This autobiographical tale of a boy and his dog growing up in '40s Mississippi, based on Willie Morris' US bestseller, was a huge moneymaker Stateside. There it also benefited from featuring youngster Muniz, who stars in their top rated sit-com Malcolm In The Middle, and featuring not only Moose, the dog that "stars" in Frasier, but also his son, Enzo, as one of the five mutts which play the younger Skip.
The collective dogs' performance are without doubt outstanding, but Muniz plays Willie as a whining, selfish brat, and every time Bacon is on screen (as Willie's ex-war hero dad), he looks so impossibly youthful for such a senior role that it's disturbingly distracting.
