Snow Dogs (2002)

When a Miami dentist inherits a team of sled dogs, he's got to learn the trade or lose his pack to a crusty mountain man.

Director:

Brian Levant

Writers:

Jim Kouf (screenplay), Tommy Swerdlow (screenplay)

Stars:

Cuba Gooding Jr., James Coburn, Sisqó

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Ted Brooks
James Coburn	...	Thunder Jack
Sisqó	...	Dr. Rupert Brooks (as Sisqo)
Nichelle Nichols	...	Amelia
M. Emmet Walsh	...	George
Graham Greene	...	Peter Yellowbear
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Ernie
Joanna Bacalso	...	Barb
Jean Michel Paré	...	Olivier (as Jean-Michel Pare)
Michael Bolton	...	Himself - Special Appearance
Jason Pouliotte	...	Sneed Brother #1
David Boyce	...	Sneed Brother #2
Frank C. Turner	...	Neely
Ron Small	...	Arthur
Alison Matthews	...	TV Reporter

Storyline

When Miami dentist Ted Brooks learns that his birth mother has passed away and that he was named in her will, he travels to Alaska to claim his inheritance. Rather than the large chunk of change that many people would expect, Ted instead receives his mother's pack of rowdy sled dogs and her property. Although the dogs seemingly have it in for Ted, he decides to keep the dogs and race them in the local race, the Arctic Challenge, spiting a mountain man who wants the dogs. What follows is a comedy detailing Ted's adventures in learning to run the sled dogs.

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Plot Keywords:

husky | fish out of water | dog | sled dog | race | 

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Taglines:

Get ready for mush hour!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild crude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Disney

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Winterdance

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,708,174, 20 January 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$81,172,560

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$115,035,090

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Kerner Entertainment Company, Galapagos Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming, Cuba Gooding Jr. would often bring his academy award, for best supporting actor, onto set. He would wave it around before filming in order to remind the crew that he has seen better days.

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Goofs

When Ernie smarts off to Barb in the bar he's standing at the edge of the dart board. When Barb turns and throws the knife at him he's standing in the middle of the dart board about 8 inches to the left of where he was a second ago.

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Quotes

[Barb describes the dog food]
Barb: Mostly the stuff the butcher can't sell. Hooves, lips, organs... slump.
Ted: In Miami, we call them hot dogs.

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Crazy Credits

The standard Walt Disney Pictures castle corporate logo appears then gets covered with falling snow.

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Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: Twilight 4 Breaking Dawn (2013)

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Soundtracks

No Particular Place To Go
Written and Performed by Chuck Berry
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under licensing from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Not "Winterdance" but not bad...

This film has virtually NOTHING to do with Gary Paulsen's gritty book "Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod" though he is credited with "suggesting" the idea for the movie. Essentially it's an amusing "fish-out-of-water" tale about a Miami dentist (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who inherits an Alaskan dogsled team, complicated by the fact he really doesn't like dogs. The filmmakers have relied heavily on the sunny persona of Gooding and a great deal of physical comedy for audience appeal. There are also solid support from grizzled screen veteran James Coburn and the ever-elegant Nichelle Nichols of "Star Trek" fame. I enjoyed the movie & so did most of the kids I saw in the theater. Don't know what that says about my taste in movies...

One caveat: if you are severely allergic to pseudo-singer Michael Bolton, you might break out in a "Time, Love and Tenderness" rash!