You’ve Got Mail
You’ve Got Mail is a classic rom-com that is very on point for Valentine’s Day. It’s all about Joe Fox, a character played by Tom Hanks who falls in love with a woman online, played by Meg Ryan. You might think it’s a little dated having been released in 1998 but it’s a classic and still a strong contender even among all the modern day romcoms. They’re two people who are at odds in real life but keep getting brought together. Joe’s dislike for his professional rival is thrown up in the air when he finds out she’s the same person he’s fallen for online.
You might think there’s nothing special about the plot but the star of the show is Tom Hank’s on screen wingman, Brinkley the Golden Retriever. In the years before Tinder, online dating was exchanging emails and the lovable pooch is the subject of many of these emails. With Brinkley’s help, the two are finally revealed to each other so really, it’s all thanks to one clever pooch.
Along Came Polly
Along Came Polly is another absolute classic love story and wildly funny with Ben Stiller playing an overcautious risk analyst. His love interest is Jennifer Anniston, a carefree and reckless woman Rueben (Stiller’s character) went to school with. They meet at a function after Reuben’s wife leaves him during their honeymoon. Reuben and Polly (Anniston’s character) meet up on several dates where she challenges both his ideas and his irritable bowel syndrome. Reuben has to come to terms with life not being as simple as his risk assessment calculations.
You might have already noticed the running theme here but while the cast is top quality, Rodolpho is the character that steals the most hearts! Rodolpho is a blind ferret who doesn’t let anything slow him down. While he takes a shine to the new guest in Polly’s life, he’s not met with the warmest response. In the end though, it’s this adorable little guy that brings the pair together.
Legally Blonde 2
If you’ve seen the first instalment you will already know that the pocket size pooch, Bruiser who was played by canine actor Moonie is the best thing about these movies. He returns to Legally Blonde 2 to reprise his role as the dress wearing Chihuahua who is secure enough in his masculinity to have an entirely pink wardrobe. The whole movie is based around our canine companions as Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon finds out that Bruiser’s mum belongs to a company that does cosmetic testing on animals. She tries to adopt her to make sure Bruiser’s mum can attend her wedding however when she realises that these animals are legally owned by the testing facility she decides to change the law.
Elle is arguably the model pup parent with love for all dogs and an acceptance of her own fur baby’s sexuality in some light hearted scenes. She accepts her fur baby for his authentic self. It’s a great feel good movie that has an important message about the way we treat our doggie companions. Their bond will have you feeling like you want to give your own pooch an extra cuddle or two.
A Whisker Away
A Whisker Away is one for anime lovers. Originally in Japanese, it was dubbed in English in 2020 and has been popular internationally ever since. It’s the story of a girl who has a crush on a boy. Her home life is pretty unhappy as she doesn’t get along with her stepmother and the boy she loves doesn’t pay much attention to her. She finds a mask seller who sells her a mask that will turn her into a cat. She uses the mask's powers to visit her crush and bond with him. Miyo, in her human form, decides that she wants to cheer her crush up after he has some bad news about his parents closing their pottery shop. She writes him a letter which gets read out loud in class. To avoid embarrassment, Miyo gets rejected and decides that she would rather be with Hinode as a cat rather than not at all.
The mask seller takes her human face and she becomes stuck as a cat. Eventually, Hinode finds out what happened to Miyo and they follow the mask maker to his island to try and save Miyo to get her face back. It’s a story about young love and the connection between people and their pets. You even learn that the wicked stepmum is just a girl who used to love her pet cat. It’s heartwarming and full of magic, a great cosy watch for you and your feline friend.
Finding Nemo
For the fish parents, you might be feeling a little left out since you can’t cuddle up to your friends for a movie but don’t worry, you can still include them in your movie night. What better fishy movie to watch than Finding Nemo? Finding Nemo is another feel good film about a young clown fish who loses his family. He has to make lots of new friends to help him find his way home, one of which a a dyslexic blue tang called Dory. While you’re picking up some snacks for yourself, don’t forget to grab a special something for your watching buddies. Some
King British Bloodworm Fish Treat will usually go down great and you can all enjoy the film together.
Now that you have your film planned and your beloved pet by your side, you can enjoy the best Valentine’s Day together! For more ideas, or tasty treats to gift your fur (or feathery) baby this Valentine’s, have a sniff in store or online.