Beethoven's 5th (2003)

Sara Newton and Beethoven spends summer with Freddy Kablinski in Quicksilver, a weird town.

Director:

Mark Griffiths

Writers:

Cliff Ruby, Elana Lesser,

Stars:

Dave Thomas, Faith Ford, Daveigh Chase

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dave Thomas	...	Freddy Kablinski
Faith Ford	...	Julie Dempsey
Daveigh Chase	...	Sara Newton
Tom Poston	...	John Giles / Selig
Katherine Helmond	...	Crazy Cora Wilkens
Sammy Kahn	...	Garrett
Richard Riehle	...	Vaughn Carter
Clint Howard	...	Owen Tuttle
Kathy Griffin	...	Evie Kling
John Larroquette	...	Mayor Harold Herman
Rodman Flender	...	Moe Seilg
Tina Illman	...	Rita Seilg
Tom Musgrave	...	Jim
Joel Hurt Jones	...	Phil Dobson
Elizabeth Warner	...	Mrs. Dobson

Storyline

Sara Newton and Beethoven spends summer with Freddy Kablinski in Quicksilver, a weird town.

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Plot Keywords:

mine | fifth part | whiskers | apostrophe in title | animal name in title | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Adventure

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beethoven's 5th: Big Paw

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Family Productions, Capital Arts Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows Beethoven's 2nd (1993)

User Reviews

Fun for what it is

There comes a point in a film franchise when you just can't make any more sequels. I saw the original "Beethoven" and "Beethoven's 2nd" and enjoyed them as fun family-oriented films, not any great cinematic art. After that I didn't follow the series for years until recently when I saw "Beethoven's 5th" in the bargain bin at WalMart. I bought it just to watch something mildly entertaining, but since it was the fifth in the series I expected it to be pretty bad. I was both right and wrong.

You can tell from many of the comments on here that the preponderance of opinion weighs on the "bad" side of the scale, yet in a quirky way I found this movie entertaining. What was interesting was watching several well-known professional actors such as Tom Poston, Dave Thomas, Faith Ford, John Larroquette, Katherine Helmond, and Kathy Griffin all coming across as if they were amateurs starring in a locally-made production. There was something oddly authentic about it. I also found myself cracking up at some of the comments Dave Thomas kept muttering off-handedly under his breath (kind of like Popeye used to do). While looking for hidden loot Thomas and the kids encounter another treasure hunter who tries to sell Dave a fork he had found ("you just can't have enough good forks"), and Dave mutters something about looking for silverware in the woods after dark. Little asides like that just struck me as funny for some reason.

Chances are many kids will like this. As an adult, I thought the story wasn't all that bad (but I do tend to like stories about mining towns and lost treasure). Yes, it's a sequel that probably shouldn't have been made, especially if you're familiar with the storyline of the originals. Still, I'm glad they made it because, on an evening when I was tired and stressed out and just wanted something funny to watch without a lot of involvement, this movie was just the ticket and was fun for what it is.