''Beethoven'' is a 1992 American family comedy film, directed by

Brian Levant Brian Michael Levant (born August 6, 1952) is an American filmmaker. Early life and career Born in Highland Park, Illinois, Levant started his career in 1976 as a writer for the TV series ''Happy Days''. He also wrote for, among other TV show ...

and starring

Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...

and

Bonnie Hunt Bonnie Lynn Hunt (born September 22, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, writer and television host. Her film roles include ''Rain Man'', ''Beethoven'', '' Beethoven's 2nd'', ''Jumanji'', ''Jerry Maguire'', '' The Green ...

as George and Alice Newton, respectively. It is the first installment of the ''Beethoven'' film series. The film was written by John Hughes (under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Edmond Dantès) and

Amy Holden Jones Amy Holden Jones is an American screenwriter and film director best known for creating the FOX medical drama '' The Resident''. She has edited various films and later began directing and writing. She currently works in television. Early life an ...

. Its story centers on a

St. Bernard dog The Saint Bernard or St. Bernard (, ) is a breed of very large working dog from the Western Alps in Italy and Switzerland. They were originally bred for rescue work by the hospice of the Great St Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border. The ho ...

named after the German composer of the same name and owned by the Newton family. It costars

Nicholle Tom Nicholle Marie Tom is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ryce Newton in ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Beethoven's 2nd'' (1993), ''Beethoven'' (1994–1995), and as Maggie Sheffield on '' The Nanny''. She is also known for voicing ...

as Ryce Newton, Christopher Castile as Ted Newton,

Sarah Rose Karr Sarah Rose Karr (born November 13, 1984) is an American former child actress. Karr is best known for her roles in the movies ''Beethoven'' and ''Beethoven's 2nd'' as Emily Newton (the youngest daughter of the characters played by Charles Grodin a ...

as Emily Newton,

Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...

as Vernon,

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), '' Execut ...

as Harvey, and Dean Jones as Dr. Herman Varnick.

Plot

A group of puppies are stolen from a pet store by two thieves. A St. Bernard puppy escapes and sneaks into the Newton family's home. The workaholic father, George, does not want the responsibility of owning a dog, but his wife, Alice, and their children, Ryce, Ted, and Emily, convince him. They give him the name “Beethoven” when Emily plays a portion of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's Fifth Symphony on the piano and he barks along to it. Beethoven grows into a fully grown, adult dog and helps Ryce, Ted, and Emily overcome their problems: he helps Ryce talk to a boy she has a crush on, scares off bullies for Ted, and saves Emily's life when she falls into an irresponsible babysitter's swimming pool. George, jealous of the affection Beethoven receives, feels neglected as his family fawns over him. His antics ruin a barbecue he is hosting for Brad and Brie Wilson, unpleasant

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

ists looking to invest and swindle him out of his car air freshener firm. The Newtons take Beethoven to a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

named Dr. Herman Varnick for a routine medical examination and

immunization Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ''non-se ...

s. They are unaware that he is involved in

unethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

and deadly animal experiments. He tells George of a supposed mental instability among St. Bernards making them potentially dangerous to humans and advises him to watch Beethoven closely for any sign of viciousness. He actually requires large-skulled dogs such as St. Bernards for an ammunition test. Dr. Varnick visits the Newton home under the guise of doing a follow-up exam on Beethoven. He puts fake blood on his arm, cuts and tears his shirt sleeve, and hits Beethoven until he leaps on him. He pretends to be in agony, warning George that Beethoven may be turning aggressive and must be euthanized or he will have no choice but to press charges. Emily, who saw Dr. Varnick hit him, protests that the attack was fake, but George, fearing for his family's safety, reluctantly takes him to Dr. Varnick's office. It is on the way there that George discovers his own affections for him: he remembers his father had to take their dog to the vet to be euthanized and he never forgave him for it. He fears that his family will hate him now for taking Beethoven to be euthanized. When he returns home with the empty leash and collar, his family leaves the dinner table rather than remain with him, proving his fears true. After being upset, the Newtons go to Dr. Varnick's office, but he tells them that Beethoven has already been euthanized. However, George remembers that Dr. Varnick's receptionist told him that Beethoven would not be euthanized until the next day. George then notices that Dr. Varnick has no bite marks on his arm and assaults him. The Newtons follow him to his

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

. Beethoven breaks free but is recaptured by Dr. Varnick's two associates, Harvey and Vernon, while Alice calls the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

. George crashes through the skylight just as Dr. Varnick prepares to shoot Beethoven. Before he can, however, a captive

Jack Russell Terrier The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour. Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to ot ...

bites him in the crotch, causing him to fire a shot in the air. After hearing it, Ted drives the car through the door and runs it into a cart, launching numerous

syringes A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside o ...

into Dr. Varnick and sedating him. As the Newtons reunite with Beethoven and free all the captive dogs, they notice Harvey and Vernon trying to escape and send the dogs after them. They escape into a junkyard, only to be attacked by a pack of

Doberman The Dobermann (; ), or Doberman Pinscher in the United States and Canada, is a medium-large breed of domestic dog that was originally developed around 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector from Germany.animal abuse Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suf ...

. The Newtons are praised as heroes by the news and George takes a new liking to Beethoven. Ryce also gets a phone call from her crush. The Newtons then go to sleep, saying good night to Beethoven and all of the dogs they rescued, who are sleeping in the master bedroom.

Cast

as George Newton *

as Alice Newton * Dean Jones as Dr. Herman Varnick *

as Ryce Newton * Christopher Castile as Ted Newton *

as Emily Newton *

as Harvey *

as Vernon *

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as writ ...

as Brad Wilson *

Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on sitcoms, having played Debra Barone on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005) as well as Frances "Frankie" Heck on '' The Middl ...

as Brie Wilson *

Laurel Cronin Laurel Cronin (October 10, 1939 – October 26, 1992) was an American actress, singer and dancer. Biography Cronin was born on October 10, 1939, to Frank and Elizabeth Lewis. She had a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Jennifer. She maintaine ...

as Devonia Peet * Nancy Fish as Miss Grundel *

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...

as Student * Richard Portnow as Ammo Gun Salesman

Production

The dogs featured in the film were owned and trained by Eleanor Keaton. Beethoven is played by canine actor Chris, who had 12 doubles. Principal photography began on May 1, 1991, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Reception

Critical response

Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it received acclaim by audiences. On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it has an approval rating of 29%, based on reviews from 28 critics, with an average score of 4.6/10. The critical consensus reads "Fluffy and incorrigible, ''Beethoven'' is a good boy who deserves a better movie." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave Beethoven a grade A. Roger Ebert of the ''

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, writing in his review, "this is not the sort of entertainment I scour the movie pages for, hoping desperately for a new film about a cute dog. Nor did I find anything particularly new in "''Beethoven''", although I concede that the filmmakers secured an admirable dog for the title role, and that

, who is almost always amusing, has what fun can be had playing the grumpy dad."

Box office

The film grossed $57,114,049 in North America and $90,100,000 in other territories, for a total of $147.2 million worldwide.

Accolades

; Genesis Awards In 1993,

The Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

nominated Beethoven for Best Feature Film. , - , 1993 , , Best Feature Film , , - ; Young Artist Awards In 1993,

, and Christopher Castile were nominated for their roles in Beethoven. , - , rowspan="4", 1993 , Sarah Rose Karr , Best Young Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture , , - , , Best Family Motion Picture , , - , Nicholle Tom , Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture , , - , Christopher Castile , Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture , , -

Music

The soundtrack to the film was released on December 15, 1992.

Sequels and spin-offs

The film was followed by four

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

s and three standalone movies using the Beethoven name and the premise of a St. Bernard but not mentioning previous characters such as the Newton family. ''

Beethoven's 2nd The Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36, is a symphony in four movements written by Ludwig van Beethoven between 1801 and 1802. The work is dedicated to Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky. Background Beethoven's Second Symphony was mostly written du ...

'' was released to theaters in 1993. The remaining sequels were direct-to-video films: ''

Beethoven's 3rd The Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, E major, opus number, Op. 55, (also Italian ''Sinfonia Eroica'', ''Heroic Symphony''; german: Eroica, ) is a symphony in four movements by Ludwig van Beethoven. One of Beethoven's most celebrated works, the ' ...

'' (2000), '' Beethoven's 4th'' (2001), '' Beethoven's 5th'' (2003), ''

Beethoven's Big Break ''Beethoven's Big Break'' (formerly known as ''Beethoven: The Reel Story'' and sometimes referred to as ''Beethoven's 6th'') is a 2008 American family film and is the sixth installment in the ''Beethoven'' series. It was released on DVD on Decembe ...

'' (2008), '' Beethoven's Christmas Adventure'' (2011), and '' Beethoven's Treasure Tail'' (2014). An animated TV series was also created around the films that debuted in 1994. Dean Jones voiced George Newton in it after playing Dr. Herman Varnick in the film and

reprised her role, voicing Ryce Newton. None of the sequels or related media thereof featured the involvement of Hughes.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beethoven (Film) 1992 comedy films 1992 films American children's comedy films 1990s English-language films Films about animal cruelty Films about dogs Films about animals Films about pets Films adapted into television shows Films directed by Brian Levant Films produced by Michael C. Gross Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker) Mad scientist films Universal Pictures films Films scored by Randy Edelman Beethoven (franchise) Films with screenplays by Amy Holden Jones 1990s American films