AllMovie

A movie in which an animal is cast either as a lead or in a prominent role. A variety of animals have been featured, from cats (That Darn Cat!) to whales (Free Willy) and elephants (Larger Than Life, Operation Dumbo Drop), though canines and primates tend to be the most popular choice. In the 1920s and 1930s, Warner Brothers produced a series of films staring a dog named Rin Tin Tin to great degrees of success and revenue, later to be usurped by a collie named Lassie in the 1940s in another cycle of dog films. Other films were exploiting the animal trend, with My Friend Flicka and Bedtime for Bonzo, treating audiences to sentimental horse worship and crazy monkey shenanigans, respectively. The dog cycle continued anew with the Benji movies of the 1970s, and the '80s and '90s brought back the animal picture full pace with Dunston Checks In, the Free Willy series, Babe and Air Bud leading the pack as favorites in children's films well into the millennium.