Got a little spare time and a lotta spare hankies? Go see “Shiloh” (PG).
The sweet movie, based on a young-adult novel, is about a boy who fights to save a beagle from its abusive owner. Marty Preston, 11, befriends the sad beagle after the pup runs away. But Marty’s dad says the beagle, which the boy names Shiloh, must be returned to its owner, since it’s the owner’s “property.” The movie follows Marty’s struggle to figure out what’s right, then fight for it — and stand up to adults who are in charge but in the wrong.
We asked Blake Heron, the 14-year-old who plays Marty, whether it was tough to handle such a heart-wrenching role.
“It was hard to tune into that kind of emotion,” he said. “I’m not usually an emotional person.”
But if he had to save a pup that had been knocked around? Wouldn’t that be emotional?
“It probably would, but it’s still hard to reach down and find that,” he said.
It helped that Blake loved the dog that played Shiloh. “That dog was totally on the ball,” he said. Besides, “the trainers got the dog attached to me. They wouldn’t let anyone else pet the dog but me.”
(Blake stressed that the dog was very well treated on the set.)
The dog in the movie is all sweet and cuddly, just like Marty’s dad — not! The dad isn’t a bad guy, he just makes up his mind about stuff — like that Marty can’t have a dog — and won’t budge. We asked Blake if his folks are like that.
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“Not at all,” he said with a laugh. “I just live with my mom, and she’s the best. I can talk her into stuff and out of stuff.”
Speaking of annoying’ in “Shiloh,” the pup’s owner, Judd, is one mean dude. Moviegoers will love the scenes where Marty stands up to Judd. We asked Blake how he liked those brave-guy scenes.
“It was cool,” he said. “You don’t get a chance to stand up to an adult like that in real life.”