That Hollywood Show had the chance to chat with Air Bud Returns director Robert Vince alongside the new movie’s lead, Buddy the Dog. The Golden Retriever was the star of San Diego Comic-Con this year, but he’s got four huge sneakers to fill.
Air Bud first became a ’90s-kid staple when it hit theaters in 1997. The film was directed by Charles Martin Smith and starred Kevin Zegers as Josh Framm, a young basketball fan who discovers his new dog has a talent for sports. The movie spawned four direct sequels as well as multiple Air Buddies spin-off films. There are 14 total movies in the Air Bud Cinematic Universe, with the last releasing in 2013. One thing all of these movies have in common (aside from adorable Golden Retrievers) is Robert Vince. Vince produced all 14 films, has writing credits on many of them, and directed nine. Now, he’s returning to the franchise with Air Bud Returns.
Air Bud Returns marks the franchise’s first theatrical release since Air Bud: Golden Receiver came out in 1998. Similar to the original film, the story follows a boy dealing with his father’s death. This time, the main character finds a VHS copy of the original Air Bud, which leads him to befriend a stray Golden Retriever named Buddy. Vince wrote and directed the project.
A New Story
During THS‘ chat with Vince, he talked about his long history of making Golden Retriever movies.
“So, you know, I’ve lived this,” Vince explained. “I made 50 movies, but … There’s so much of me in this that this just felt like the right time to do an all-new movie to the big screen that’s sort of reminiscent of the original Air Bud. But with all-new characters and everything else. What I mean by reminiscent: we’re using the same type of themes that are standing on the shoulders of the original. The same DNA. But we’re doing something that I think is even more special, you know, in terms of the new characters.”
“And storytelling is all those themes … ‘Play from the heart’ … ‘Anything is possible’ … ‘Ain’t no rules.’ You know, all those themes that were in the original Air Bud, which basically is a lesson in life. Now we’re adding on to that. We have in this movie themes of family legacy and redemption and other things that we’re adding on … The original Air Bud was literally the original underdog story, right? And it was literally with a dog, which I’ve said more than once today. But the point is that an underdog story is really about inspiring people that feel like they have no shot to take the shot, you know? And that’s really what the original movie was all about.”
A New Buddy
We also wanted to make sure Buddy the Dog was getting the attention he deserved during the interview. We mentioned how the original Buddy was such a great little actor, and jokingly wondered if the new star felt the pressure of taking on such a big role.
“I’ve worked with so many Golden Retrievers. This guy is the coolest. He’s ‘Cool-hand Luke’ is what he really is. He is the coolest, most easy dog. I say to people, ‘A bomb could go off in this building, and he’d be like, ‘What’s up? What’s the next interview?’ So, of all the dogs, I have to tell you … And from a physical point of view, the OG original Buddy was a one-of-a-kind; there’s no question about that, but he is he is like cinematically the most beautiful dog I’ve ever worked with.”
A New Era
We also brought up how the original film is a great time capsule of the ’90s, and asked if he was trying to recapture that essence.
“Well, it’s funny you say that because when we made that movie, what we were really going for was something that was timeless, right? So it happened to be in that era. It wasn’t like we were like, ‘Oh, making a movie that is in a different time.’ We’re doing the same thing now. We just look for our movies to be timeless. So technology changes, but storytelling is the same.”
Air Bud Returns is hitting theatres on January 22, 2027. The film stars Aydin Artis as Jacob, Tracy Ifeachor as Jasmine, Edwin Lee Gibson as Jack, Tyler Labine as Walter, Erik Gow as Marvin, and Maxim Swinton as Adam. You can learn more about the film at AirBud.com, and watch our full interview below:
You can read the movie’s official description here:
“12-year-old Jacob, coping with his father’s death, moves with his mother to Fernfield, Washington. There, he finds a VHS copy of Air Bud and befriends a stray Golden Retriever named Buddy. Together, they join local children to form a basketball team and compete for a championship.”
Be sure to check out more from That Hollywood Show‘s time at SDCC.
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