My Dog Skip

Based on the real-life memoir by Willie Morris about growing up in Mississippi in the 1940s, this is a syrupy but nonetheless enjoyable tale of a lonely young boy Willie (Muniz) who is given a dog (‘I was an only child. He was an only dog.’) by his mother (Lane). Boy and dog bond, especially because Dad (Bacon), who lost his leg in the Spanish Civil War, is pretty unreachable. In fact, Willie’s only human confidant is grown-up Dink (Wilson), a neighbour who soon goes off to war himself.
It’s melodramatic, to be sure, but while it occasionally views the past through rose-tinted glasses, it also shows the rough stuff, too – anyone who has ever lost a pet will agonise along with Willie when Skip runs away and he goes searching for him, while very young eyes should be shielded when a deer is shot in front of Willie. A nostalgic treat, but be warned, a weepie, too.