Sunny‘s Adventures of Beethoven

**Sunny‘s Adventures of Beethoven** It will appear on Odyssey in the near future.

## Plot

When the film opens, a St. Bernard puppy (later named Beethoven) and some other dogs are stolen from a pet shop by two thieves Beethoven meets a Jack Russell Terrier who manages to escape from the thieves and sneaks into the home of the Newton family who Sunny Starscout and her friends are hanging out with. The father, George Newton doesn't want the responsibility of owning a dog, but his wife Alice and children convince him. While trying to name their new found dog, the youngest daughter, Emily, plays a portion of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and the puppy barks along, thus he is named Beethoven.

Initially, George only focuses on Beethoven's negative aspects: scratching the door, shedding on the furniture, dining off the kitchen counter, and otherwise chewing the house apart. However, the rest of family, along with Pooh, Simba, Charlie, Itchy, and the others grows more attached to Beethoven, who helps the children overcome their problems in various ways, such as frightening off the bullies that are bothering Ted, helping the eldest girl, Ryce, talk to her crush, and saving Emily's life when she falls in their babysitter's swimming pool.

The family takes Beethoven to a local veterinarian, Herman Varnick, for a routine medical examination and immunizations. The family is unaware that Varnick is involved in unethical and deadly animal experimentation and hired the two thieves, Harvey and Vernon, that were seen in the opening sequence. Varnick wants to use Beethoven for an ammunition test requiring large-skulled dogs such as St. Bernards; he urges the family to leave him overnight at the clinic, but they refuse. Varnick speaks to George alone and tells him of a supposed mental instability among St. Bernard dogs making them potentially dangerous to humans and advises George to watch Beethoven closely for any sign of viciousness. George is concerned and resolves to send Beethoven away if he observes any "weirdness", much to a skeptical Alice's chagrin.

In the days that follow, George and Alice try to impress Brad and Brie, executives from a rival company, into investing in George's business, Newton Auto Air Fresheners. Unbeknownst to the couple, the executives, seeing the potential profitability of George's business, seek to eventually absorb the company into their own by writing some "fine print" into a contract. During a meeting at the Newtons, George is about to finalize his partnership with Brad and Brie when Beethoven wraps his leash around the picnic table and chairs and drags the couple down the sidewalk, much to Alice's amusement. Infuriated that Beethoven has ruined his deal, George declares that he wants the dog gone, much to the sadness of his family and our heroes.

Varnick later visits the Newton home under the guise of doing a follow-up exam on Beethoven. He stages an "attack" by Beethoven on him, claiming that Beethoven bit his arm. Varnick says Beethoven must be euthanized or he will press charges. Emily, who saw Varnick hit Beethoven, protests that the attack was fake, but George, fearing for his family's safety, takes Beethoven to Varnick's office. Along the way, George reveals that his father had taken an old family dog to be euthanized, much to his sadness, and shows empathy for Beethoven for the first time in the movie, telling him "*You were my dog, too.*" before hugging him leaving him with Varnick.

## Transcript

Sunny‘s Adventures of Beethoven/Transcript