Parents' Guide to

Shiloh

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Book-based dog tale has some emotional intensity.

Movie PG 1996 93 minutes
Shiloh Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Shiloh Movie: Scene #1
  • Shiloh Movie: Scene #2
  • Shiloh Movie: Scene #3
  • Shiloh Movie: Scene #4

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What's the Story?

"SHILOH" is the name young Marty (Blake Heron) gives the abused beagle he finds near a country bridge. The dog, a particularly adorable hound, follows him home. When Marty asks his parents if he can keep it, his father Ray (Michael Moriarty) says no because it belongs to Judd (Scott Wilson), a poor, sad, lonely hunter living in the woods. When they return the dog, Judd declares that if the dog runs away again he will shoot it, alarming Marty. Marty offers to buy the dog but Judd says it's not for sale. Marty works odd jobs to make enough money to buy the dog, thinking Judd will let the dog go if he comes up with enough. When the dog runs off again and turns up at Marty's, he hides Shiloh from his parents until a bigger dog injures the beagle, requiring medical attention. Determined to keep the dog, Marty strikes a bargain, sealed by a piece of paper signed by Judd stating that in exchange for 20 hours of manual labor performed by Marty on Judd's property, the dog will go to Marty. Judd reneges on the deal, which leads to a final confrontation.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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Kids say (1):

Veteran performers Scott Wilson, Michael Moriarty, and Ann Dowd (as Marty's sympathetic mother) give Shiloh solid grounding even if it echoes many boy-and-his-dog stories. However, without over-explaining anything, the movie offers more depth than the usual such fare. The movie's bad guy was once a kid who played with Marty's dad, and his dad was famously mean and abusive, suggesting that Judd might be a better guy if he'd had better parents. The movie also offers a sympathetic way of assessing the villain, hinting that drinking and educational limits have turned him meaner than he might otherwise have been. For those reasons this movie will probably be best for tweens and up.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what to do when we encounter wrongdoing. If someone is hurting an animal or a child, or someone is stealing or otherwise doing harm, would it be safe to try to stop them yourself? Would it be better to tell a police officer or a grownup?

  • The movie says that the trouble with lying is that it destroys people's trust in the liar. Do you think it is ever a good idea to lie? Under what circumstances?

  • How does this movie compare to other dog tales you've seen?

Movie Details

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