7 "Perfect" Movie Endings That Are Way More Contrived Than You Think
2. The Animals Come Home One By One (Because It's More Dramatic That Way) - Homeward Bound
Disney's Homeward Bound, the remake of another Disney movie called The Incredible Journey, tells the heartwarming story of three charismatic pets - two dogs and a cat - who come to think they've been abandoned by their perfect suburban family, and make their way across country (and several mountains) in order to find their way home. They haven't been abandoned, of course - the family have simply gone on vacation, and leave their pets with a friend. Animals can't understand humans in this movie, though, so there's a big misunderstanding. After crossing a devastating mountain range, facing off against a variety of terrifying wild animals, crossing a river and escaping from the pound, Shadow (voiced by Don Ameche), Chance (Michael J. Fox) and Sassy (Sally Field) come to an old train yard, where Shadow, an old golden retriever, falls into a hole and is horribly injured. The movie creates a sort of cliffhanger at this point - will Shadow get home? Back at the house, the worried family Seaver mourn the loss of their pets, when all of a sudden there's a bark and... it's Chance! He's come home! Chance bounds up from the bottom of the garden, barking ecstatically, as the Seavers react exactly as you would in such a situation: shocked as hell. At this point, we're wondering where the other pets are, and then, after a minute, Sassy returns and is greeted with a similar sense of awe. But where's Shadow? As Shadow's favourite family member, Peter, gets upset and heads towards the house, the dog suddenly appears at the end of the garden, muddy and old, but still alive. Thing is, why - when these animals have spent every second together since the moment the movie started, refusing to separate - would they return home, one by one, minutes apart? Are we really supposed to believe that Chance left a nearly dead Shadow two minutes behind him? Of course, the scene unfolds as such because it's more dramatic that way, but - when you think about it - the "perfect" ending to this jolly flick is contrived as heck. Great soundtrack, though.
