FILM · 1992 · USA
Beethoven
20 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
20 Interesting Facts About Beethoven
Interesting Facts (8)
- #001
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This was Joseph Gordon-Levitt's first film. He is the boy in the green T-shirt who boards the school bus while Ted hides behind a tree before getting on the bus.
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Behind the Scenes (3)
- #009
Alongside the trained dogs used in the film, a fully mechanical dog was used, as well as a mechanical dog head to achieve certain facial expressions and reactions. American Humane was on the film set throughout shooting. Before filming, the AHA observed the dogs' training and preparation for the specific tricks they had to master.
- #010
After George hands Beethoven over to Varnick, Varnick has two men, Harvey and Vernon, transport Beethoven to his laboratory in a van. Beethoven is muzzled and taken out of the van by means of a come-along device consisting of a trap on the end of a pole, and Beethoven resists the whole time. The trainer doubled for the actor and held the pole, which was attached to a special dog collar. The collar was 5 inches wide and covered in fake fur to match the dog's coat so that no pressure would be applied to its neck when it went in. A man in a dog costume was also used in any violent action with the come-along trap. Although the trap appears to jerk the dog, the dog was responding to the trainer's voice and no significant pressure was applied during the take. When Beethoven enters the laboratory he sees his old friend Sparky. When Varnick sends Harvey and Vernon into the laboratory to bring Beethoven and Sparky so he can begin his experiments, Beethoven once again falls for the come-along trap. This too was done as described above. Sparky is held by the scruff of the neck. To achieve this, the actor was meticulously rehearsed by the trainer using a toy dog before the real dog was used. The dog playing Sparky was conditioned to be held by the scruff of the neck.
- #011
When Dr. Varnick comes to the Newtons' house to stage the fake dog attack, he smears fake blood on Beethoven's nose and on his own arm. A harmless, non-toxic makeup was used for this. For the fake dog attack, the trainer doubled for the actor and only played with the dog. A man in a dog costume was also used in part of this scene.
Characters & Cast (7)
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When they dress up for Halloween, Beethoven also dresses as a horse, complete with a miniature saddle. Beethoven shares many food treats that are sometimes offered to him and sometimes stolen. During filming, the dog only took dog food at his trainer's request. Beethoven plays cupid for Ryce by taking a stick to a child and bringing the child back to Ryce. This was achieved by the dog responding to his trainer's verbal and hand signals.
- #015
Jane Fonda, Glenn Close, Sally Field and Meryl Streep were offered the role of Alice Newton. Fonda turned it down immediately because she had retired in 1990 after a series of box-office declines following Stanley & Iris and, despite returning to acting a decade later, was not interested in acting again; Close, Field and Streep asked for too much money for the role and the producers had to cast a more affordable actress. Teri Garr was also offered the role but was not interested and declined.
- #016
Emily's role was originally meant to be ten years old, and Anna Chlumsky, of My Girl (1991) and Veep (2012), auditioned for it. Writer John Hughes had previously worked with Chlumsky on Uncle Buck (1989) and lobbied hard to get her the part given My Girl's (1991) recent success, but producer Ivan Reitman ultimately vetoed Chlumsky's casting because she was only one year younger than Christopher Castile, who played Ted, and he felt there needed to be a greater age gap among the children in the film. Emily was subsequently written as five or six years old, and Ivan Reitman insisted on casting Sarah Rose Karr, whom he had directed, because of the positive experience of working with the young actress on Kindergarten Cop (1990).
- #017
Albert Brooks was reportedly considered for the role of George Newton but turned down the offer because he thought the film would fail. Charles Grodin, who ultimately played Newton, had appeared alongside Brooks in Real Life (1979), which Brooks also directed.
- #018
Goldie Hawn was also offered the role of Alice Newton and was interested in playing it, having previously appeared with Charles Grodin in Seems Like Old Times (1980), but she had to decline because she had agreed to star in director Frank Oz's Housesitter (1992), which was released two months after Beethoven and was also distributed by Universal Pictures. Her co-star in that film, Steve Martin, had also turned down playing George Newton due to his commitment to the other film.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #019
When Beethoven goes to the vet for his shots, he is laid on the examination table. He sees the nurse come in with a large syringe in her hand. When Beethoven looks at the syringe, his eyes bulge. This expression was achieved with the help of a mechanical dog head. When the nurse raises the needle in the foreground, we see Beethoven, slightly out of focus in the background, collapse and go pale. The "dog" in the background was actually a man in a dog suit.
Career & Awards (1)
- #020
Sir Tom Stoppard, the British playwright considered one of the most acclaimed and admired dramatists of his generation (and an Oscar-winning screenwriter in his own right), was also one of Hollywood's highest-paid script doctors in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, though he almost never received an on-screen credit. Among the uncredited "polished" screenplays he worked on are Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Hook, Chaplin, Schindler's List, Sleepy Hollow and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Of all the films he worked on, Beethoven (1992) was probably the one most at odds with his public image as the author of such highly erudite, highly complex plays as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia and Leopoldstadt.
Related pages
- Clifford — Beethoven comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
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