40 Fun Facts About Homeward Bound: the Incredible Journey

Chance, the young troublemaker who narrates Homeward Bound, is which breed of dog?

American Bulldog Chance was played by four different dogs, with stand-ins brought on for special actions or to give the lead a break.

Which actor, later the voice of Stuart Little, speaks for Chance in the 1993 film Homeward Bound?

Michael J. Fox also opens the film with Chance's voice-over, and he returned to the role for the 1996 sequel.

Which predator do Shadow and Chance catapult off a cliff with a rock seesaw in Homeward Bound?

A cougar stalks the dogs to a cliff edge, where Shadow plays bait and Chance jumps on the rock to launch it into the river. The ledge was hard Styrofoam and the airborne cat a fake.

Which two-time Best Actress Oscar winner provides the voice of Sassy the cat in Homeward Bound?

Sally Field won her Oscars for Norma Rae and Places in the Heart, and she came back to voice Sassy again in the 1996 sequel.

Which animal leaves Chance with a painfully sore cheek after he pesters it in Homeward Bound?

A porcupine flicks its tail into Chance's face when he gets too curious. On set the quills were rubber, stuck on with spirit gum, the glue actors use for false beards.

Shadow, the wise old dog who leads the pets' trek in Homeward Bound, is which breed?

Golden Retriever Shadow is the elder of the two dogs, a reversal of the 1963 original, where the Labrador was the youngster and the bull terrier the old-timer.

In Homeward Bound, Sassy falls into a river and is swept over what, apparently to her death?

A waterfall takes Sassy only on screen: the plunge used fake and mechanical cats, and the real cat's part was shot in a heated pool.

Whom do the three pets guard through a night in the forest in Homeward Bound?

A missing little girl named Molly gets their protection overnight, and at dawn Shadow leads her search party to her, which is how two rangers recognize the pets from a flyer.

The family in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey is named Burnford in honor of whom?

The book's author, Sheila Burnford, said she never wrote her tale of three traveling pets specifically for children, though it is usually shelved as a children's book.

What does Chance devour in front of the guests when Laura marries Bob in Homeward Bound?

The cake ends up all over Chance, ear to ear. The dog playing him loved whipped cream, so the crew spread plenty on him to stop him eating too much of it.

Which animal sends the pets running while they fish for breakfast in Homeward Bound?

A bear fishing the same stream sends the pets running. Hidden safety wires kept it apart from the cat and dogs, and it stood up and pawed the air on cue.

Which family member owns Shadow and quarrels with Bob over searching for the pets in Homeward Bound?

Peter argues with his new stepfather for a search, and in the final scene Shadow is the last pet home, limping into view well behind the other two.

Who finds the half-drowned Sassy on a riverbank and nurses her back to health in Homeward Bound?

An old woodsman named Quentin takes her in. The soggy lump of fur he first spots at the water's edge was a fake cat, swapped for the real one when he picks it up.

Which landmark stands between the pets and home in Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco?

The Golden Gate Bridge is where two bullying street dogs spring a last ambush, until Chance charges back to scare them off and the trio cross to find their owners.

Where do the pets break loose at the start of Homeward Bound II, after Chance panics in his carrier?

At the airport, Chance takes fright at the workers handling the pets, breaks out of his carrier and bolts, and the other two follow him out into the city.

Which star of Cocoon provides the voice of Shadow in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey?

Don Ameche, a radio and film star since the 1930s, won a late-career Oscar for Cocoon. He died in December 1993, the year Shadow reached theaters.

Which actor, the father on The Waltons, took over as the voice of Shadow in Homeward Bound II?

Ralph Waite stepped in because the original voice of Shadow had died in 1993, three years before the sequel reached theaters.

Which stand-up comedian voices Riley, the leader of a gang of street dogs, in Homeward Bound II?

Sinbad's Riley trusts no human: he was a holiday gift for a child who did not want him, and the family abandoned him as a puppy.

Which stray, voiced by Carla Gugino, falls for Chance in Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco?

Delilah is sent to fetch Chance after a street fight, and in the last scene she turns up at a family picnic, where Bob agrees the family can take in another dog.

What does Sassy rescue from the burning house where Shadow saves a young boy in Homeward Bound II?

A kitten belonging to the boy is Sassy's rescue, and the gang of strays who watch the double act are impressed enough to help the pair find Chance.

Which star of the comedy Airplane! plays Bob, the children's new stepfather, in Homeward Bound?

Robert Hays, who played pilot Ted Striker in the spoof, came back as Bob for the 1996 sequel.

Which Designing Women star plays Kate, the ranch owner who minds the pets, in Homeward Bound?

Jean Smart had just left the sitcom after five seasons as Charlene. Her Kate is Laura's college friend, whose half-lost note leaves the pets on their own.

Homeward Bound director Duwayne Dunham won an Emmy for editing which early-1990s TV mystery series?

Twin Peaks brought Dunham his Emmy; he also cut Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart for David Lynch, and the pets' adventure was his first feature as a director.

Homeward Bound co-writer Linda Woolverton had just scripted which Disney animated feature?

Beauty and the Beast also lent the film its co-director, Kirk Wise, who supervised the writing and recording of the pets' dialogue as an executive producer.

Kate leaves the three pets with a neighbor in Homeward Bound because she is heading off on what?

A cattle drive calls Kate away, and because half of her note to her neighbor Frank is lost, he assumes she has taken the animals with her.

Where does Shadow fall into a muddy pit and injure his leg near the end of Homeward Bound?

A railroad yard near home holds the pit. No trains ran while the animals were on set, and the dog never fell: the boards broke onto a platform just below him.

How did trainers make the dog playing Shadow limp for the final reunion in Homeward Bound?

A bead between his toes, part of a round wooden one, did not hurt the dog but felt peculiar enough that he walked with a limp.

What distracts Chance just as the dogs spring their seesaw trap in Homeward Bound?

A butterfly flutters past his nose and nearly ruins the plan. The crew glued silk ones to fishing line and dangled them in front of the dog's face.

Which farmyard bird turns on Chance and chases him at Kate's ranch in Homeward Bound?

A turkey sees Chance off after he scatters the chickens. The dog had no real interest in the birds, so hand signals and spoken commands told him where to look and when to stop.

Which California mountain range do the three pets cross on their way home in Homeward Bound?

The Sierra Nevada of the story was played by forest so remote that the crew packed cameras onto mules and horses and rode in for more than 15 miles.

The novel and the 1963 film that inspired Homeward Bound are set in the wilderness of which country?

Canada's Ontario backwoods are the original setting, where the three pets walk some 300 miles; the 1993 remake moved the trek south of the border.

Tao, the male cat in Disney's 1963 film The Incredible Journey, is which breed?

Siamese Tao kills a bird to revive the exhausted old dog in the original; the 1993 remake made the cat female, renamed her Sassy and changed her breed.

Sassy, the pampered cat of Homeward Bound, belongs to which long-haired breed?

Himalayan Sassy needed ten different cats to play her, more than twice as many animals as either of the dog roles.

What reward did the animal actors of Homeward Bound earn for a good performance on set?

Liver treats were the stars' only perk, and each animal trained for up to seven weeks before filming began, learning to answer voice and sound commands.

Which composer, who scored the western Tombstone the same year, wrote the music for Homeward Bound?

Bruce Broughton, an Oscar nominee for the western Silverado, came back to score the 1996 sequel as well.

Homeward Bound co-writer Caroline Thompson wrote the screenplay for which Tim Burton-directed film?

Edward Scissorhands came about when Burton, impressed by her novel First Born, hired her to write it. Her Nightmare Before Christmas opened the same year as the pets' adventure.

The wilderness scenes of Homeward Bound were filmed in the Eagle Cap Wilderness of which state?

Oregon supplied the city scenes too, with downtown Portland standing in for San Francisco; the location manager praised the state's varied topography.

In Homeward Bound, the pets flee the place where two rangers take them because they mistake it for what?

The pound is what the trio dread, so Sassy slips away and returns to free Shadow from his cage, and all three run just as their owners are on the way to collect them.

In Homeward Bound II, the feared red van snatches stray dogs off the street to take them where?

The Lab is where the van's drivers mean to take Chance, until the strays swarm the vehicle and one of them reverses it into the water.

Why does the family move to San Francisco, leaving the pets behind, at the start of Homeward Bound?

Bob's job takes the newlyweds and the three children to the city only temporarily, which is why the pets stay at a friend's ranch instead of making the move.