Red Dog: True Blue is a 2016 Australian family comedy film directed by Kriv Stenders, written by Daniel Taplitz and starring Jason Isaacs, Levi Miller and Bryan Brown. It serves as a prequel to the 2011 film Red Dog, detailing the early days of the Red Dog, the Pilbara Wanderer.
Premise The film tells the story of the friendship between a young boy and a dog that would grow up to become an Australian legend.
Cast Phoenix as Red Dog Jason Isaacs as Michael 'Mick' Carter Levi Miller as Young Mick Bryan Brown as Grandpa Calen Tassone as Taylor Pete Hanna Mangan-Lawrence as Betty Marble Thomas Cocquerel as Bill Stemple Kee Chan as Jimmy Umbrella Syd Brisbane as Big John Steve Le Marquand as Little John Justine Clarke as Diane Carter Zen McGrath as Theo Carter
Production It serves as a prequel to the 2011 film Red Dog, detailing the early days of the Red Dog, the Pilbara Wanderer. Red Dog was played in the first film by Koko, but after Koko's death he was replaced with Phoenix. and was dedicated to his memory. A documentary about the life of Koko titled Koko: A Red Dog Story was released in 2019.
Daniel Taplitz wrote the screenplay, Kriv Stenders directed the film, while Nelson Ross and Bryce Menzies served as producers.
Filming took place on Karratha Station in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and in Perth in 2015.
Cinematography was by Geoffrey Hall; Cezary Skubiszewski composed the score, and production design was by Sam Hobbs.
The production studio was Good Dog Enterprises Pty Ltd.
Release Red Dog: True Blue was released on 25 or 26 December 2016.
Reception Red Dog: True Blue has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 13 critics.
The film grossed $5,218,716 at the Australian box office, a quarter of the original film's takings.
Accolades Geoffrey Hall was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 7th AACTA Awards.
Spin-off A spin-off documentary, titled Koko: A Red Dog Story was released in 2019. The film explores the life of Koko, who was cast as Red Dog in the original film.
See also Cinema of Australia
References
External links Red Dog: True Blue official site Red Dog: True Blue at Internet Movie Database Red Dog: True Blue at Rotten Tomatoes