The village of Snow Mountain is a
peaceful place; nearly all of its citizens are sheep, and the town devotes
itself to making music and making yarn. The town’s peace is based on its two
Tibetan Mastiffs – Khampa, who protects the village from a nearby gang of
wolves, and Khampa’s son Bodi, who is expected to follow in his father’s
footsteps as the next protector of Snow Mountain.
Khampa’s strength comes from a
fire that he has found within himself; his hatred of wolves helps him defend
the village from them. Bodi does not have that fire. Bodi’s fascination with
music has left him disinterested in defending the village, and in response
Khampa has banned music from the village. When a radio falls from the sky, Bodi
becomes interested in Rock and Roll. His father reluctantly sends Bodi to the
big city to follow his dreams, on the condition that if Bodi’s efforts to
become a rock star fail, he will return to the village.
The wolves notice that Bodi leaves
the village; they believe that if they can capture him, the village will be
theirs. Meanwhile, Khampa trains an army of disguised sheep in hopes of keeping
the wolves away.
(SPOILERS AHEAD THE REST OF THE
WAY)
The Adoption Connection
There are no adoption themes. Rock
Dog does feature the “teen breaking away from their parents to become their own
person” theme that seems so common in films for young audiences; Bodi is
expected to follow in his parent’s footsteps but doesn’t want to. His father
resists but then gives in, Bodi finds his own passion, and then reconciles his
passion with his father’s expectations.
Strong Points
Khampa lets Bodi pursue his own
dreams, and in fulfilling his dreams, Bodi finds a way to fulfill Khampa’s
mission. Now that I think of it, in this respect, it’s kind of similar to
Moana.
Some enemies appear to have
reconciled with the heroes by the end of the film.
Challenges
Khampa tries to scare Bodi into responsible
behavior, but it goes disastrously wrong.
In a surprisingly twisted scene, the
wolves invade Snow Mountain; they tie up Khampa, and prepare to feed him some
of the sheep he has lived to protect.
Recommendations
Rock Dog feels a bit familiar; the
theme of a kid distinguishing themselves from their parents is pretty prevalent
in kids’ films. The newer twist of the kid using their own dreams and skills to
accomplish the very goals about which their parents were anxious is positive,
but it’s also seen some recent airtime in Moana and, to some extent, in the
recent Jungle Book remake. It’s a bit
scary when the wolves invade Snow Mountain – they prepare to barbecue some
still-living sheep, and intend to feed some of them to Khampa in a cruel act.
Outside of this, Rock Dog is a pretty light hearted movie that should be fun
for most kids ages 8-10 or so. Kids 4 and up might like it, too, if the scary
scenes aren’t too scary for them.
Questions for Discussion
How can parents and their kids
find a balance between the kids’ dreams and the parents’ expectations?
What expectations did Khampa have
of Bodi? Do you think they were fair?
What are you dreams?
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