This movie gets TOP Marks, in my opinion. I recommend it on a DVD Buy list - you won't regret it.
One thing about this movie was that it went back to the original "Lassie Come Home" story-line and story locations (rural England vice suburbia United States). I loved the scenes and cinematography for that value alone.
The worst thing about movies that are remade are that everyone expects them to be the same as the original. The original "Lassie" movie that the 2005 edition emulates was "Lassie Come Home", starring Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall( c 1943). Set in pre-WWII Yorkshire, they tell a tail about an out-of-work miner having to sell his family dog to the local land baron and the dog's journey back home after being relocated. The 1943 movie was spectacular given the available effects of the time (as were the follow-on movies, Courage of Lassie and Son of Lassie) and this movie, in my opinion does justice to the original and stands on its own right as a great movie. Its unfortunate that this movie has been so under-exposed that folks have thought the television series (1954, with Timmy falling-in-the-well and the subsequent US location filmed movies of the late 90s and early 2Ks). ~~ The 2005 edition, filmed on locations in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man (Yorkshire having become too industrialized to support the wide-open screen shots in the terrain desired), and the actors and actresses are built on United Kingdom talents, rather than importing US actors and forcing the movie-goer to listen to vague renderings of what we would consider "english" accents (totally ignoring that Yorkshire and Scotland have two entirely different population groups and accents). I didn't consider the acting to be particularly wooden or abysmal as suggested by some, but the story isn't about the humans, so their part in the movie could be silent anyway. The story is about the dog. Some of the scenes seemed to serve little purpose other than to say "animal cruelty isn't accepted, not even by animal control officers". The burgeoning romance between the two adults who want to adopt the wayward dog just feel like "filler" and had no real value without some sort of follow-through or closure. ~~ I believe the efforts taken to make the movie appealing to the younger generation (children, who can still read a book) who haven't a clue about the TV series or the older movies, were exemplary. This would be a difficult movie to film and keep the story line close to the book "Lassie Come Home" in today's high-tech demanding computer-movie world. True, the dogs' scenes were scripted and appeared to be more staged than in the old movies, but that's largely due to the older movies not having to cope with huge amounts of extra processes and props that are part of today's production location. Anyone who's trained dogs knows its not easy to get the dog to go exactly where you want it to, time after time after time, until the director and producer feel the scene is perfect. ~~ This is a 21st Century Salute to the 1943 movie, and stands on its own as a superb movie, given the story-line and movie-goers desires. At best, it highlights in this No-Pets-Allowed world of disposable cellphones and over-run animal shelters, that owning then discarding a dog is traumatic for the people and the dog. At worst, its a movie that adults and children will love to watch, go home crying about, and then will help them be nice people - for at least a few days.
One thing about this movie was that it went back to the original "Lassie Come Home" story-line and story locations (rural England vice suburbia United States). I loved the scenes and cinematography for that value alone.
The worst thing about movies that are remade are that everyone expects them to be the same as the original. The original "Lassie" movie that the 2005 edition emulates was "Lassie Come Home", starring Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall( c 1943). Set in pre-WWII Yorkshire, they tell a tail about an out-of-work miner having to sell his family dog to the local land baron and the dog's journey back home after being relocated. The 1943 movie was spectacular given the available effects of the time (as were the follow-on movies, Courage of Lassie and Son of Lassie) and this movie, in my opinion does justice to the original and stands on its own right as a great movie. Its unfortunate that this movie has been so under-exposed that folks have thought the television series (1954, with Timmy falling-in-the-well and the subsequent US location filmed movies of the late 90s and early 2Ks). ~~ The 2005 edition, filmed on locations in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man (Yorkshire having become too industrialized to support the wide-open screen shots in the terrain desired), and the actors and actresses are built on United Kingdom talents, rather than importing US actors and forcing the movie-goer to listen to vague renderings of what we would consider "english" accents (totally ignoring that Yorkshire and Scotland have two entirely different population groups and accents). I didn't consider the acting to be particularly wooden or abysmal as suggested by some, but the story isn't about the humans, so their part in the movie could be silent anyway. The story is about the dog. Some of the scenes seemed to serve little purpose other than to say "animal cruelty isn't accepted, not even by animal control officers". The burgeoning romance between the two adults who want to adopt the wayward dog just feel like "filler" and had no real value without some sort of follow-through or closure. ~~ I believe the efforts taken to make the movie appealing to the younger generation (children, who can still read a book) who haven't a clue about the TV series or the older movies, were exemplary. This would be a difficult movie to film and keep the story line close to the book "Lassie Come Home" in today's high-tech demanding computer-movie world. True, the dogs' scenes were scripted and appeared to be more staged than in the old movies, but that's largely due to the older movies not having to cope with huge amounts of extra processes and props that are part of today's production location. Anyone who's trained dogs knows its not easy to get the dog to go exactly where you want it to, time after time after time, until the director and producer feel the scene is perfect. ~~ This is a 21st Century Salute to the 1943 movie, and stands on its own as a superb movie, given the story-line and movie-goers desires. At best, it highlights in this No-Pets-Allowed world of disposable cellphones and over-run animal shelters, that owning then discarding a dog is traumatic for the people and the dog. At worst, its a movie that adults and children will love to watch, go home crying about, and then will help them be nice people - for at least a few days.