Review: Chance

 

 

Overview:

Chance, a puppy, is ripped away from his suburban home to find himself adopted into a breeding yard for a dogfighting ring. Making connections with the other pups in the yard only helps so far in preparing him for the inevitable, being thrown into the fights.

After his first dog fight, Chance breaks free from his captors only to get himself caught in another dogfighting yard. After training to become as strong as possible, Chance returns to his old yard in hopes of freeing his friends. Unfortunately, all he finds is heartbreak.

He is finally put in a last dog standing tournament where Chance must watch his best friends die in front of him. It will either break him into the violent animal they expect from him or be the last straw for him to rise up against the way of life.

 

Our Take:

Chance is an independent animated film produced by James Young Entertainment and just recently distributed to VOD by Vision Films. In the short time since the film’s release in 2019, Chance has made a name for itself with a successful social media campaign and limited theatre run. 

The biggest draw for audiences is the fact the film centres around animal advocacy, specifically around canine fighting rings.

The film kicks off with an important message regarding an obscene number of dogs being forced to take part in violent dog fighting across the globe. A major part of making a difference in bringing awareness to an issue. And that is the main goal of Chance, to bring light to a dark side of the world that most of us choose to ignore.

As commendable as the feature’s intentions may be, the execution is a strange approach.

The biggest confusion surrounding this film is who the target demographic is. The animated talking dog movie has all the style and plot points expected out of a children’s movie. The story follows all of the hallmarks of the hero’s journey without complexity or alteration to make it exciting for mature audiences. However, the tone and subject matter is too dark for the juvenile viewer. And some of the dogfighting scenes get graphic.

While this film tries hard to promote a positive message it perpetuates some much larger issues. Specifically, with the representation of genders within the story. Men are continuously shown as violent aggressors and the perpetrators of animal abuse. 

Meanwhile, the only human women in the film are shown petting and being compassionate towards the dogs. But worse, is when the female canine, Sugar, wants to prepare herself for the fights, the male dogs laugh, stating that she is only meant for breeding. Even if that was true about dog fighting rings, the way she is treated as ignorant for expecting to fight is derogatory.

Another example of how damaging this movie gets involves character voices. The protagonist dogs are all featured with a clear American accent. However, whenever they encounter an enemy or aggressive canine, they are recorded with a foreign accent.

Chance is a film with a positive message and great intentions. This kind of animal cruelty is obscene and unnecessary in the modern world. It is invaluable that people speak up against such things. And it is commendable that this independent feature is trying to make a difference. Even the half-grade animation can be overlooked, considering budget limits and the efforts that this film is going to.

Much of the problems that the movie has started long before animation. The script is flawed in simplicity and juvenile storytelling. The subject matter alone sets the pace for the script to have been treated with more maturity. 

Additionally, some significant edits could have saved the feature from perpetuating other societal problems. As it is structured, it is hard to think of an audience to recommend this film for. And I would much rather point people in the direction of doing their own research on dogfighting rings and animal cruelty.