Air Bud (series)
The Air Bud film series (also known as Disney Buddies) is an American film franchise based on a sports-playing Golden Retriever named Buddy, portrayed by Air Buddy. The franchise began in 1997 with the theatrical release of "Air Bud", followed by the theatrical release of "" in 1998. Following the box office failure of "Golden Receiver", the rest of the films in the series were released in direct-to-video form. The "Air Buddies" or "Disney Buddies" spin-off series began in 2006 with the release of "Air Buddies" and it focuses on the adventures of Buddy 's talking Golden Retriever puppies. "Disney Buddies" is one of the top direct-to-DVD franchises, just behind Disney Fairies at $300 million, with the first 12 films grossing $220 million by March 2014. There are 14 films in the franchise, including five in the "Air Bud" series, seven in the "Air Buddies" series, and two Christmas spin-offs of the "Air Buddies" series. History. Kevin DiCicco's Golden Retriever Buddy was featured on "America's Funniest Home Videos" and David Letterman's "Stupid Pet Tricks". He then (in 1991), approached the independent production company Keystone Entertainment to  produce "Air Bud", a film based on Buddy. He also formed his production company, Air Bud Productions, that year. Disney's Miramax was brought on as the distribution company. Keystone indicated that no sequel was planned. The film did well in the home video market. By April 1998, DiCicco and Robert Vince, the film's producer at Keystone, had a falling out, as Keystone and Vince had gone forward with a sequel, "", without DiCicco. Also, DiCicco claimed he was not paid anything for the first film and that he owns the "Air Bud" rights (based on the name of this  production company name). DiCicco bred three offspring of Buddy and trained them for sports like Buddy. The puppies were signed to an endorsement deal by DiCicco for Milk-Bone dog biscuits for puppies. He intended to make his own sequel, "Air Bud: The Next Generation", which was scheduled to start production in the fall of 1999. The concept was a "cross between "Ferris Bueller" and "Home Alone"". Disney and William Morris Agency were sued in December 2011 over the "Santa Paws" films being unauthorized copies of a 1991 script for "Santa Paws: The Story of Santa's Dog". Air Bud