Guard Dog by Mill Creek Entertainment is a movie about a stuffed animal becoming a real dog named Abba. The catch is that no one else can see Abba except for nine-year-old Chance. Chance is being raised by his grandparents and lies, cheats, steals, and more, and desperately needs a friend and guidance. Abba kindly directs him to the Ten Commandments to learn from his mistakes.

Even though the movie constantly pointed toward the Bible during Guard Dog, it did not seem overly preachy. The movie flows naturally showing cause, effect, consequences, and then pointing back to Christ.

It should be noted that although this movie is family-friendly, it was very emotionally draining to watch. There are some scenes that may need some parental guidance. Many may even be triggering for certain audiences. For example, Chance is removed from his dad’s custody after his mother dies and placed with his grandparents. Chance also acts out for most of the entire movie and makes choices that are clearly wrong. He yells and hurts others. Several scenes brought both children and adults viewing to tears.

Overall the message was clear and points back to the Bible and following God’s instruction for life, but the movie is lacking in quality. There were times that it was hard to understand what the characters were saying and some of the acting seemed forced.

Guard Dog would be a great movie to use for a family night, with Sunday School lessons or youth groups. I highly recommend holding a discussion afterward to helpprocess the scenes viewed.

-Product review by Erin Haag, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2019