For those of you wondering how this was filmed. These shots were filmed featuring three different cats. Each one was trained and accustomed to the water. They were placed in shallow water with a harness on. Additionally, four people were in the water to guarantee the cats safety. Not only that, the cats didn't stay in the water for any more than moment or two. The close-up shots 1:51 and 2:01 were shot in many cuts. This featured fake cats, a mechanical cat, and a real cat. With the real cat, she was not in a river, but a heated pool. As for the scenes of Sassy being swept among the rapids 1:24, 1:30, 1:42, 2:06, as well as the waterfall scene 2:27; those also were filmed using fake cats. So you can all be at ease and know that no cats were harmed filming in this scene.
I appreciate this. Homeward Bound was my favorite movie as a kid. Now I just wonder how this stuff was filmed, and hoping all the critters were OK doing so.
This scene always gets to me, as child and as a full grown 30 year old man. Hearing her helpless meows, I couldn't hold back my tears for this poor baby 😢😢😢😢
When my nephew and I first watched this movie, we were crying so hysterically, we had to turn the movie off. Then we watched the rest and found out she was ok.
Watching this years later as an adult hits differently. It's so much more natural now for me to empathize with Shadow, hearing Sassy's desperate cries for his help, and trying with everything he can to save her, only to helplessly watch her fall. Only now can I truly understand the depth of his guilt at not being able to protect her. Such a gut punch.
I don’t know what would be worse; knowing someone is in danger, or knowing someone is in danger and try as you might, there’s nothing you can do to help them.
To me that shot showed that even though Chance was a goofball, he knew when to get real. When Sassy fell into the water, instead of laughing and making fun of her, which you would totally expect from him, Chance realized she was in serious danger and ran to help her just like Shadow did.
@@jduttskywalkeryess wasn’t it also his idea to launch the cougar that was after them? Chance was the goodest of boys, great, now I want to rewatch this whole movie again lol it’s been a while
NOOOOOOO SASSY!!!!!!!!! I was SOOO scared!!!! I thought sassy was toast!!!!!!!!! 🍞😿🌊 But thank god sassy was saved!!!!! Now i am SOOO happy!!!!!! I❤️SASSY #yougogirl #gaming #sassyftw #pausedmygametobehere #sassylived #waterfallswallowedsassy #spoilers 🐱💦🌊🐟💧🐠👼 #flyhigh
When I first saw this film I thought Sassy died when she fell over the waterfall, but I was wrong and pleased that she was alive. She really had nine lives.
My dad and brother would pick pn me like crazy about this part.. I'd always run into the bathroom crying and they would replay that part making meow meow glub glub sounds
Aw I hate the mean end of teasing. This was a distressing scene for lots of little kids. Testifies to the power of the filmmaking to make this so convincing and gripping. Def a classic.
Your dad and brother are insensitive jerks >:/ They way of 'teasing' should not come at the price of making you feel bad. Also I'm right here, crying with you.
This scene effed me up as a kid. I'm so glad to know that no kitties were harmed, but my feelings definitely were! Shout out to the cats who performed the swimming stunts and Sally Field who did such an amazing job at making me fear for Sassy.
This was my favourite movie as a young kid. I think I watched it on video but later got the DVD. I realised I still have it and watched it for the first time in fifteen odd years. Didn’t have high hopes, but it’s actually just as good as I remember! Really underrated in my opinion!
Cats have a tenacity of surviving because of their attitude and confidence. No matter how severe the danger they will always find a way to stay alive. And the water definitely humbled sassy when she united with the boys again. You could tell that each of these pets have gained experience in the wilderness even shadow when he dug himself out of the hole with teamwork. Even to this day, shadow and sassy are my favorite.
Fake cats during dangerous shots and real trained cats in shallow water for short periods of time mostly. It's why you don't focus on the cat when it's in the water for long.
I read somewhere they also used airhoses in the river to make it look stronger. I hope they did that for some of these kitty shots, :'( I am hoping it was a very controlled setting but some still look pretty rough, like when she came up from under water.
Okay, Sassy meowing tugs at my heart strings too, but I gotta give credit to Sally Fields' cries for help. 😢 And I love that it's very gradual. At first she's worried about getting wet, but as the river gets rougher you can hear it in her voice how scared she is. 😥😭
30 years later and a father of two, this scene and the one after it still make me sob like a child. The whole movie is one big emotional roller coaster.
Just so you know in reality these were done with robots not real cats the only parts that were a real cat was in a small shallow heated pool with a harness
I haven’t been able to rewatch this movie since I was a kid because of this scene. Just starting this clip up caused my childhood trauma to kick back in. The sound of Sassy’s meows and cries for help to Shadow are absolutely heartbreaking.
I used to watch this as a kid. Now I know the cat actually going over the falls is fake. But does anyone know if the cat was real when she was meowing?
Yes, according to imdb they used real cats for the close-ups: "When Sassy goes into the river, she was put in shallow water with a harness on her. She was then released by one trainer and swam to a second trainer who had a teacher attached to her harness. There were also four people under water to monitor her safety. Several cats had been trained for this scene. Each was only in the water eight seconds. There are many shots of the cat being swept up by the fast-moving river as she heads for a very high waterfall. This was filmed using a fake cat. There are close-up shots of a frightened cat and then a shot of Sassy going over the waterfall. This scene was shot in many cuts. Fake cats, a mechanical cat, and a real cat were used. When the real cat was used, she was not in a river, but a heated pool." Very impressive!
I’m glad sassy survived, but getting washed away in the rapids and going over the waterfall, she had that coming for refusing to cross the gentle part of the river.
Not necessarily; most cat breeds - including Himalayan cats - don't like water...skipping stones was the only alternative to avoid getting wet. And, unlike dogs, cats' fur coats don't dry off that fast or fast enough for them...
Sassy should’ve just rode on top of Shadow’s head while he paddled across. At worst, her claws might’ve gotten wet, but nothing else. Or she should’ve immediately jumped off that log onto the next rock.
Supposedly they used a fake cat and her swimming was in a pool/tub with water jets. I dunno tho. Always wanted to see "behind the scenes/making of" for these movies Homward Bound and Milo&Otis... lol (that's what I'm doing now... weird RU-vid rabbit hole I am on btw haha merry Xmas)
@@rebeccarambo2893 Not true, This was filmed with a fake cats, mechanical cat, and real cats. Though there was 8 cats this scene was mainly filmed with Fake cats. They had trainers and teachers for the real cats but some trainers were under the water watching Sassy's safety when real cats were used. Though in a point of this scene I heard they used a pool for one scene. Also all 8 real cats were trained how to swim. So don't worry, all 8 cats are fine! :)
I watched this in the theatre when I was a kid and at the waterfall part some little girl started crying and saying No Sassy and then all of a sudden some other little boy said really loud BE QUIET IT’S JUST A MOVIE and my god it was so funny I couldn’t stop laughing and still makes me laugh to remember it.
I always hated this sequence as a child. As an adult, I still don't like it. I'm a staunch cat lover/person, and a Siamese lover in particular. Seeing and hearing Sassy's pitiful cries as she's swept down river make me so sad and protective of my kitty. I couldn't imagine this happening to him. 🥺
Being that they had time to film Shadow running at least a block before switching to Chance and Chance started to trot the other way before Sassy fell in, I'm guessing pretty far.
Something weird about what happened to sassy is when she went over the waterfall, is to the movie milo and Otis is that milo was in a wooden box and milo went over a waterfall but he was inside that box
One time I watched this with a boyfriend who had never seen it before and I told him sassy didn’t survive the waterfall lol. He started tearing up so now it’s my sociopath litmus test.
If you listen to the soundtrack, it's called Fording The Stream, and it's insane how the music starts happily and you know immediately the moment shit gets real. The music here is what makes this entire scene more intense. They just don't do it like that in movies these days
