By Maurine Proctor
Editor's
note: To see a photo essay of Keith Merrill's The Twelve Dogs
of Christmas, click here.
I’ll admit that I couldn’t possibly do an unbiased review on
a movie directed by Kieth Merrill. It’s not only because I
was dissolved to tears and nearly wailing out loud in both Legacy
and Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd so I am prepared
to like what Kieth does.
I’m also entirely biased because
when Meridian was about to launch, I called him while he was
in a parking lot on his cell phone and I said, “Kieth, I’m not
sure if you remember who I am, but we are starting a magazine
called Meridian. Right now we have about two readers — my husband
and me — and we can offer no pay. How about spending hours and
hours of your life writing as the film editor with no guarantee
that it will ever work? Kieth said yes — and my bias toward
him went straight over the top.
But beyond all that, I frankly
like Kieth’s heart. He thinks Hollywood has lost its touch with
America — with people like me who love to get wrapped around
a good story, who weep, laugh and find joy in feeling warmed
by characters we come to love. So he sets out not only to make
that kind of film but to champion it.
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That’s why I was excited that The
Twelve Dogs of Christmas, a new family film written and
directed by Kieth, became available November 1, and I was rather
dogged to get my paws on a copy.
This is a direct-to-video film,
sidestepping a theatrical release. Producer Ken Kragen shopped
the $1.75 million film to the networks and studios but found
little interest in a G-rated film.
According to the Los Angeles Times,
“Even ABC Family told him that its prime-time target audience
is adults 18 to 34 years old. To get a more appealing PG-13
rating, people suggested they ‘add a cuss word or two’ but Kragan
held firm.”
How It All Began
The idea that became the film all
began when then 7-year-old Emma Kragen wrote a new version of
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” on a restaurant placemat — only
this time the gifts were dogs — including “five golden retrievers”
to replace “five golden rings.” Her enchanted father took
the words to a publisher friend of his, and the placemat became
a picture book for kids, which sold close to half a million
copies.
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to Enlarge
The journey to film was a little
more challenging — as such journeys are — but there came a day
when Ken Kragen handed the twelve-page, mostly picture book
to his friend, Academy Award winner, Kieth Merrill, and asked
him if he could make a film out of it.
Film adaptations from books often
struggle with too much material. Avid Harry Potter fans are
ready to pounce when the most delicious scene from the book
is omitted from the movie. But in this case, Kieth wondered
how to make a film out of 12 mostly-picture pages.
That’s when he locked himself in
his room with a stack of Power Bars for brain food and came
out 14 days later with a unique and charming story idea turned
into a script.
It is the 1930’s, a grim, impoverished
time, when Emma O’Conner’s father tells her she must go live
with her Aunt Delores in small-town Doverville for a time until
he gets on his feet. He promises he’ll come for her before
Christmas.
She’s crestfallen, and feels even
more alone when Aunt Delores is less than thrilled to see her
— and is no blood relation but her father’s ex-girlfriend who
thinks he’s a rat. What saves the day and Emma’s loneliness
is a dog that she adopts and keeps hidden in her bedroom.
Yet, Aunt Delores’ discovery of
the dog is not as bad as the ‘no-dogs law’ the mayor has created.
Dogs are not safe in Doverville as long as the dog catcher,
who happens also to be the mayor’s brother, is around. He is
both foppish and relentless, determined that no dog will live
in the town.
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How Emma solves the dilemma and
turns the town law on its head makes for a heartwarming tale,
and brings in a variety of lovable characters — including the
unmusical coach who in an emergency becomes the director of
the Christmas pageant and the woman, Cathy Stevens, who saves
dogs and runs an orphanage for them just beyond the town boundaries.
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It is a fun, heart-warming story
that brings a diverse canine cast of more than 101 pooches —
only one of them professionally trained.
Spontaneous Cheers
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas
was among only three chosen to be shown at the recent Heartland
Film Festival, a gathering to promote “truly moving films.”
Dick Rolfe, founder of the Dove Foundation, was there and said,
“At the risk of redundancy, his movie is a classic family classic;
sure to be around for a long time. I watched a big-screen showing
of this film, in the presence of 300 people, most of whom were
under the age of 12. The end was met with spontaneous cheers
and applause from the captivated attendees, myself included.”
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When
we watched the movie, we decided to put it to the acid test.
Since Kieth said he made this movie “for the kids”, we invited
our 10-year-old Michaela to watch and give her honest opinion.
She said, “I loved it. I’d tell
all of my friends to see it.”
We liked the winning ways of young
actors Jordan-Clair Green and Adam Hicks, two misfits who banned
together to foil the bad guys, and it was especially charming
to be transported to another world as small-town 30’s was portrayed.
Here’s a movie with children, dogs,
snow and Christmas, playing upon the nostalgia of another era.
It is an unbeatable combination for viewers, but a bit of a
headache for the filmmakers.
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How?
Filmmakers know that it is a headache
to work with children on the set, even more difficult to add
a dog — but more than 101 dogs? The movie was filmed
in Bethel, Maine, and ads were run in the local newspapers for
pet owners to bring their dogs for roles in the movie. It was,
of course, a motley crew that arrived.
Then there was the challenge that
in far-north Maine, at 70 degrees, there was no snow — and all
the snow had to be manufactured and brought in from local ski
resorts. Rain became a constant making mud an extra challenge.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
“Day One of the shoot: The antique
cars imported from Kansas City, Mo., didn't run and had to be
rolled downhill — or pulled by wires — for moving shots; the
second-unit camera malfunctioned, costing $1,500 to replace;
and when the steady-cam operator tripped, the camera broke open
and much of the morning's footage was lost. On Day Two, a dogsled
hit a pipe submerged in the snow and was cut in half. (Stunt
doubles were not hurt.)”
All in all it took two as resilient
as Kieth Merrill and Ken Kragen to pull off this delightful
film.
Standing firm by their vision seems
to have paid off. Kieth just got word that the film has now
been sold for TV, theaters and DVD in Portugal, Algeria, Bahrain,
Chad, Cypress, Djibuti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Malta, Mauritanius, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar,
Moldava, Brazil, Benezuela, Australia, Hngary, Australia, Italy,
Monoco, Switzerland, Romania, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland,
Wales, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ukraine, South Africa and
more.
I guess somebody in the world must
still like G-rated films.
To see a photo essay from the movie
click
here. To learn more about the movie or to order it, go to
www.12DogsofChristmas.com.
