Air Bud
Encyclopedia
Air Bud is a 1997 American family
/dramedy film that sparked the franchise centered on the real-life dog, Buddy, a Golden Retriever
. The film's title may in fact be wordplay with "Air Jordan", a nickname of basketball superstar Michael Jordan
. It is the first film to be distributed together by longtime animation rivals Walt Disney Pictures
and Warner Bros. Pictures, albeit in different territories (Disney handled US distribution, while Warner handled international distribution).
The original film was financially successful, despite being defeated by Air Force One
for the #1 spot on the film's opening weekend, grossing US$4 million in its opening weekend and totaling US$24 million for its final run, against an estimated $3 million budget. On Cartoon Craze's Top 50 Movies of All-Time, Air Bud came in at number two behind Toy Story
.
's basketball team and too shy to make any friends. He meets Buddy, a Golden Retriever
who had escaped from his abusive owner, an alcoholic
clown
named Norman Snively. Snively had locked Buddy in a kennel
after causing trouble at a birthday party and was taking him to the dog pound
when the kennel fell off the truck. Josh soon learns that Buddy has the uncanny ability to play basketball. Josh's mom initially only agrees to let him keep the dog until Christmas and she plans to send him to the pound if the true owner isn't found. However, Josh's mother sees how much Josh loves Buddy and vice versa. When Josh wakes up on Christmas Day and Buddy is not in his room, he goes downstairs and sees Buddy with a bow on his head. She gives Buddy to Josh 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 basketball coach Joe Barker'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, even after he scored a goal. After the game Buddy finds coach Barker abusing Tom, one of Josh's fellow teammates and friend who gave him a lucky orange peel he got at a Seattle SuperSonics
game, by trying to make him catch better by pelting him with basketballs.
Barker is fired and replaced by the school's engineer, Arthur Chaney, 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 former owner, Snively (after seeing Buddy on TV), tricks his mom and steals Buddy from Josh. Josh then infiltrates Snively's backyard where Buddy is chained up.
Snively initially can't see Josh due to a stack of beer cans on his windowsill until it falls and Josh is caught infiltrating his backyard. Josh gets the chains off Buddy and both escape, causing Snively to chase Josh and Buddy in his dilapidated clown truck. The chase rages on to a parking lot near a lake, during which the clown truck begins to fall apart, causing Snively and his truck to splash into the water, but he doesn't drown. A few minutes after the chase, Josh then decides to set Buddy 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 Buddy. Fortunately, at the suggestion of coach Chaney, who the judge was a fan of, it is decided that the dog will choose who will be his rightful owner. During the calling, Snively takes out his roll of newspaper, which he often used to hit Buddy, and snaps at him, causing Buddy to attack Snively, tearing up the weapon of abuse and run towards Josh. The judge grants custody of Buddy to Josh while Snively, who runs at Buddy and Josh in a last-ditched effort to get the dog back, is dragged away by the police and arrested, while Josh and the rest of the citizens rejoice for the new home of Buddy.
sequels and a spin-off
film series. In each film, Buddy learns to play a different sport.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
/dramedy film that sparked the franchise centered on the real-life dog, Buddy, a Golden Retriever
Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever is a medium-sized breed of dog. They were historically developed as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties. As such, they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and have an instinctive love...
. The film's title may in fact be wordplay with "Air Jordan", a nickname of basketball superstar Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
. It is the first film to be distributed together by longtime animation rivals Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
and Warner Bros. Pictures, albeit in different territories (Disney handled US distribution, while Warner handled international distribution).
The original film was financially successful, despite being defeated by Air Force One
Air Force One (film)
Air Force One is a 1997 American action-thriller film written by Andrew W. Marlowe and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close, and also features Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell and Paul Guilfoyle...
for the #1 spot on the film's opening weekend, grossing US$4 million in its opening weekend and totaling US$24 million for its final run, against an estimated $3 million budget. On Cartoon Craze's Top 50 Movies of All-Time, Air Bud came in at number two behind Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
.
Plot
The plot revolves around a 12-year-old boy, Josh Framm. After the death of his father, who has passed on in the crash of a test flight due to a fuel shortage on his plane, Josh moves with his family to Washington State and is too shy to try out for his middle schoolMiddle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
's basketball team and too shy to make any friends. He meets Buddy, a Golden Retriever
Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever is a medium-sized breed of dog. They were historically developed as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties. As such, they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and have an instinctive love...
who had escaped from his abusive owner, an alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
named Norman Snively. Snively had locked Buddy in a kennel
Kennel
A kennel is the name given to any structure or shelter for dogs. A kennel is a doghouse, run, or other small structure in which a dog is kept...
after causing trouble at a birthday party and was taking him to the dog pound
Animal shelter
An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...
when the kennel fell off the truck. Josh soon learns that Buddy has the uncanny ability to play basketball. Josh's mom initially only agrees to let him keep the dog until Christmas and she plans to send him to the pound if the true owner isn't found. However, Josh's mother sees how much Josh loves Buddy and vice versa. When Josh wakes up on Christmas Day and Buddy is not in his room, he goes downstairs and sees Buddy with a bow on his head. She gives Buddy to Josh 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 basketball coach Joe Barker'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, even after he scored a goal. After the game Buddy finds coach Barker abusing Tom, one of Josh's fellow teammates and friend who gave him a lucky orange peel he got at a Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
game, by trying to make him catch better by pelting him with basketballs.
Barker is fired and replaced by the school's engineer, Arthur Chaney, who Josh discovers is a former New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
player. Buddy becomes the mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of Josh's school's basketball team and begins appearing in their halftime shows. But just before the championship game, Buddy's former owner, Snively (after seeing Buddy on TV), tricks his mom and steals Buddy from Josh. Josh then infiltrates Snively's backyard where Buddy is chained up.
Snively initially can't see Josh due to a stack of beer cans on his windowsill until it falls and Josh is caught infiltrating his backyard. Josh gets the chains off Buddy and both escape, causing Snively to chase Josh and Buddy in his dilapidated clown truck. The chase rages on to a parking lot near a lake, during which the clown truck begins to fall apart, causing Snively and his truck to splash into the water, but he doesn't drown. A few minutes after the chase, Josh then decides to set Buddy 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
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
the Framm family for custody of Buddy. Fortunately, at the suggestion of coach Chaney, who the judge was a fan of, it is decided that the dog will choose who will be his rightful owner. During the calling, Snively takes out his roll of newspaper, which he often used to hit Buddy, and snaps at him, causing Buddy to attack Snively, tearing up the weapon of abuse and run towards Josh. The judge grants custody of Buddy to Josh while Snively, who runs at Buddy and Josh in a last-ditched effort to get the dog back, is dragged away by the police and arrested, while Josh and the rest of the citizens rejoice for the new home of Buddy.
Cast
- Air BudAir Buddy (dog)Buddy was an American dog actor.-Legacy:Buddy was well-known for playing Comet the dog in the television sitcom Full House; he began acting in it the year after he was born. He acted in the show from 1989 to 1995....
as Himself - Kevin ZegersKevin ZegersKevin Joseph Zegers is a Canadian actor and model. He is best known for his leading roles as Josh Framm in the Air Bud series, as well as playing Damien Dalgaard in the Gossip Girl series and the protagonist in Rock Mafia's The Big Bang...
as Josh Framm - Michael JeterMichael JeterMichael Jeter was an American actor.- Early life :Michael Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His mother, Virginia , was a housewife...
as Norman Snively - Wendy MakkenaWendy Makkena-Career:Born in New York City, Makkena started her acting career in 1986 and appeared in the TV show Santa Barbara. She later landed her first movie role in Eight Men Out...
as Mrs. Jackie Framm - Bill CobbsBill CobbsWilbert "Bill" Cobbs is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 120 television programs and movies.-Life and career:...
as Coach Arthur Chaney - Eric ChristmasEric ChristmasEric Cuthbert Christmas was a British stage and screen actor, with over 40 films and several more television roles to his credit. He was well-known for his role as Mr. Carter, the principal of Angel Beach High School, in the 1982 hit comedy Porky's, the 1983 sequel Porky's II: The Next Day, and...
as Judge Cranfield - Jonas Fredrico as Julius Aster
- Nicola Cavendish as Principal Pepper
- Brendan FletcherBrendan FletcherBrendan Fletcher is a Canadian actor.-Life and career:Fletcher was born in Comox Valley, British Columbia and went to junior high school at Lake Trail in Courtenay, British Columbia....
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 Mather as Andrea Framm
- Snazin Smith as Nurse (uncredited)
Home video release
Air Bud was released to VHS on December 23, 1997 and to DVD on February 4, 1998. It was released again on March 3, 2009 in a special edition DVD set, featuring commentary from B-Dawg, Budderball, Rosebud, Buddha, Mudbud, Molly, and Buddy himself.Sequels and spin-offs
The film generated one theater-released sequel and many direct-to-videoDirect-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
sequels and a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
film series. In each film, Buddy learns to play a different sport.