from their homes in a California ranch to seek their owners who went on a vacation in San Francisco.
Together with Chance, a young and willful bull terrier; Shadow, an old and perceptive golden retriever; and Sassy, a snobby siamese cat; the trio go on a risky, cross-country adventure filled with brilliant and humorous dialogue that demonstrates petsâ true love for their owners.
Free Willy (1993)
The second one on our list is a touching tale of a mischievous boy and a young, separated orca whale named Willy. At the same time the marina adopted the killer whale, a young boy, named Jesse, was also assigned community service by helping clean up the place.
Spending his time there regularly, Jesse begins to take a liking on Willy, teaching him tricks that trainers were never able to do. However, when the owner goes off on a malicious, money-making scheme off of the whale, the young boyâs friends go out to save him.
Beethoven (1992)
Another one of the classic family movies is Beethoven, set in a suburban family home in the US. The story begins with the Newton family adopting a St. Bernard puppy. Soon enough, this puppy they named Beethoven grew very large, causing ruckus in the house because of his size. Aggravated by the commotion, the father of the family subjected the dog to staying in the backyard.
As the story progressed, an evil vet captured Beethoven to perform experiments on the animal. Because of which, the family sets out to rescue him from the warehouse, along with all the captive dogs they were holding.
Air Bud (1997)
Air Bud is a whimsical and comedic tale of a Golden Retriever, great at playing basketball. Buddy was a circus dog who managed to escape his awful owner. He was then founded by 12 year-old Josh Framm, who was grieving the death of his father.
While practicing the sport in their backyard, the young boy learns that his newfound dog was actually skilled at basketball. And so, they played all the time until Josh improved his skills enough to join the school team.
Buddy was then promoted as the teamâs mascot, and started gaining media attention. Unfortunately, his mean old owner caught sight of him, and planned to deploy a money-making scheme that could get the two separated from each other.
Babe (1995)
An average farmer wins a piglet, named Babe, from the county fair. He then takes her home to the farm to meet all the other animals.
Although she seemed to get along with everyone, Babe wasnât interested in only doing pig stuff. Amazed by her Border Collie friend tending the sheep, she wanted to do the same. Following in his footsteps, she also began attending to them, and was successful at it. This threatened a lot of the other animals in the farm, who began to go behind her back, saying that her actions were upsetting the balance.
Soon thereafter, her owner signed her up for a herding competition, which she almost failed. During this time, the leadsheep dog Rex ran back to the sheep in the farm, and obtained a secret password for the sheep to listen in exchange for a promise that they will treat Babe better. He got the password, and Babe won the contest with a perfect score.
Lassie (1994)
Lassie is a story of a heroic female Collie, who loved her family very dearly. She was adopted by the Turners, who just recently moved to a rural countryside, struggling to adjust to their new environment and family arrangement.
Their neighbors, an affluent sheep-herder, felt threatened by the familyâs new sheep business, and tried to sabotage their livelihood. One day, their neighbors gathered and stole the Turnerâs herd along with Lassie.
In a wild goose chase, Lassie fell to a raging waterfall to save the neighborâs son. The story ended with the neighbors apologizing to the family. The Turners held a memorial for Lassie, during which the dog dramatically returns alive yet injured.
Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)
Yellow was a stray Golden Retriever, who was rescued by a family of sailing enthusiasts. During a sailing trip, Angus, his dad John, and Yellow find themselves facing a large storm, with hurricanes that swallowed their entire boat. Thankfully, the trio survived but were separated.
John got washed ashore, and was immediately sent to the hospital. Meanwhile, his son and the dog were remained on a lifeboat, which landed on the shore of a deserted island. Fighting for their survival, the two go on to build their own shelter, hunt food, and ultimately signal for help. With Yellow’s help, Angus got to to safety while he was left on the island to fend for himself.
101 Dalmatians (1996)
One of Disney’s classic family movies worth to watch is 101 Dalmatians. This live action film follows a story between two dalmatians, Pongo and Perdita, who brought their owners together. After Perdita gave birth to 15 puppies, they were visited by Cruella De Vil, a fashion designer who used animal fur for her clothing.
Upon seeing the puppies, Cruella wanted to have them, to the point of hiring a criminal to do the deed. Eventually, Cruella and her thieves were able to dognap the entire litter. This made Pongo and Perdita plead to all of London via the twilight bark. They immediately gathered the entire nationâs animals together to track the puppies down.
Paulie (1998)
Paulie is a story of a wise and intelligent parrot, who found himself neglected and alone in a scientific research lab. One day, he found himself speaking to one of the janitors in the facility, and there he began a recount of his past.
According to his story, his first home was in a family whose child stuttered every time she spoke. After many weeks and days, Paulie was able to teach the kid to talk. However, things took a quick turn when he was immediately sent away because the father did not appreciate the child believing in a âfantasyâ that her parrot could actually speak.
From there, he went on countless more adventures, being passed on to an owner of a pawnshop, a widower, a composer, and a supposed thief until he finally reached the facility where he is locked up in. Together with his newfound friend, they go on a quest to return to Marie, his original owner.
Conclusion
And there you have it! Your full list of â90s family movies that show us the different experiences we can have with our pets.
It’s truly an honor to share our homes with our little animal buddies. So, watching family movies, which highlight lessons, joys, and pains, with our dear pets would only make us appreciate them more than we already do.
