Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

Plot

The owners of Shadow the Golden Retriever (voiced by Ralph Waite), Sassy the Himalayan cat (Sally Field), and Chance the American Bulldog (Michael J. Fox) decide to take a family trip to Canada. At the San Francisco International Airport, the animals escape after Chance panics with mistaking airport workers as the workers at the dog pound ("The Bad Place" as Chance puts it) and breaks free from his carrier. After eluding airport authorities, the animals find themselves in the city of San Francisco, with home on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

During the journey Chance bumps into a Boxer called Ashcan and his Bullmastiff friend Pete. Annoyed he refuses to let them past but Shadow tries to tell them they are just trying to get home. They do not listen and say they are going to eat Sassy. She hides on a window sill and Shadow and Ashcan fight. After a few seconds Sassy yells to Shadow that they have reinforcements, but it turns out to be, as Pete calls them, "Riley's gang". They help them, saying that the city is not a place for pets. Shadow explains they are lost and Riley points out that Chance is missing, who fled as the gang arrived. Riley calls his friend Delilah, a Kuvasz, to run after him. She finds him in a light alley and explains why she was chasing him.

As the other members of the gang are walking down the street, they see, what they call, the "Blood Red Van" and hide. Shadow asks what it is for and Riley explains it takes dogs of the streets to a place called the lab. After it passes, Shadow asks Riley if he can help him and Sassy find a golden bridge, which he remembers passing on the way there. Riley explains that he could not because a bridge means cars and cars means humans and he does not trust humans. So they thank him for his help and head off to look for the bridge themselves. Meanwhile, Delilah and Chance are walking in the park. He explains why they are in the city, and when he asks her why Riley does not like humans she explains that he was abandoned as a puppy and decided to make a home for other stray dogs to protect them from all humans. Chance realizes he has fallen in love with Delilah and they head out of the park.

Later while walking down a street Pete and Ashcan notice Shadow and Sassy walking down it too. They plan to jump at them but miss their chance. Round the corner Shadow sees a house on fire and remembers it holds that little boy named Tucker and his cat they met earlier before Chance scared him back inside. Realizing they are still in there after hearing Tucker's parents and the fire chief preparing to send firefighters in to find him, he runs in through the basement window and looks for them. Sassy goes in after him and looks for the kitten. Shadow comes out a few moments later with Tucker right behind him, then Sassy appears with the kitten. Tucker thanks them and they continue on. As they cross the street, Riley and his gang tell them that they did a great job rescuing the boy and kitten and say they can stay with him until they find Chance.

As they return to the gang's hideout they see Delilah and Chance already there. Riley tries to explain that they are different, but they will not listen and head outside. The next day, Chance sees a tire and begins to chew on it but does not notice the "Blood Red Van" driving through the gates. While all the other dogs are inside, Chance is captured and is about to be driven to the lab. While driving off, the van is stopped by the gang, Chance and the other dogs are set free, and it reverses into the river after the dogs scare away the drivers. Delilah then explains to Chance that Riley is right and they could not be together. He gets upset and runs off. By this time, Riley has told Shadow if humans mean that much to him he will take them to the bridge.

On their way home, before crossing the bridge, they are ambushed by Ashcan and Pete, but Chance appears and fights them off. They cross the bridge and are found by their owners on a road after Chance is almost run over by a truck. They return home, but Chance is still upset about Delilah, but then he sees her appear from around the corner and they are reunited. Bob agrees she can stay, much to Chance's glee, and they continue with their picnic with Chance hogging the pizza.

Cast

Voice cast

Critical response

The movie had a mixed reception. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 53% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 17 reviews.

Box office

The film opened in 2,129 theatres on March 8, 1996, grossing $8,605,649 and coming in at #2 at the box office. After staying in theatres for about five weekends, it officially made over $32,772,492 domestically