Beethoven's 2nd (film)

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Beethoven's 2nd
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rod Daniel
Written by	Len Blum
Based on	Characters by Edmond Dantès Amy Holden Jones
Produced by	Michael C. Gross Joe Medjuck
Starring	Charles Grodin Bonnie Hunt Debi Mazar Chris Penn
Cinematography	Bill Butler
Edited by	William D. Gordean Sheldon Kahn
Music by	Randy Edelman
Production company	Northern Lights Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	December 17, 1993 (1993-12-17)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million[citation needed]
Box office	$118.2 million[1]

Beethoven's 2nd is a 1993 American family comedy film. Directed by Rod Daniel and written by Len Blum, it is the sequel to the 1992 film Beethoven, the second installment in the Beethoven film series and the last to be released theatrically. Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile and Sarah Rose Karr reprised their roles with Debi Mazar and Chris Penn joining the cast. Initially, no sequel was planned, but it was produced after the unexpected financial success of the previous film.

Plot

In the Newton family home, George, Alice, Ryce, Ted, Emily, and Beethoven are all well adjusted to living together. One day, Beethoven sneaks out and meets a female St. Bernard named Missy and her owner, Brillo. However, Brillo's soon-to-be ex-wife, Regina, arrives with her new boyfriend, Floyd, takes Missy, and is seeking $50,000 in the settlement as alimony. Regina has retained full custody of Missy and only plans to transfer her to Brillo once the divorce is finalized.

With Beethoven's help, Missy escapes from Regina and Floyd's

Missy escapes from the car with Beethoven's help while Regina snatches the puppies' leashes from Ted and Emily. After Floyd informs Regina that Beethoven and Missy ran into the mountains, they follow them and the Newtons follow and catch up. After a confrontation between George and Floyd, the latter threatens to drop the puppies in the river below and pokes George in the stomach with a large stick. Beethoven charges into the stick and rams it into Floyd's groin as retaliation, causing him to lose his balance. Regina grabs Floyd's hand and they both fall off the cliff. They land in a pool of mud and are swept away by the river.

Five months later, Brillo visits the Newtons with Missy, revealing that the judge in the divorce had granted him full custody of her and denied Regina's claim. The puppies, now adults, run downstairs to see Missy.

Cast

The film was Danny Masterson's screen debut.^[2] His younger brother, Christopher, also had a small role, but when the producers noticed the resemblance, they removed him.^[3]

Production

The film is set in California, but the park scenes were filmed in Montana at Glacier National Park.^[4] The house used as the Newtons' vacation home is located at 1405 Milan Avenue in South Pasadena.^[5]

Production required more than 100 smooth- and rough-coated St. Bernard puppies of various ages starting at seven weeks, who were then returned to the breeders. Missy was played by three adult short-haired dogs, and Beethoven was played by two long-haired ones, although only the dog who created the role in the first film is credited; a mechanical dog, a dog's head for specific facial expressions, and a man in a dog suit were also used.^[2][6]

Song

The theme song, "The Day I Fall in Love", performed by

Reception

The film grossed more than $118 million at the box office worldwide.^[7]

Critical response

Although the film was not well received by film critics, it received acclaim by audiences. Brian Lowry of

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 23%, based on reviews from 13 critics, with an average rating of 4.55/10.^[10] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it a grade "A".^[11]

In other media

• Beethoven: The Ultimate Canine Caper, a side-scrolling video game titled simply Beethoven, but based on the film, was released for Super NES, MS-DOS^[12] and Game Boy.^[13] Versions for Sega Genesis and Game Gear were developed, but they never saw release.
• Harvey Comics: Beethoven (March 1994)^[14]

References

External links

• Beethoven's 2nd at
  IMDb
• Beethoven's 2nd at the TCM Movie Database
• Beethoven's 2nd at Box Office Mojo
• Beethoven's 2nd at Rotten Tomatoes