Random 'Beethoven,' Silly Dog Movie, It's Actually Much, Much Darker Than You Think (13 items)

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  (#8) Mr. Newton Was 26 Years Older Than Mrs. Newton

  When Charles Grodin played George Newton, he was 56 years old. Bonnie Hunt played his wife, and she was 30. While there's nothing illegal about a man being married to a woman virtually half his age, there is something inherently gross about it.

  Of course, there's no indication in the movie that he's significantly older (other than his skin), but it's still an odd choice, especially considering their eldest child looks to be in her early teens – meaning 30-year-old Alice Newton could have been the first star of Teen Mom.
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  (#2) Dr. Varnick Shoots Dogs In The Head At Point-Blank Range

  The villain in this children's canine movie EXECUTES DOGS BY SHOOTING THEM IN THE HEAD! Of course, audiences never actually see it happen, but still. In the film's climactic scene, he is in his lab with Beethoven, holding a revolver aimed right between the St. Bernard's eyes – and this is all part of his real occupation, supposedly.

  Why? How can that be remotely necessary? What type of data does that provide? 
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  (#6) People Are Mauled By Dogs

  It's no wonder the villain of this film can get away with executing dogs, as Beethoven portrays the animals as exceedingly dangerous. A number of people throughout the film incur injuries induced by some sort of dog shenanigans, and sometimes as the result of a direct attack.

  Varnick's henchmen get mauled by a pack of dogs at the end of the movie, and it's not even those freed by the children. Apparently, the implication is that packs of dogs are generally just prone to attack people.
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  (#7) One Of Those People Is Stanley Tucci

  A balding (but not-yet-bald) Stanley Tucci played one of Dr. Varnick's henchmen. Tucci has won three Emmys, two Golden Globes, and has been nominated for an Oscar. Not surprisingly, none of these were for his work in Beethoven. 
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  (#13) Dean Jones Played The Dad In The Animated Series

  That's right: Dean Jones, the guy who played the dog murderer in the original movie, voiced George Newton, the man who thwarted the dog shooter, in the Beethoven animated series.

  One could look at this as a nice bit of redemption for Jones who had exclusively played good guys before his role as Dr. Varnick. Perhaps, however, he was still corrupted by his method acting and was only posing as George Newton to get close to Beethoven so he could finish the job he started all those years earlier.
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  (#12) The Last Sequel Is Titled "Beethoven's Treasure Tail"

  It's one thing for there to be sexual innuendo in a kids movie as a wink to parents who are dying inside as they watch for the 40th time. It's something else entirely to make the title of a kids movie a reference to pubic hair.

  To be fair, maybe that wasn't John Hughes's intention (as Hughes is indeed credited as a writer for the film's 7th sequel). Maybe whoever named 2014's Beethoven's Treasure Tail was unaware of the slang term for the hair leading from a man's belly button down into his pants... but someone should have caught that. 

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