Put Charles Grodin together with a 200-pound Saint Bernard and you're likely to come up with some good laughs. In this popular family comedy from 1992 Grodin plays a beleaguered dad who reluctantly lets his kids keep the lost puppy they've adopted. The dog quickly grows into the huge and clever hound named Beethoven. In a marked departure from his nice-guy roles in several Disney comedies from the 1960s and '70s, Dean Jones plays the villainous veterinarian who abducts Beethoven to be a subject in his sadistic animal experiments. The kidnapping sets the stage for a raucous rescue and, of course, an inevitable sequel. Innocuous but harmlessly entertaining, Beethoven is one of those movies that some kids can't get enough of. --Jeff Shannon

This 1993 sequel to the St. Bernard hit finds big, fluffy Beethoven now at home with gruff-but-lovable dad Charles Grodin, supermom Bonnie Hunt, and their three kids. The story continues with Beethoven falling for a female St. Bernard and having a litter, unbeknownst to Grodin, while the new dog's owner (Debi Mazar) starts angling for benefits from this union. The larger dog pool certainly adds more cuteness and laughs to this follow-up, and Grodin and Hunt--consummate professionals--don't let sequel-itis lower their energy or their wonderfully idiosyncratic way with dialogue. Mazar brings her own edge to the proceedings, too, but in the end, the film's accent is still very much on a feel-good experience for everyone. --Tom Keogh

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Married couple Judge Reinhold and Julia Sweeney host the unkempt Saint Bernard in this fourth go-round of the canine comedy franchise. The pair and their two children are dog-sitting in their pleasant suburban home--made predictably less pleasant by their toilet-water-slurping, steak-stealing guest. Meanwhile, across town, a rich couple and their lonely daughter have their own problems when their identical-looking Saint Bernard, Michelangelo, is kidnapped by their double-crossing butler.

Of course, the switch is inevitable in this Prince and the Pauper with dogs, landing the meat-crazed Beethoven in the vegetarian dog's silk-sheeted bed and vice versa. Many drool jokes later, the dogs return to their rightful homes, the rich couple learns to cavort, and Reinhold and Sweeney learn to love Beethoven's uncouthness. You expected a different ending? This 90-minute sequel provides inoffensive and mildly amusing entertainment for ages 4 to about 12. --Kimberly Heinrichs

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This 1993 sequel to the St. Bernard hit finds big, fluffy Beethoven now at home with gruff-but-lovable dad Charles Grodin, supermom Bonnie Hunt, and their three kids. The story continues with Beethoven falling for a female St. Bernard and having a litter, unbeknownst to Grodin, while the new dog's owner (Debi Mazar) starts angling for benefits from this union. The larger dog pool certainly adds more cuteness and laughs to this follow-up, and Grodin and Hunt--consummate professionals--don't let sequel-itis lower their energy or their wonderfully idiosyncratic way with dialogue. Mazar brings her own edge to the proceedings, too, but in the end, the film's accent is still very much on a feel-good experience for everyone. --Tom Keogh

Put Charles Grodin together with a 200-pound Saint Bernard and you're likely to come up with some good laughs. In this popular family comedy from 1992 Grodin plays a beleaguered dad who reluctantly lets his kids keep the lost puppy they've adopted. The dog quickly grows into the huge and clever hound named Beethoven. In a marked departure from his nice-guy roles in several Disney comedies from the 1960s and '70s, Dean Jones plays the villainous veterinarian who abducts Beethoven to be a subject in his sadistic animal experiments. The kidnapping sets the stage for a raucous rescue and, of course, an inevitable sequel. Innocuous but harmlessly entertaining, Beethoven is one of those movies that some kids can't get enough of. --Jeff Shannon