''Air Bud: World Pup'', also known as ''Air Bud 3'', is a 2000

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Bill Bannerman. The third film in the ''

Air Bud ''Air Bud'' is a 1997 sports comedy film directed by Charles Martin Smith. The film was financially successful, grossing $4 million in its opening weekend and totaling $27.8 million in its run against an estimated $3 million budget. Plot After ...

'' series, it was the 2nd to be filmed without

Buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) *Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992) *Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...

, the canine star of the first film; Buddy died after production of the first film. ''Air Bud: World Pup'' was the first film in the ''Air Bud'' series not to be released theatrically in the U.S., opting to only be released on video, but was played in Philippine theaters for a limited time.

Plot

Teenager Josh Framm's mother, Jackie, has just married her

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 ...

boyfriend, Dr. Patrick Sullivan (

Dale Midkiff Dale Alan Midkiff (born July 1, 1959) is an American actor, best known for playing Louis Creed in the horror film ''Pet Sematary'' (1989) and Captain Darien Lambert in the TV series ''Time Trax''. Career Midkiff acted in off-Broadway plays lik ...

). Josh and his best friend, Tom Stewart (Shayn Solberg), just made their school's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team when their coach reveals that their team will become co-ed. Josh meets Emma Putter, an attractive, wealthy girl who just moved to Fernfield from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

after her mother's death, who will not only be playing on his soccer team, but also has a

golden retriever The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

named Molly, whom Buddy also finds attractive. Emma invites Josh to a party at her house and Tom arrives dressed up like a British soldier and looking quite silly wearing a kilt. At the same time, things work out between Buddy and Molly and they become infatuated on the second floor in Emma's house. Josh's sister, Andrea Framm (

Caitlin Wachs Caitlin Elizabeth Wachs (pronounced ''wax''; born March 15, 1989) is an American production coordinator and actress. She appeared alongside Ally Walker and Robert Davi on the NBC television series '' Profiler'' in the role of Chloe Waters and ...

) and her best friend, Tammy (

Chantal Strand Chantal Strand (born October 15, 1987) is a Canadian voice and stage actress as well as former stunt performer known for her vocal roles in animation, anime and video games. Her vocal role credits include those for little female human character ...

), want to scope out what's really going on at the party. Molly quickly has puppies with Buddy. Next, it is discovered that Buddy also has the uncanny ability to play soccer, but the soccer committee decided on the recommendation of chairman Jack Stearns to ban the Timberwolves from the soccer league all because they had Buddy on their team. The Timberwolves were given two options: either remove Buddy from their team or remove their team from the league (either way, the Springbrook Spartans, the team Jack serves as coach of, would have rectified their 3-1 loss to the Timberwolves). Knowing Buddy was the star player, they naturally quit the league. When Jack's son, Spartans all-star captain Steve Stearns, learns that the Timberwolves have been banned from the league, he's outraged and confronts his father, leading to Jack calling Timberwolves coach Montoya and informing him that, after careful consideration, the committee had a change of heart and the Timberwolves were back in the league. Buddy has a uniform and is on the roster, leading Josh's soccer team to the state championship against the Spartans. However, trouble ensues when Buddy and Molly's six newborn

puppies A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies can weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorksh ...

are kidnapped by a man called Snerbert (

Martin Ferrero Martin Victor Ferrero (born September 29, 1947) is an American actor. His most well known roles are Izzy Moreno in ''Miami Vice'' (1984-1989) and Donald Gennaro in the 1993 film '' Jurassic Park''. Life and career Ferrero was born in Brockport, ...

), who wants to sell them. Once they are caught by Josh, Andrea, Emma, and Snerbert's assistant, Webster ( Don McMillan), the butler Emma's father, Geoffrey (

Duncan Regehr Duncan Peter Regehr (born October 5, 1952) is a Canadian writer, multimedia artist, and film and television actor. He was also a figure skater and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood ...

), hired to help care for Molly during her pregnancy, threw Snerbert under the bus by revealing the motive for the kidnapping: Snerbert wanted to get rich, while Webster just wanted a puppy, something he always wanted since childhood. Webster subsequently offers to drive Andrea, Josh, Emma and Buddy to the stadium, which the Timberwolves were losing because Emma, Josh and Buddy were missing, while an army of dogs stayed behind to make sure Snerbert didn't try to go anywhere. The Timberwolves subsequently win the championship thanks to a game-winning goal by Buddy. Afterwards, Buddy helps the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

win the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Cast

Kevin Zegers Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

- Josh Framm *

- Snerbert *

- Dr. Patrick Sullivan *

- Andrea Framm * Chilton Crane - Jackie Framm-Sullivan * Brittany Paige Bouck - Emma Putter * Shayn Solberg - Tom Stewart *

Miguel Sandoval Miguel Sandoval (born November 16, 1951) is an American actor of film and television. Biography Sandoval was born in Washington, D.C. He began working as a professional actor in 1975 when he joined a mime school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. H ...

- Coach Montoya *

- Tammy *

- Geoffrey Putter *

Briana Scurry Briana Collette Scurry (born September 7, 1971) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper, and assistant coach of the Washington Spirit . Scurry was the starting goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team at the 1995 World Cup ...

- Herself *

Brandi Chastain Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the United States national team from 1988 ...

- Herself *

players - themselves *

Alexander Ludwig Alexander Ludwig (born May 7, 1992) is a Canadian actor and country musician. He first began his career as a child, and then received recognition as a teenager for starring in the films '' The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising'' (2007) and ''Race to Wi ...

- Cameo * Don McMillan - Webster

Film location

Shooting took place in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The soccer field and red brick buildings in the background are part of

Shaughnessy Elementary School The Vancouver School Board (VSB; officially School District 39 Vancouver) is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine trustees normally manages this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the Uni ...

Release

''Air Bud: World Pup'' was released directly to DVD and VHS on December 12, 2000 by

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

continued its line of ''Air Bud Special Edition'' DVDs with the release of ''Air Bud: World Pup Special Edition'' on June 16, 2010. Mill Creek Entertainment reissued the film on January 14, 2020 on a 2-disc boxset also containing other ''Air Bud'' films owned by Air Bud Entertainment. All five ''Air Bud'' films, including ''World Pup'', arrived on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

on October 1, 2023.

Reception

Michael Scheinfeld from

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the film four stars out of five, saying the film "has a big heart and positive values involving sharing, cooperation, and friendship, but it never gets preachy or sappy".

References

External links

* *
''Air Bud: World Pup'' at Allmovie
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Air Bud World Pup American sequel films 2000 films 2000 children's films Disney direct-to-video films 2000 direct-to-video films Films about dogs American association football films American sports comedy films American direct-to-video films American children's comedy films Films about animals playing sports Air Bud (series) 2000s English-language films 2000s sports comedy films Films shot in Vancouver Dimension Films films Films about animals 2000 directorial debut films 2000 comedy films Canadian sports comedy films Canadian children's comedy films Canadian sequel films Canadian direct-to-video films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films