Air Bud

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Air Bud

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Charles Martin Smith
Produced by Robert Vince
Michael Strange
Robert Vince
Anne Vince
Written by Kevin DeCicco (character Air Bud)
Brett Lindsay
Aaron Mendelsohn
Starring Michael Jeter
Kevin Zegers
Wendy Makkena
Bill Cobbs
Eric Christmas
Nicola Cavendish
Brendan Fletcher
Norman Browning
Stephen E. Miller
Bud the Dog
Music by Brahm Wenger
Cinematography Mike Southon
Editing by Alison Grace
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures (USA)
Warner Bros (UK)
Release date(s) Flag of the United States August 1, 1997
Running time 98 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $3 million (estimated)
Followed by Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998)

Air Bud is the 1997 film that sparked the franchise centered around the real-life dog, Buddy, a Golden Retriever. The film's title may be wordplay with "Air Jordan", a nickname of basketball superstar Michael Jordan. Michael Jeter, despite playing the main antagonist, received top billing.

The original film was financially successful, grossing US$4 million in its opening weekend and totaling US$24 million for its final run, against an estimated $3 million budget.[1] [2] On Cartoon Craze's Top 50 Movies of All-Time, Air Bud came in at number two behind Toy Story.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Plot

The plot revolves around a 11-year-old boy, Josh Framm, who has an interest in basketball. After the death of his father, Josh moves with his family to Fernfield, Washington and is too shy to try out for his middle school's basketball team and too shy to make any friends. When Snively locks Buddy in a kennel after a bad birthday party and taking him to the pound, his cage falls off the truck and Josh meets Buddy when his car bumps into the cage. He is a Golden Retriever who escaped his cruel owner, an alcoholic clown Norman Snively. Josh soon learns that Buddy has the ability to play the sport of basketball. Josh's mom initially only agree to let him keep the dog until Christmas and she plans send him to the pound if the true owner isn't found. However, Josh's mother sees how much Josh loves Buddy. When Josh wakes up on Christmas Day and Buddy is not in his room and goes downstairs and sees his mom with Buddy with a bow on his head and she gives Buddy to him as a Christmas present.

Josh wants to join the basketball team but chickens out at the last minute and becomes the water boy. After two slots are opened up and learning of Buddy's talent, Josh tries out despite the coach's reluctance and makes the team. At his first game Buddy shows up and disrupts the game and causes mayhem, but the audience loves him. After the game Buddy finds the team's couch abusing Tom, one of Josh's fellow teammates and friends that gave him a lucky orange peel he got at a Seattle SuperSonics game, the coach is fired and is replaced by the school's engineer who Josh discovers is a former New York Knicks player. Buddy becomes the mascot of Josh's school's basketball team and begins appearing in their halftime shows. But just before the championship game, Buddy's original owner, Snively tricks his mom and steals Buddy from Josh. Josh then infiltrates Snively's backyard where Buddy is. Snively can't see him due to a stack of cans on his windowsill. The stack of cans then falls and Josh is caught infiltrating Snively's backyard. Josh gets Buddy off the chain. Snively then chases Josh in his clown truck. The chase rages on to parking lots near a lake. The van's steering wheel is then accidentally taken off and rolls across a few parking lots. Snively and his own clown truck falls in the water but doesn't drown. A few minutes after the chase, Josh then decides to set him free to find someone else. Initially, his team is losing at the championship until Buddy shows up. When it is discovered that there is no rule that a dog cannot play basketball, Buddy joins the roster to lead the team to a come from behind championship victory. Snively sues the Framm family for custody of Bud. It is decided that the dog will choose who will be its rightful owner at the suggestion of Josh's coach, a former Knicks player Arther Chaney, who the judge was a fan of. Buddy attacks Snively and runs to Josh causing the judge to grant custody of Buddy to Josh while Snively is dragged away by the police.

[edit] Sequels and spin-offs

The film generated one theater-released sequel and many direct-to-video sequels and a spin-off. In each film, Buddy learns to play a different sport.

The following list indicates the sequel, its position in the series, and which sport is featured in it:

[edit] Cast

  • Kevin Zegers as Josh Framm
  • Michael Jeter as Norman Snively/Hound the Clown
  • Wendy Makkena as Mrs. Jackie Framm
  • Bill Cobbs as Coach Arthur Chaney
  • Eric Christmas as Judge Cranfield
  • Jonas Fredrico as Julius Aster
  • Nicola Cavendish as Principal Pepper
  • Brendan Fletcher as Larry Willingham
  • Norman Browning as Mr. Buck Willingham
  • James Manley as Professor Plum
  • Joeseph Lester as Father Cunningham
  • Stephen E. Miller as Coach Joe Barker
  • Shayn Solberg as Tom Stewart
  • Jesebel Mather and Kati Mahter as Andrea Framm
  • Zack as Buddy
  • Snazin Smith as Nurse (uncredited)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Box office / business for Air Bud, Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ Weekend Box Office, August 1–3, 1997, BoxOfficeMojo.com

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Air Bud Series
Air Bud films
Air Buddies films
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Bud"
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