Hounded

**Hounded** is a 2001 film and Disney Channel Original Movie. It was produced by Gaylord Films and released by Buena Vista Television. The film was written by Don Calame and Chris Conroy, and released on April 13, 2001.

## Plot

Jay Martin is a 13-year-old who is competing for a scholarship to a prestigious school with rival classmate and bully Ronny Van Dusen. The scholarship is the only one of its kind available, and if Jay doesn't obtain it, he will be sent to the military academy his brother attends upstate. The headmaster of Jay's current school and Ronny's father, Ward Van Dusen, confiscates Jay's presentation because it contained drawings depicting him as a wolf in disguise. After Ward leaves the speech lying around his office, Ronny copies the presentation and wins the scholarship by using it in the contest. When Jay brings this up with Ward, he expresses intentions to look into it, only for Jay to later overhear Ward instructing his son to get rid of any evidence he plagiarized the speech.

Jay breaks into Ronny's pool house while the Van Dusen family is at the award ceremony in order to take his presentation back and prove to the judges it was stolen. However, Eliza Van Dusen's show dog, Camille, discovers Jay and follows him home after she nearly gets him caught by a servant. Camille goes crazy and wrecks the Martin's home when she goes too long without her medication. After Jay spends hours trying to comfort the dog, Camille withstands no more and explodes.

Jay's brother Mike comes home from school at his Military Academy while their mother is away taking care of their injured aunt and finds the house a mess and Camille with a nervous breakdown. After Jay confesses what happened with the speech and the dog, the two try to buy time to get her back home. During a phone call, Ward disavows any knowledge of Ronny's theft to Mike. Ward is then visited by his father-in-law, the former headmaster of the school, Armand Columbus, who orders him to get his daughter's dog back or Ward will lose his job. Ward agrees to numerous acts just to get Camille home and Armand off his back.

Reaching his limit, Ward finally calls the police to tap into the calls he usually received from the two boys (who used a voice disguiser). Jay and Mike come up with a plan and frame Ronny for the dog's absence. The plan works thanks to a strategy where the Van Dusen’s and the police find Camille in Ronny's pool house, as well as the voice changer they used for further incrimination. This prompts Armand to say "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" in realization that Ward has passed his corrupt behaviour on to his son.

In the end, Armand retakes his old position as headmaster of the school while demoting Ward to secretary. Jay gets the scholarship after the competition is reopened, and Camille is revealed to be expecting puppies, with Eliza offering him one of them. Ronny is sent to the Military Academy, where he is surprised to find his instructor is Mike.

## Cast and Characters

* Tahj Mowry as Jay Martin
* Craig Kirkwood as Michael "Mike" Martin
* Shia LaBeouf as Ronald "Ronny" Van Dusen
* Sara Paxton as Tracy Richburg
* Steven Bendik as Bill Lipka
* Rachelle Carson as Eliza Van Dusen
* Ed Begley, Jr. as Ward Van Dusen
* Tony Larimer as Armand Columbus
* Melinda Haynes as Mrs. Martin
* Irene Santiago as Adele

## Release

### Home Media

A VHS was released on March 5, 2002 by Walt Disney Video.

## Reception

### Critical Response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 538 reviews. It has only 2 comments and Conner R calls the film "Just an incredibly weird and campy movie about dog stealing. About the only noteworthy aspect is the fact that Shia LeBeouf plays a hilariously evil rich kid."