Taglines: The head of the family is the one with the tail.
Beethoven movie storyline. A group of puppies are stolen from a pet store by two thieves. The St. Bernard escapes and sneaks into the Newton’s home. The workaholic father, George Newton, doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a dog, but his wife, Alice, and their children, Ryce, Ted and Emily, convince him. Emily plays a portion of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, he barks along and they name him Beethoven.
Beethoven helps the children overcome their problems: he helps Ryce talk to her crush, scares off the bullies for Ted and saves Emily’s life when she falls in the swimming pool of an irresponsible babysitter. George, jealous of the affection Beethoven receives, feels neglected as the family fawns over the dog. Beethoven’s antics ruin a barbecue he is hosting for Brad and Brie, venture capitalists looking to invest in and secretly swindle him out of his car freshener firm.
The family takes Beethoven to a veterinarian, Dr. Herman Varnick, for a routine medical examination and immunizations. They are unaware that he is involved in unethical and deadly animal experimentation and hired the two thieves. He speaks to George and tells him 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.
Beethoven is a 1992 family comedy film, directed by Brian Levant and starring Charles Grodin and Bonnie Hunt as George and Alice Newton. The film is the first in the series of Beethoven films. It was written by John Hughes (under the pseudonym Edmond Dantès) and Amy Holden Jones.
The story centers on a St. Bernard dog named after the composer Ludwig van Beethoven and owned by the Newton family. Beethoven co-stars Nicholle Tom as Ryce Newton, Christopher Castile as Ted Newton, Sarah Rose Karr as Emily Newton, Stanley Tucci as Vernon, Oliver Platt as Harvey, and Dean Jones as Dr. Herman Varnick. Joseph Gordon-Levitt made his film debut as Student #1. It features music composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. The film has developed a small “cult following”.
Beethoven (1992)
Directed by: Brian Levant
Starring: Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones, Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, Sarah Rose Karr, Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile, David Duchovny, Patricia Heaton
Screenplay by: Edmond Dantès, Amy Holden Jones
Production Design by: Alex Tavoularis
Cinematography by: Victor J. Kemper
Film Editing by: William D. Gordean, Sheldon Kahn
Costume Design by: Gloria Gresham
Set Decoration by: Gary Fettis
Art Direction by: Charles William Breen
Music by: Randy Edelman
Distributed by: Universal Studios
Release Date: April 3, 1992 (US), July 24, 1992 (UK)
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