A Dog's Courage Review: A Beautifully Animated Korean Canine Caper

Release date: April 14, 2020
Running time: 102 minutes
Starring: Kyung-soo Do, So-dam Park, Cheol-min Park  

Stray dogs who have been abandoned by humans find "a place without humans" and realize their identities and the meaning of freedom and self-identity.  The dogs have to go through a lot of ordeals to get there, but along the way learn valuable lessons about themselves, each other, and their new dog family.  They encounter dangers, wonders, enemies, and friends on their way.  Do they ultimately find what they are looking for?

As with any animated film, the first thing you notice about A Dog's Courage is the animation, and it has some very beautiful animation.  The style is CG with hand drawn aspects, and looks like a really well done video game at times.  The CG is smooth and easy to follow.  The color palate is bright and vibrant, with some very beautiful scenes highlighting some lush and imaginative outdoors areas, and some bleak urban settings.  And the variety of dogs is just amazing at times.  You see all sorts of furry friends from different breeds to different styles of dogs within the same breed, some with clothes and some wild.  The cast of characters is really fun to see, with plenty of variety in the dogs and their motivations.  Some are hoping to survive, some are hoping to run free, and some are hoping to get back to their humans.  But they all come together for this epic journey.  

And the interactions between the dogs are likewise entertaining.  There are some serious dogs, some silly dogs, and some in between.  The story itself is a long one, with several areas that these dogs explore and challenges that they have to overcome on their way to find a place to live.  The story actually feels overly long, but at least it gives a decent amount of variety.  And this long narrative also gives the dogs a chance to grow throughout the film.  You have some dogs realize that they want different things, and others find their courage and desire to survive.  And with all this going on, you definitely have some sad parts that might be tough for little kids to take, but do help advance the story.  And--as with the other Korean anime I have seen, Satellite Girl and Milk Cow--there is a little potty humor in this.  But what you do get is a truly epic journey with some canine friends, beautiful animation, and really entertaining music throughout.  And there are some lessons to be had as well, such as the perils of puppy mills, what happens when people abandon their pets to let them be free, and good versus bad owners.  

A Dog's Courage is an animated epic, with beautiful animation, a fun pack of characters, and a journey that takes you to many locales in this canine caper.

Rent it.

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