Beethoven's 2nd (1993)

Beethoven, the St. Bernard dog, becomes a father, but his girlfriend Missy is dognapped, and his puppies are in danger of the same fate.

Director:

Rod Daniel

Writers:

John Hughes (characters) (as Edmond Dantès), Amy Holden Jones (characters)

Stars:

Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Nicholle Tom

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Grodin	...	George Newton
Bonnie Hunt	...	Alice Newton
Nicholle Tom	...	Ryce Newton
Christopher Castile	...	Ted Newton
Sarah Rose Karr	...	Emily Newton
Debi Mazar	...	Regina
Chris Penn	...	Floyd
Ashley Hamilton	...	Taylor Devereaux
Danny Masterson	...	Seth
Catherine Reitman	...	Janie
Maury Chaykin	...	Cliff Klamath
Heather McComb	...	Michelle
Scott Waara	...	Banker
Jeff Corey	...	Gus, the Janitor
Virginia Capers	...	Miss Linda Anderson

Storyline

Beethoven becomes a father. But the puppies' owner wants to use them and the mother in her divorce bargaining. But the Newton kids steal the puppies. Will they be allowed to keep them? And will they be able to rescue the puppies' mother and re-unite her with her family?

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Plot Keywords:

dog movie | saint bernard dog | good versus evil | evil woman | boy and his dog | 

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Taglines:

The Newton Family is going to the dogs...

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and unsuitable teen behavior

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beethoven 2

Filming Locations:

Eddie's Cafe & Gifts, 1 Fish Creek Campground Rd, West Glacier, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,017,225, 19 December 1993

Gross USA:

$53,443,066

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$118,243,066

Company Credits

Production Co:

Northern Lights Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Rod Daniel, Chris Penn had a severe drug addiction during filming, and Bonnie Hunt was not fun to work with.

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Goofs

The second time the paperboy throws the newspaper, it knocks over the hanging garden basket, dumping dirt on George. Very little dirt covers him subsequent shots he is completely covered in dirt.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Emily: [gives Beethoven a piece of pork] Here, Beethoven.
Ted a.k.a. Shorty: [gives him a slightly bigger slice] Here, boy. Here's a special treat.
Alice Newton: [shows him a roasted chicken] Here, Beethoven. This is from all of us.
George Newton: Beethoven...
[holds up a giant steak]
George Newton: I want you to have this!
[George approaches to Beethoven]
Ryce Newton: Mom, we're out of toilet paper!
Alice Newton: Here!
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The following scenes were never shown in theaters, video, or DVD; only on television:

• Ted removing his jacket to use it as a cover for the puppies he and Emily were placing in a cardboard box.
• Ted and Emily are trapped in the apartment garage (where Regina and Floyd reside), so they try to open the garage door by stepping on a wire that opens it, but to no avail. However, Beethoven chews on the wire, which causes the garage to open.
• After George Newton finds out about the puppies, the next scene shows him stapling fliers on each tree saying "Puppies for sale", while Emily secretly takes them off one-by-one, then attempts to potty-train them next to a hydrant, but it becomes very difficult for him.
• The Newtons were packing all of their belongings and gear into their car before leaving their house.
• After the McDonald's scene, the Newtons are singing car songs.
• During the stay at their lake house, Ted secretly picks out air fresheners from the local convenience store.
• Emily telling her mom that she taught their puppy Tchaikovsky, but he doesn't really follow her at all afterwards.
• At Taylor's party, it shows Beethoven struggling to get free from the support beam, with the glass bottles shown shaking frequently. Although the scene where the three party guys are shown pouring beer onto Beethoven is edited out (but not in the final cut of the film).
• During The fair scene when George is eating the kids show up to take him to the eating contest with Beethoven,the scene originally ends with George saying "What kind of a contest is it where you just sit?" however there is an extended version which shows them walking away with Ted saying "C'mon Dad"
• After George's nightmare sequence of a lot of puppies in his living room, the Newton family's commercial airs on their TV and they all begin to watch it. The difference here (compared to the final cut of the film) is that once the doorbell rang (after the commercial), Ryce stands up quickly from the couch and answers the door, instead of her shouting, "I'll get it!"

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Connections

Referenced in The Odd Couple: Oscar's Overture (2016)

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Soundtracks

Jimmy Olsen's Blues
Written and Performed by Spin Doctors (as Spin Doctors)
Courtesy of Epic/Associated Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

A little contrived and mediocre in places, but is an entertaining and watchable sequel

I really enjoyed the first Beethoven, while it had its flaws, it was cute and charming. This sequel has its contrivances and a little mediocre in places, but it is a decent sequel, definitely one of the more watchable ones in the franchise. The script is weak in places, and the plot is something you will have seen before. Plus the pacing is rather hectic, and the film could have been longer. That said it is beautifully filmed, with lovely cinematography and even better scenery. The music score I couldn't fault either, and the gags are interesting(the hamburger contest was a riot). The acting is decent, with Charles Grodin very entertaining as George and Bonnie Hunt luminous as Alice. As the villains of the pieces, Debi Mazar and Chris Penn also impress. But the real stars are the dogs, Beethoven is still his funny and adorable self, but he is almost upstaged by the beautiful and equally adorable Missy. Overall, has its problems, but as a sequel it is watchable, certainly better than the rating here(and I also think the first film is rated too low). 6/10 Bethany Cox