Bingo is a 1991 American

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

 family

Family film

A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...

 comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

, released by TriStar Pictures

TriStar Pictures

TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...

.

Bingo, a runaway circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 saves the life of Chuckie (Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.

Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.

Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr. is an American actor.Steinmiller was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Stephanie, who works for municipal parks, and Robert J. Steinmiller, Sr., who manages a tire store. Steinmiller grew up in Schaumburg, Illinois. He began his acting career in 1989 in the...

), a young boy who is somewhat an outcast within his family. The two quickly become best friends - skateboarding

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

, playing pinball

Pinball

Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...

, and doing math homework together. But Chuckie's parents discover the stowaway pooch and make no bones about the fact that Bingo will not accompany them on their cross-country move.

Plot

Bingo is removed from his circus troop because he cannot do the trick (jumping through a ring of fire) assigned to him. His master, frustrated, gets ready to shoot him so he runs away from home. As he is escaping, he saves the life of a young boy named Chuckie, who happened to be drowning in a nearby river/lake. They become best pals, until the family moves out of town. Chuckie's parents don't want Bingo to come along. Bingo tries to follow them and he encounters many adventures and new people (good and bad) along the way. In the end, they both are reunited when the both of them were trapped in a room together by two thugs who had set a bomb, threatening both of their lives. Bingo, being the hero of the day, saves Chuckie and injures himself in doing so, and, in the end, Chuckie's dad allows him to keep Bingo (unless he's been neutered).

Cast

• Cindy Williams
  Cindy Williams
  Cynthia Jane "Cindy" Williams is an American actress best known for starring in the television situation-comedy series Laverne & Shirley, in the role of "Shirley Feeney", and for her role as Laurie Henderson in the classic film American Graffiti.-Early life:Williams was born in Van Nuys,...
  
   as Natalie Devlin
• David Rasche
  David Rasche
  -Early life and career:Rasche was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was a minister and farmer. Rasche started in theatre, but also has appeared on numerous movies and television series. He became a member of the Chicago Second City, after John Belushi moved on to Saturday Night Live...
  
   as Hal Devlin
• Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
  Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
  Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr. is an American actor.Steinmiller was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Stephanie, who works for municipal parks, and Robert J. Steinmiller, Sr., who manages a tire store. Steinmiller grew up in Schaumburg, Illinois. He began his acting career in 1989 in the...
  
   as Chuckie Devlin
• David French as Chickie Devlin
• Kurt Fuller
  Kurt Fuller
  Kurt Fuller is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton, California in 1971.-Career:...
  
   as Lennie
• Joe Guzaldo as Eli
• Robert Thurston
  Robert Thurston
  Robert Thurston is a science fiction author well known for his works in popular shared world settings, most notably his Clan Jade Falcon novels of the BattleTech universe and the novelizations of the original Battlestar Galactica television series....
  
   as Mr. Thompson
• Sheelah Megill as Mrs. Thompson
• Chelan Simmons
  Chelan Simmons
  Chelan Simmons is a Canadian actress, professional model and performer.-Early life:Simmons was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the middle child of three .-Career:...
  
   as Cindy Thompson
• Kimberley Warnat as Sandy Thompson
• Glenn Shadix
  Glenn Shadix
  William Glenn Shadix Scott , born William Glenn Shadix, was an American actor, known for his role as Otho Fenlock in Tim Burton's horror/comedy film Beetlejuice and the voice of the Mayor of Halloween Town in The Nightmare Before Christmas.-Early life and education:Shadix was born in Bessemer,...
  
   as Duke
• Janet Wright
  Janet Wright
  Janet Wright is a Canadian actress and theatre director. She is best known for her role as Emma Leroy on the hit Canadian sitcom Corner Gas. She won a 2003 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her role in Betrayed...
  
   as Emma Lois
• Wayne Robson
  Wayne Robson
  Wayne Robson was a Canadian television, film and stage actor best known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom The Red Green Show from 1993 to 2006, as well as in the 2002 film Duct Tape Forever.Robson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia...
  
   as Four Eyes
• Suzie Plakson
  Suzie Plakson
  Suzie Plakson is an American actress, singer, writer, poet, and artist, perhaps best known for her role as Meg Tynan in the sitcom Love & War....
  
   as Ginger
• Simon Webb as Steve

• Tamsin Kelsey as Bunny
• Betty Linde as Mrs. Wallaby
• James Kidnie as the Defense Attorney
• Norman Browning as the Prosecutor
• Blu Mankuma
  Blu Mankuma
  Blu Mankuma is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous Canadian and American productions filmed in Canada.Mankuma was born in Seattle, Washington...
  
   as the Motorcycle Cop
• Jackson Davies
  Jackson Davies
  Jackson Davies is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as RCMP Constable John Constable in the television series The Beachcombers, which he reprised in the TV movies The New Beachcombers and A Beachcombers Christmas . Originally from Wetaskiwin, Alberta and now living in Vancouver, BC...
  
   as the Vet
• Antony Holland
  Antony Holland
  Antony Holland is a British actor, playwright, and director from England. Currently he lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada.- History :...
  
   as the Circus vet
• Bill Meilen as the Vic
• Stephen E. Miller as the Sheriff
• Drum Garrett as the Dishwasher
• Howard Storey as the Coach
• Denalda Williams as the Doctor's assistant
• Gloria Macarenko
  Gloria Macarenko
  Gloria Macarenko is a Canadian journalist. Macarenko has been either sole anchor or co-anchor of CBUT's local supper-hour newscast since the late 1990s; presently she co-hosts the current iteration of this newscast, CBC News: Vancouver, weekdays from 5:00-6:30 p.m...
  
   as the reporter
• Sylvia Mitchell as the Court reporter
• Frank Welker
  Frank Welker
  Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
  
   as Special vocal effects

Animal Cast

Bingo .... Lacey, 3½ years old at time of filming, part border collie

Bingo (Stand In) .... Maui, 2 years old, Lacey's son, part border collie

Bingo (Stunts) .... Max, 6 years old, part border collie

American Bulldog at Duke's .... Spike, 20 months old, weight: 120 pounds

Terrier at Duke's .... Magic, 2 years old, related to Higgins (dog)

Higgins (dog)

Higgins was one of the best-known dog actors of the 1960s – 1970s. Most people remember him either as "Dog" or as "Benji," two of the most popular roles he played during a 14-year career in show business....

 (Benji)

Border Collie/Newfoundland Terrier/Labrador X at Duke's .... Christmas, 7 years old, was saved from an L.A. pound and given to trainers Mark and Dawn Wiener as a wedding gift

Rough coated German Shepherd at Duke's .... Griz Bear, 4 years old, was rejected from International Guiding Eyes as a puppy due to the grooming required by his long coat

Terrier at Duke's .... Snickers, 2½ years old, also related to Higgins

Grey and White Terrier/Border Collie X at Duke's .... Bosco, 11 months old, Snickers' son

Golden Retriever at Duke's .... Lady, 9 years old, about to retire at time of filming

Chihuahua at Duke's .... Tiki, 2 years old, borrowed from Abbotsford pet store

Alaskan Brown Bear .... Donna, 3 years old, Trained by Lloyd Beebe, form Olympic Game Park, Sequim, Washington

Marilyn, Betty and Lauren .... were played by former miniature poodle champions, all of them male from Braylane Miniature Poodles, Am. Can. Ch. Braylane Blitz UD, TP, TDI and his two sons, Ch. Braylane Bill of Fare and Am. Can. Ch Braylane Bugsby CD, TP,TDI

Bloodhound(s) .... were supplied by Maple Ridge Search and Rescue, Vancouver.

Soft Toy

The toy company Commonwealth Toy & Novelty Inc. produced toy Bingos to tie in with the film's release. The dog came with a blue backpack. Even though he is not seen wearing one in the film, number five of the collector card set has him wearing one.

Reception

The Washington Times

The Washington Times

The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...

gave Bingo a half-star out of four, and deemed it "The Problem Child of pet pooch movies."