A Dog's Purpose

"Every dog happens for a reason."

2017 1h 40m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 3,612

AdventureFantasyFamilyDrama

Synopsis

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A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.

“Every dog happens for a reason.”

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Cast

Josh Gad
Dogs: Bailey / Buddy / Tino / Ellie (voice)
KJ Apa
Teen Ethan
Britt Robertson
Teen Hannah
Juliet Rylance
Elizabeth - Ethan's Mom
Luke Kirby
Jim - Ethan's Dad
John Ortiz
Carlos
Kirby Howell-Baptiste
Maya Williams
Pooch Hall
Al

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lasse Hallström
Writers: Cathryn Michon, Audrey Wells, Maya Forbes
Languages: English
Countries: India, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: India, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "A Dog's Purpose Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lasse Hallström, shot by Terry Stacey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Leighton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Josh Gad and KJ Apa and Britt Robertson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lasse Hallström directs. Terry Stacey behind the camera. Rachel Portman scores. Robert Leighton cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in India, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 9.3× over at the box office.
2Released 9 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: India, United States of America.
4Part of the "A Dog's Purpose Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Lasse Hallström, shot by Terry Stacey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Robert Leighton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Josh Gad and KJ Apa and Britt Robertson carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Every dog happens for a reason.".
10IMDB entry: tt1753383 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Terry Stacey
Original score: Rachel Portman
Editing: Robert Leighton
Production design: Michael Carlin
Costume design: Shay Cunliffe
Makeup / hair: Doug Morrow
VFX supervisor: Jon Campfens
Sound: Skip Lievsay
Stunt coordinator: Marny Eng
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $22,000,000
Box office: $205,000,000
Return: 932% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: A Dog's Purpose (2017)

Part of

A Dog's Purpose Collection

A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.

Also by

Lasse Hallström

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2017-09-04
★ 9/10
Caught in the rebirth-loop! I might a bit overrated it, but it's well deserved that. It has been a long time since I wetted my eyes for a film. Especially for being a tearjerker fan in the early days. This looks like a sequel to 'Fluke', though it justified to be an independent film. Based on the book of the same name, directed by the one who made 'Hachi: A Dog's Tale'. A perfect family film, but entirely a fictional account. Do you remember those films about a human being trapped in the time- loop, not knowing why and takes a quest to find the purpose? Yep, this is same, but with a dog and not a time-loop, instead, the rebirths. The tale was told from a dog's perspective, his life from puppy to growing old with his owners. The lives he enjoyed, struggled, loved, and not understanding why the life circle keeps repeating. After all the things film wanted to tell us, the story ends with an explanation. Just a simple one. The dog's the hero, he's found in every frame. The rest of the characters were well designed. Especially the sub-stories to blend with the dog's. All the dogs who acted in the film were awesome. This is one of the best dog films. As I said, it is not great, but surely enjoyable by everyone. Especially in the today's CGI dominated and/or superhero flicks, this is something close to our heart, despite a fantasy tale. So, go it! 8.5/10
Harry_Gill2026-06-13
A Dog's Purpose asks a simple, almost greedy question: what if the dog you lost kept finding its way back to you, life after life? Bailey is born, loved, and dies, then returns as a new dog carrying the same soul and the same self-appointed job, which is to look after humans who do not always deserve him. On paper it is shameless. In practice it works, because the film commits completely to the dog's point of view and never once apologises for it. What lifts it above pure sentiment is the narration. We hear the dog trying to make sense of human behaviour: why his boy drifts away, why people leave, why a house fills with a sadness he cannot fix just by being good. Every dog owner knows that gap between what a dog understands and what it clearly feels. That gap is where this movie lives. It is not subtle and it is not trying to be. It is worth knowing there was an on-set controversy about a water scene around the time of release, which the studio addressed, and viewers can weigh that for themselves. But as a story about loyalty outliving a single lifetime, it lands hard. Watch it with tissues, and ideally with a dog within arm's reach. If you want more dog films reviewed the same way, I keep a running list here: https://dogwithblog.in/a-dogs-purpose-movie-review/

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