AllMovie

This so-so Jackie Coogan vehicle was based on the novel, A Dog of Flanders, by Ouida -- and the dog in the film, by the way, is the famed Mack Sennett canine, Teddy. When his mother and grandfather die, little Nello (Coogan) is left all alone in the Dutch village of St. Agneten. The only one who will befriend him is Alois (Jean Carpenter), the young daughter of Baas Cogez (Lionel Belmore), the richest man in the village. Cogez drives Nello away, and he is befriended by canine Petrasche (Teddy). When Cogez's barn burns to the ground, Nello is blamed. He is about to be sent to an orphanage when famed artist Jan Van Dullen (Josef Swickard) comes to town offering a prize for the best sketch done by a child. Nello enters the competition, but his drawing is overlooked and another child wins. The youngster gets lost in a snowstorm, but Van Dullen discovers his drawing and goes looking for him. Petrasche helps him find Nello, who is near death. Cogez comes to respect the lad, and Van Dullen adopts him.