Hollywood has always been wise to the commercial potential of dogs, both as a heroic lead character (Lassie) or cute sidekick (The Wizard Of Oz). But there has probably never been a year to match 2009 in terms of major box-office for movies prominently featuring pooches. Which has all helped boost the profile of the third annual Fido awards, rewarding canine excellence in films, held at London's BFI Southbank on Sunday.
Biggest of those box-office hits is Up, which romped home in the Blockbuster Bowser category. Although a whole pack of dogs feature in the Pixar hit, it is unlikely hero Dug that won over the five-member jury of British film critics. Fellow animated mutt Bolt, nominated for Comedy Canine, lost out in the category to the dogs of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, the tale of a pampered pooch who learns valuable lessons when she gets dognapped in Mexico.
The titular hero of Marley And Me – performed by 14 different golden Labradors – was a worthy winner in the Romcom Rover category, despite admired performances by the cute Eskimo dog in Sandra Bullock's The Proposal and Jason Segel's Anwar Sadat-lookalike puggle in I Love You, Man.
But not all the prizes were won by Hollywood Blockbusters. Gritty London drama Fish Tank triumphed for Mutt Moment, and Staffordshire bull terrier Syrus, who played Tennents in the Andrea Arnold-directed picture, was there in person (with trainer Steve Cain) to collect his winner's rosette.
Also in attendance was trainer Gill Raddings with Cavalier King Charles spaniel Tori (see pic above), who played Dash in The Young Victoria. Tori won Historical Hound and was also named overall champion Best In World.
The Fidos were presented in association with Dogs Trust, and grew out of the Palm Dog, which is awarded every year for the best canine performance at the Cannes Film Festival. The top five dog movies of 2009 – Up, Bolt, Marley And Me, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Hotel For Dogs – have collectively grossed $1.45bn at cinemas worldwide. If you add in five other films that were nominated at the Fidos – The Proposal, Inglourious Basterds, Gran Torino, Coraline and I Love You Man – then the year's doggie box-office take rises to over $2.5bn.
All good news for the makers of 2010 canine-themed Hollywood offerings, such as Marmaduke (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Cats And Dogs: Revenge Of Kitty Galore.
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