| A Dog Named Christmas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | Jenny Wingfield |
| Directed by | Peter Werner |
| Starring | Linda Emond Noel Fisher Bruce Greenwood |
| Theme music composer | Jeff Beal |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Brent Shields |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Production company | Hallmark Hall of Fame |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | November 29, 2009 (2009-11-29) |
| Related | |
A Dog Named Christmas is a 2009 American/Canadian television film that debuted on CBS as aHallmark Hall of Fame movie on November 29, 2009.[1] The film was produced by Brent Shields, directed byPeter Werner and written by Jenny Wingfield, who based the script from a novel of the same name by Greg Kincaid. It was filmed inSouthey, Saskatchewan and the surrounding area.[1]
A tale of a young man with a learning disability, named Todd McCray (Noel Fisher) living with his parents in the rural midwest. The story takes place over a two-week period over the Christmas holidays when the localanimal shelterlaunches an "Adopt a dog for Christmas" program. Todd's unconditional love for animals enables him to embark on an endeavour to ensure that as many dogs as possible get adopted by the local community.
One dog in particular has grabbed Todd's heart and through intermittent flashbacks, viewers slowly discover the reasons for his father's reluctance to fully support Todd's efforts.
A Dog Named Christmas is the 237th presentation byHallmark Hall of Fame, the long-running anthology program of American television films. It was based on a novel of the same name by Greg Kincaid, which was published in 2008. He wrote the story almost ten years prior for his wife, Michale Ann, and his five children, who ranged in age from 9 to 13. Kincaid said his family hated the original story, particularly because of the unhappy ending. Kincaid rewrote the story over the next year, with a new ending that his family liked better. He named a character in the story after each of his children.[2]
The novel was fast-tracked into a film production in January 2009. During the film's original broadcast onCBS on November 29, 2009, the network sponsored a nationwide "Foster a Lonely Pet" program withPetfinder.com, an online database of adoptable pets, which included more than 2,000 shelters andanimal-rescue groups across North America. After the end credits, apublic service announcement was aired featuring Greg Kincaid describing the promotion.[2]
In its original American broadcast on November 29, 2009,A Dog Named Christmas was seen by 18.7 million households, according to theNielsen ratings. In the ratings, the movie outperformedNBC'sSunday Night Football broadcast of theNFL game between thePittsburgh Steelers and theBaltimore Ravens, which drew 17.3 million households. It was also seen by more households thanCBS's60 Minutes at 14.3 million andABC'sDesperate Housewives at 12.6 million, and outperformedFox'sThe Simpsons (9 million) andFamily Guy (8.5 million).[3]
The movie was shot in theSouthey andEarl Grey area, located in Saskatchewan, Canada.[citation needed]
In 2013 amade-for-television prequel toA Dog Named Christmas was released. It is entitledChristmas with Tucker and based on a book with the same name by Greg Kincaid.Gage Munroe plays young George McCray whileJames Brolin andBarbara Gordon play his grandparents, Bo and Cora McCray. Filmed inNorthern Ontario, Canada,Christmas with Tucker is about thirteen-year-old George coping with the death of his father. He is helped through his struggles by his friendship with a dog named Tucker.[4]