Lassie

Lassie comes home in more ways than one in this loyal adaptation of Eric Knight’s 1940 novel. Nine-year-old Joe Carraclough (Mason) parts with the beloved pooch when his miner dad loses his job and the family is forced to sell Lassie to a wealthy Scottish duke (O’Toole). Boasting navigational skills that rival the latest GPS systems, the untiring collie escapes her new residence and braves a harrowing trip back to Yorkshire. Happily, the film avoids slobbering sentimentality by focusing on the adventures of its canine hero rather than the boy’s coming of age. (Opens Fri; Click here for venues.) — Erin Clements