Beethoven (franchise)

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Beethoven is a series of eight American films, created by John Hughes (credited as Edmond Dantès) and Amy Holden Jones, in which the plot revolves around a family attempting to control the antics of their pet Saint Bernard (named Beethoven). The first two films were theatrical releases and all subsequent releases have been direct to video. The original Beethoven was released in theaters in April 1992. Its opening grossed $7,587,565 and was the year's 26th largest grossing film in the U.S. at $57,114,049.^[1]

In Beethoven, the Newton family finds and adopts a Saint Bernard. The family, with the exception of the father, George (Charles Grodin), becomes attached to the dog. Meanwhile, a sadistic veterinarian, Dr. Herman Varnick (Dean Jones) involved with animal experimentation is planning to kill Beethoven for his latest experiment, and George, after discovering his fondness for the dog, springs into action to rescue his pet. Beethoven was released on April 3, 1992.

In Beethoven's 2nd, Beethoven sires a litter of puppies, and the Newton family tries to save them from the greedy owner Regina (Debi Mazar), who alternately wishes to kill or sell the puppies. Beethoven's 2nd was released on December 17, 1993.

In Beethoven's 3rd, the dog is sent across the country in an RV to attend a family reunion. While George and his family are in Europe, Beethoven is riding with the relatives of the Newtons led by George's brother Richard (Judge Reinhold) as the family avoids criminals that are after a DVD copy of The Shakiest Gun in the West that has a computer code hidden in it. Beethoven's 3rd was released on July 25, 2000.

In Beethoven's 4th, Beethoven accidentally switches with another St. Bernard named Michelangelo who comes from Sedgewick family, and is pampered and well-behaved. Beethoven tries to find a way to get home, while a butler who works for Sedgewick family wants to kidnap Michelangelo for ransom. Beethoven's 4th was released on December 4, 2001.

Sara takes Beethoven to visit her oddball uncle in the old mining town Quicksilver, where they discover the hidden treasure while also facing two bank robbers who want it too. The last installment of the original storyline, Beethoven's 5th was released on December 2, 2003.

The first installment of a new storyline. In the film, Beethoven becomes a movie star. Beethoven's Big Break was released on December 30, 2008.

In Beethoven's Christmas Adventure, Beethoven teams up with the elf from the North Pole named Henry (Kyle Massey) and a young boy Mason Cooper (Munro Chambers) to find a missing Santa's toy bag that fell in the small town Wood Haven, Minnesota, while also facing two men from a toy store, Sylvester Smirch (Robert Picardo) and his assistant Kenny (Curtis Armstrong), who grab Santa's bag and use it for financial gains.

Unlike other films in the franchise, Beethoven has a speaking voice, which was provided by Tom Arnold. The film features narration by John Cleese^[2] and was released on November 8, 2011.

After getting fired from a film, Beethoven begins the long journey home with his trainer, Eddie. They become stranded in a small coastal town, where the beloved canine befriends a young boy who is searching for buried treasure.^[2] Beethoven's Treasure Tail was released on October 28, 2014.

• Note: A dark gray cell indicates the character does not appear in the film.

All films are available on DVD, both individually and as part of packs and collections of two or more films.

In 1993, a side-scrolling video game was released called Beethoven: The Ultimate Canine Caper based on Beethoven's 2nd for Super NES, Game Boy and DOS. Versions of the game for the Sega Genesis and Game Gear were developed,^[12] but they were cancelled before release.

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