Janet Maslin

Fall in love with the big-hearted, wet-nosed star of this outrageous comedy hit from producer Ivan Reitman. With nefarious dognappers hot on his heels, an adorable puppy named Beethoven adopts the unsuspecting Newton family - and promptly grows up into 185 pounds of romping, drooling, disaster-prone St. Bernard! Charles Grodin is George, the none-too-thrilled father whose disdain for the cuddly canine turns to loyalty after Beethoven becomes the target of unspeakable animal experimentation. Now it's up to George to save the day in this fetching adventure that's '...fun for the whole family' (Janet Maslin, New York Times).