16 facts you might not know about 'Beethoven'

The screenplay for Beethoven is credited to Amy Holden Jones, a real person, and Edmond Dantes. Edmond Dantes is the name of the protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo. It was used as a pseudonym by John Hughes. Hughes is, of course, the man behind such iconic movies as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and Home Alone.

Brian Levant began his career as a writer for Happy Days, and after years in TV writing, he got into movie directing. Beethoven was the second film he directed — the first being Problem Child 2. He would go on to direct movies like The Flintstones, Jingle All the Way, and Are We There Yet?

Levant directed Beethoven, but he was taking over for somebody else. Steve Rash, who had directed The Buddy Holly Story and Can’t Buy Me Love, was the original director of this film. However, for unknown reasons, he was replaced early on by Levant.

When you want an actor to play a curmudgeon, Grodin is a good choice. However, Grodin wasn’t the first choice considered for the role of George. Steve Martin, who had previously worked with John Hughes, was the top pick. When he didn’t take the role, it fell to Grodin.

Dean Jones plays the villainous Dr. Varnick, and if you have watched a classic Disney live-action movie, you have seen him before. Jones starred in movies like That Darn Cat!, The Love Bug, and he got a Golden Globe nomination for The Million Dollar Duck.

The number of people in supporting roles who are recognizable names now is truly impressive. These are just a few of the folks in supporting parts in Beethoven: David Duchovny, Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Heaton, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Beethoven is primarily played by a dog named Chris, though he had 12 doubles. The dogs belonged to Eleanor Keaton, who trained them. Eleanor was the third wife of the legendary Buster Keaton. She was 21 at the time, and Buster was, well, not 21, so she outlived him by a couple of decades. Keaton became a breeder of Saint Bernards, descended from one of Buster’s dogs, and those dogs ended up in Beethoven.

While Jones was used to playing the good guy in his films (and hanging out with a Volkswagen Beetle), he apparently enjoyed playing a villain in Beethoven. He also possibly wanted to make sure he stayed in the right frame of mind to play a baddie. Jones reportedly stayed in character as Dr. Varnick between takes, which may have been weird for the child actors on set.

Hopefully, Grodin and Bonnie Hunt enjoyed working together. In 1993, they were in two of the same films. One was Beethoven's 2nd, and both actors were also in the comedy Dave.

Grodin and Hunt reportedly had great chemistry together, and you can see that in the final product, so the producers were willing to overlook a certain fact. Namely, the age difference. Grodin was 56 at the time of filming, while Hunt was only 29. The age difference is not mentioned in the movie, and we’d like to think the producers believed Grodin had aged well enough to pass for being younger than he was when doing the casting.

Beethoven was made for a reported $18 million, but it hit with audiences. The film made $57.1 million domestically, but animal films often do well overseas. Indeed, Beethoven made $90.1 million internationally, giving it a worldwide total of $147.2 million.

Did you know the Humane Society gives out movie awards? It’s true! They have an award for the Best Feature Film of the year, and for the year 1992, they gave that award to the dog-heavy Beethoven.

A movie probably isn’t going to win an award from the Humane Society if real dogs were getting hurt making the film. For scenes that real dogs couldn’t safely be used for, they would use mechanical dogs and a man in a dog suit on occasion.

Beethoven was followed in 1993 by Beethoven’s 2nd, which brought four puppies into the mix. It was the last theatrical Beethoven film, but it went all in on direct-to-video sequels. All in all, there were six of these direct-to-video movies, including Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure.

A sequel movie about a bunch of dogs tormenting Charles Grodin getting an Academy Award nomination? It’s true! The theme to Beethoven’s 2nd was up for Best Original Song. It’s called “The Day I Fall in Love” and was performed by James Ingram and Dolly Parton.

Trying to capitalize on the film’s popularity, a cartoon version of Beethoven hit the air in 1992. Beethoven could talk to other animals in this one, and he was voiced by Joel Murray. Interestingly, Grodin was replaced as the voice of George Newton by…Dean Jones. However, the show flopped and only ran for 13 episodes.