Frenchies on screen: the 3 most famous movie appearances

Whenever we watch a movie and see a French bulldog on screen, that movie becomes one of our favorites. Frenchies are not only popular among dog owners and celebrities, but film producers too. They have the perfect personality to be on screen, as they look cute, and they can easily follow commands. Although no movie has been made with a Frenchie as the main star yet, there are plenty playing minor roles. In this article, we introduce you to how Frenchies are presented on screen in a short list of movies.

1. Titanic (1997)

James Cameron’s all-time classic movie is mostly based on true events. The story takes place in 1912 when French bulldogs were regarded as the elite class’s favorite breed. At the time, Frenchie owners were attracted to finer things in life, and this breed is the perfect representation of having a dog for one purpose only: to keep company. Not for hunting, nor for guarding. Only to entertain the owners. The trend and love for Frenchies goes on and on since this early!

According to the ship records, there was a black-colored French bulldog on board, named Gamin de Pycombe. His owner was a young US banker, who insured the dog for an enormous amount of $750! Considering the 100 years of inflation, that amount is nearly $22K today! 

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Cameron did not introduce the dog’s story in his great hit, but he wanted to represent how important it was to the American elite to own a French bulldog. We can see the black-colored Frenchie only for a moment in a really sad scene when he was killed by drowning. But in fact, there is no evidence that the dog drowned during the disaster. Some say, if the dog was in his crate, he could survive. Although this story has the saddest ending ever, we respect Cameron for representing the smallest details of the time too.

2. Due Date (2010)

Due Date is a black comedy created by the director of “The Hangover”, representing Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, and a cute French bulldog, Sunny. The story is quite straightforward. The character played by Downey, Peter Highman is in Atlanta, while his wife is about to give birth to their first child in Los Angeles. He wants to get back home in time, but at the airport, he meets the aspiring actor, Ethan Tremblay, played by Zach Galifianakis, and his French bulldog, Sunny. And the trouble begins. In their conversation at the airport, Ethan mentions terrorists and bombs, and they are both escorted out of the airport. Now they are forced to rent a car and travel to Los Angeles together. 

The road to LA is filled with hilarious scenes and unexpected turns, mostly triggered by Ethan. Peter and Sunny are passive sufferers throughout the whole story. In one scene, Ethen smokes weed in the car, and all three of them get high. This scene shows how immature owner Ethan is. Sunny also accompanies Ethan in a gross but hilarious, totally inappropriate action:

In sum, we love that a Frenchie is represented in this Hollywood hit, but we hope that no one will take Ethan as a role model when it comes to dog ownership. Instead, take an example of Robert Downey Jr.! During filming, he became so close with Sunny, that he almost adopted him!

3. Modern Family (2009-2020)

Modern Family is a really funny tv program that takes place in California. It introduces the everyday life of a modern, maybe a bit goofy American family. In season two, a French bulldog called Stella appears on screen and becomes the Pritchett family’s dog.

Stella was previously owned by a dog trainer named Guillermo, who abandoned Stella according to the story. He could not be really good at dog training, as Stella proves to be very problematic, who destroys many things, especially the shoes of Gloria (the wife).

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Jay, the head of the family didn’t want to keep her first, but somehow he falls in love with Stella. She becomes his number one priority which is portrayed in many hilarious scenes throughout the seasons. It’s almost like he loves the dog more than his beautiful wife! Like when he comes home from work, he greets Stella sooner than Gloria. Or when he bought a diamond neckband for Stella instead of his Gloria on Valentine’s day.

Due to all this, Gloria becomes jealous of Stella, like she wants to get rid of her. In one episode, Stella won’t stop diving into the pool and everyone starts to think she has suicidal tendencies. (Remember? Frenchies can’t swim!) The family is just about to go out, everyone is nicely dressed, especially Gloria when Stella jumps in the pool again. Gloria jumps in right after her to save her from drowning and sacrifices her beautiful hair, makeup, and dress. This is the kind of ownership we love to see! 

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+1 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

This movie features Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his own real-life Frenchie called Hobbs, who he named after his character Luke Hobbs. This little guy makes an appearance in the beginning of the movie lying on the bed while Hobbs is doing push-ups on the floor. It seems like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree: Hobbs did a really good job as a breakthrough movie star! Needless to say he was loved by everyone on set and the Rock was a very proud Frenchie dad, as you can see from this video:

If you’d like to learn more about Frenchies, join our Facebook group called TomKings Frenchie Family to read our Frenchie parents’ experiences.

The article is based on the expert knowledge of the TomKings Puppies team who have been breeding French Bulldogs for 10 years on their farm. All the pictures in the post belong to them and their customers, and show puppies from their breed. Check their available French Bulldog puppies, or if you have any questions or comments let us know below the article.