In honor of National Dog Day on August 26th, I recently revisited a favorite movie from my childhood, that I'm not sure if many others will remember:
Napoleon.
Napoleon is one of those movies from my childhood favorite genre, "adorable talking animal goes on an adventure and learns a life lesson". This genre seems to more or less have been lost since the 90s ended, and that honestly makes me feel very sad when I think about it.
Napoleon was probably my absolute favorite of the genre back in the day, even though it was far less widely known than movies like Homeward Bound or Babe. (I loved those movies as well, even once wrote my mom an emotional letter about why she should buy me Babe: Pig In The City on VHS, but Napoleon is my standout.) It was apparently released first in Australia in 1995, and didn't make it to its US direct-to-video release until 1997, which would mean I was ten years old when I first saw it. I believe my first time becoming aware of it was at the home of a woman who used to babysit all of the neighborhood kids. I can't recall now if I actually watched it there, or just saw the VHS cover, but I remember renting it from the local video store shortly after the fact, and it became my go-to movie for quite awhile.
Napoleon is the story of a puppy named Muffin, who longs to be taken more seriously, and seen as "tough" rather than an adorable house pet. Outside of his owners' home, he frequently hears the call of the "wild dogs", and longs to run with them. He hates his cutesy name, begging to be called "Napoleon" by his mother. On the day of a child's birthday party at his home, Muffin jumps into a basket with many balloons tied to it, and winds up on a makeshift hot air balloon ride out of the city and into the wild, where he attempts to fully embrace the wild dog persona he's created for himself, officially as Napoleon.
Napoleon encounters many different animals in his quest to find the wild dogs, befriending a tropical bird named Birdo, and running afoul of a cat who's completely lost her mind after living alone in the wild for so long, and believes every living being she encounters is a mouse. Eventually, Napoleon comes to find that the howls he's been hearing and believing to be the "wild dogs", have actually been coming from a lizard. Dejected, he heads off to find shelter from a desert rain storm, only to encounter what he believes to be two other lost puppies. After saving one of the puppies from drowning in a flood, their mother comes home and Napoleon realizes that he has been with the actual wild dogs. Typical children's movie life lessons play out, and after the wild dog mother agrees to let Napoleon stay, he realizes that he was happier back home with his own mother, and that he never had to prove his bravery by becoming "wild" after all. On the journey back home, he encounters a penguin with similar sentiments to himself at the beginning of the movie, and becomes the voice of reason. He soon reunites with his mother, who finally agrees to call him "Napoleon". The final shot of the movie is of the villainous feral cat appearing outside of Napoleon's home, finally acknowledging to herself that he is not a mouse but a dog, and that the dog must die. I've always wondered (and as a child, greatly hoped) that this was setting up for a sequel adventure, but that never came to fruition. From an adult perspective it's actually kind of grim that they ended the movie on that note, but then I've never liked a cliffhanger with no resolution. Regardless, the movie made me smile just as much at almost 38 years old as it did when I was ten.
As per usual when I revisit a movie that I hyperfixated on in my childhood, I surprised myself by remembering so much of the plot, along with the lyrics to pretty much every song in the movie. My ten year old self was absolutely obsessed with the songs, particularly How Far I'll Fly and My Hills To Climb, and I was truly always singing them. When the former started playing in the movie, I immediately turned into a kid again, dramatically throwing my arms out and singing along as if I myself were a puppy flying into the wild. I'm not sure how long it had been since I'd watched the movie prior to this viewing, but I know it's at least twenty-five years. It's crazy to think of how old these childhood favorites are now.
If anyone else has fond memories of Napoleon, I would love to hear about them! And if you've never seen it but love cute animals and a fun little adventure, I highly recommend it for all the nostalgic puppy-love feels.
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