Journey Homeward

Shadow, Sassy and Chance from Homeward Bound.

Holley was 6 and Adam was a month short of 4 when the movie Homeward Bound hit the big screen. As far as kid movies go, I think I enjoyed this one more than most.

The Hayes Code was in effect until 1968 so an 8 year old could enjoy The Ugly Dachshund and That Darn Cat on a matinee and then hang around and see Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe later that night. No questions asked, no parent required. This was the time when the Strand would show cartoons before a feature, even if the feature was a cartoon. Disney was producing fewer and fewer animated films each decade and had begun relying on various things like animals and Volkswagens. Homeward Bound was a remake of the 1963 Disney move The Incredible Journey . I am not sure which I liked more because my memory as a 5 year old is lacking. I do know I saw it though.

What this has to do with the photo is beyond me. The reason I have these guys is because I took them for my own when Holley and Adam tired of their play. I don’t know if these guys were the first, but it started a long tradition of me taking back toys that the kids no longer played with and claim them as my own. Fair is fair and I saw “Homeward Bound” long before either was born even if I don’t remember it.

So, for thirty years or so I have looked at these guys a lot. They are in a window above where my computer is set. I can’t say if I keep them as a reminder of the last 30 years or because of the 30 years prior to their purchase or as a combination of the two. Either way, Jasper and Jamie will play heck getting them for me.