MATTHEW BURNETTE

Staff Writer

Sequels are a hit or miss. There are some that I’ve seen in my life that really do justice to the original films and add meaningful layers to the stories. There also those that as the credits roll the only question you can think to ask is “Why did they even make that?”

I always try to go in with an open mind. You never want to make a determination before you even sit down and watch.

That being said, there is a sequel film recently announced that I am firmly and emphatically protesting long before it will even make it to theaters due to my concerns that I could emotionally traumatize any children that go to watch it.

The sequel in question? Air Bud Returns.

Recently on an off day where the struggle to find a good show to watch was at the forefront of my mind, I noticed that the 1997 film Air Bud was about to start.

“Wow, I haven’t seen that in ages,” I thought to myself.

It then occurred to me why.

When I was a young boy, I had a long obsession with dogs. Now, you may be questioning me with thoughts like “Um yeah, everybody likes dogs.” You don’t understand. I really liked them.

Undoubtedly stemmed from the fact that we just always had several dogs running around our family property at any given time, I had a several-year stretch where my life centered around everything canine.

Anytime we were at a yard sale or thrift store or anywhere else, I would buy these little dog figurines that I displayed on the top of the dresser in my bedroom (and other places once it got full). Before this phase ended, I think I had nearly 40 of them.

I wore shirts with dogs on them. I read books about dogs. And of course, I watched movies about dogs.

For some reason, I’m guessing a cruel joke that someone came up with a long time ago, dog movies always end up so full of emotion. Maybe it’s just that we care so deeply about them that stories about them twist at our hearts whether good or bad.

But whatever the reason, I can still vividly remember crouched down behind the chair at my grandmother’s house with my aunt trying to comfort me as I bawled my eyes out as the credits of Air Bud rolled on their television.

 Anyone familiar with the film knows that it actually has a happy ending. I don’t want to rehash the entire plot because it’s not really necessary and fairly simple being a kids’ movie and all, but I will give a quick rundown of the ending.

So during the court-ordered exercise where Buddy (Air Bud, the golden retriever and star of the movie) is placed in the middle of Josh, his new owner, and the evil birthday party clown, his original owner, Buddy is tempted by an old newspaper that the clown holds up due to his infatuation with newspapers but at the last minute turns and runs to Josh solidifying him as his owner.

Okay, so the plot details seem complex without context, but luckily there are resources available online for anyone who may be seeking further explanation.

All I know is that the emotional rollercoaster of an ending left me hunched over the metaphorical trash receptacle. I was inconsolable for what felt like hours.

Back in the present with my more cynical adult sensibilities, I laughed at my past experiences as I decided to give the movie a rewatch and confidently reassured myself “There’s no way it’s as bad as you remember.”

…it was worse.

My focus was so intently directed towards reevaluating the ending that I forgot about the heart wrenching moments that led up to it.

The scene at the beginning where Buddy first falls out of the clown’s truck.

The scene where Josh first finds Buddy at the abandoned house where he set himself up a basketball court.

The scene where, realizing that the clown would always come back to try and reclaim Buddy due to the attention he received from his incredible basketball skills, Josh tricks Buddy into chasing after the Harlem Globetrotters basketball that his recently deceased Air Force pilot father gave him so he can get back on the ferry to home and leave Buddy behind.

Okay, so maybe the plot is more complicated than I let on…

I felt more emotionally drained watching the film as a 32-year-old adult than I did as a kid. If I had been drinking a Gatorade, there would undoubtedly be blue streaks running down my cheeks as my body searched for any available liquids to release as tears in my turmoil.

There haven’t been a lot of plot details that I’ve seen released for this new version of Air Bud that comes out next year but judging by the small amount of footage I have seen, it seems very similar to the original film.

While I can’t tell anyone what to do with their kids or what shows and movies to expose them to and would never want to discourage people from going to the theater, if the new film is anything like the original, there’s a whole generation of youngsters that may be emotionally scarred by a tearjerker disguised as a fun sports movie.

And even worse, it may give them something to write about in 30 years or so…