Approved for All Ages

Guard Dog

A miracle from Heaven, stuffed with love and wisdom.

Nine year-old Chance Watson is lying, stealing, and flunking out of school. Then, one night, a wonderful, magical sheepdog appears and promises to make his dreams come true, if he can follow "The Rules."

Soon, with the help of his talking, sometimes invisible dog, Chance has changed his life and the lives of many of the students at his school. However, some people are out to stop him and prove his furry friend is not real, but only a figment of his imagination. Even Chance begins to wonder: Is he crazy?
5
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
12345
FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

“Guard Dog” is a wildly imaginative movie about a boy’s stuffed dog, who comes to life to share the Ten Commandments with him in a way that kids — and adults — can easily understand. Chance (Oscar Limon-Zarzosa) is a young boy who has a lot of pressure on him for being only nine years old. His mother is seriously ill, and he and his dad are supposed to care for her in their home, but his dad can’t handle any of it and often leaves Chance alone with his mother.

When she passes away, Chance starts behaving badly, as he deals with his grief and anger with his father for not being the kind of dad he should be. Chance goes to live with his grandparents. One night, after telling them he doesn’t want a dog, a big dog, which looks like his old stuffed one that he threw away, shows up in his bedroom. The dog tells Chance his name is Abba. He begins to teach Chance the Ten Commandments in subtle ways, and he makes some good points, like not being afraid of people with different colored skin.

Chance makes new friends, Sally and Jorel (who is named after Superman’s father), and life begins to improve. They eventually see Abba, his dog. However, a school administrator named Mrs. Magillicutty, along with a few of the students’ parents, come down hard on this wild notion of a dog that only the kids can see. You can rest assured that Abba the dog will make sure everyone gets a happy ending. We are awarding this creative film our “Faith-Friendly” Seal for all ages. Abba is a friend anyone would enjoy having, and “Guard Dog” shows him at his lovable best.

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

None

0
Integrity

Bullies pick on boy, including knocking him off bike and shoving him; kids fight, and one kid gets bloody nose; bullies smack a disabled kid in the head.

0
Sex

None.

1
Language

Boy says, "I hate you," to his dad and says he hates a certain school administrator but later changes his mind; boy says, "I'd like to kill him," referring to a bully; Big mouth-1; Oh, Shut up-1; Dink-1;Go suck a lemon-1

1
Violence

Bullies pick on boy, including knocking him off bike and shoving him; kids fight, and one kid gets bloody nose; bullies smack a disabled kid in the head.

1
Drugs

A photo of a man and woman with drinks.

1
Nudity

Woman in short skirt.

1
Other

Death and grief; on a few occasions, boy deals with anger issues and disrespect toward adults, including telling his grandma not to be stupid, but his dog helps him out; a boy makes other boys drink hot sauce, and their mouths burn.

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