‘Dog’s Purpose’ mostly a winner

Controversial ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ fine K-9-powered family entertainment

“A Dog’s Purpose” has a sweet soul. ¶ Even though it feels at times more like a TV movie than a feature film and plays like the doggie version of “Look Who’s Talking” — the 1989 comedy in which Bruce Willis lent voice for the inner thoughts of a newborn baby — “A Dog’s Purpose” is a slice of family-friendly entertainment that should please dog lovers.

Of course, some animal lovers may stay away from this film due to the recent surfacing of a video that, some argue, shows a German shepherd being mistreated during the filming of a sequence involving a K-9 character jumping into water to rescue someone. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, aka PETA, has called for a boycott. Everyone can watch the video (bit.ly/2jelM0o) and make up his or her mind. However, I suggest you also read a piece in The Hollywood Reporter (bit.ly/2jefcay) by the movie’s producer, Gavin Palone, who professes to be an animal lover and seems to give a balanced look at the situation.

The controversy aside, “A Dog’s Purpose” is fairly entertaining and tugs at the heartstrings a few times, even while not being the slickest-made piece of filmmaking you will ever see. Josh Gad (“The Book of Mormon” on Broadway, “The Wedding Ringer”) lends voice to a doggie soul, one that, through the course of the movie, will find himself being reincarnated into a few different fourlegged bodies.

“What is the meaning of life?” the dog asks in the movie’s opening narration. “Are we here for a reason? Is there a point to any of this?”

Big-picture questions for a dog to chew on, to be sure.

After one short existence that ends shortly after being nabbed by a dog catcher, our hero awakens again as a pup red retriever.

After being left in a hot truck with the windows kept fully up by a couple of inconsiderate types, the dog is rescued by a boy, Ethan (Bryce Gheisar of “Walk the Prank”) and his mother (Juliet Rylance of “The Knick”), and taken home.

The dog tells us, “I decided right there and then — I am keeping him!”

Soon named Bailey — or, as he thinks, “Bailey! Bailey! Bailey! Bailey! Bailey!” — the dog isn’t always loved by Ethan’s dad (Luke Kirby of “Rectify”), who’s often shown drinking. But Bailey is No. 1 with Ethan, even years later after Bailey helps Ethan (now played by KJ Apa of “Riverdale”) meet a cute girl, Hannah (Britt Robertson of “Tomorrowland”).

The three spend a lot of time together, during which Bailey can’t figure out why Ethan spends so much time looking for food in Hannah’s mouth when seemingly there is none there, and everyone is happy. But an incident will change Ethan’s life, and, as we know from the premise, Bailey won’t be around forever. (Some of you — and you know who you are — should have the tissues ready.)

Bailey will come back as different dogs of different breeds and even genders and with different names and owners. First, she is Ellie, the aforementioned German shepherd character, who works with a K-9 officer played by John Ortiz (“The Finest Hours”), and then a corgi Tino, owned by the good-hearted but lonely Maya played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“House of Lies”).

Lastly, he comes back as an Australian shepherd/St. Bernard mix that will bring him in contact with characters portrayed by Dennis Quaid (“The Rookie”) and Peggy Lipton (“When in Rome”) for the movie’s emotional big finish.

“A Dog’s Purpose” is adapted from the bestselling 2010 novel by W. Bruce Cameron by five credited writers, including the author. The writing is, at least, effective, especially if viewed through the prism of the movie being accessible to younger viewers. The jokes are big and easy, which is appropriate.

The direction by Lasse Hallström (“Chocolat,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”) is likewise sufficient. The movie feels occasionally sloppy, but you have to factor in the likely difficulty in working with even highly trained animals.

“A Dog’s Purpose” isn’t really a vehicle for human actors to shine, but it’s worth noting Gad’s gentle vocal performance strikes the right notes throughout.

You may rightly find fault with how the aforementioned scene was shot. However, “A Dog’s Purpose” also has a very pro-animal message, and it teaches that time with an animal can be short and should be cherished.

There’s value in that regardless of anything else.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES Bryce Gheisar shares a scene with a dog actor in a scene from “A Dog’s Purpose.”

UNIVERSAL PICTURES Kirby Howell-Baptiste portrays one of the loving dog owners in “A Dog’s Purpose.”