Poco is an adorable dog who is very devoted to a little girl named Kim. They are separated following a car accident at the beginning of the story, and Poco fends for himself in the deserts, highways, and mountain wilderness areas of California as he tries to find his way back home.
Back on the home front, Kim is recovering from the injuries she sustained in the accident, and she never gives up on Poco.
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid; I always loved this adorable little dog. Watching it again now as an adult, over 30 years later, I find it very moving. They don't make sweet sincere movies like this anymore. The closest thing that I can think of is the Shiloh movie trilogy (which are wonderful movies in their own right).
In a world too full of cynical entertainment, CGI, gross-out humor, and snappy comebacks, Poco is a special treasure from a simpler time. Poco Little Dog Lost tells a sincere story about a child's undying love for her dog and the dog's undying devotion to the child, and it does so without special effects, narration, or silly voice-dubbing of the animals like in a Disney movie. Poco is more similar to the Benji movies in allowing the story to unfold with the dog carrying the movie. Muffin, the dog who plays Poco, was clearly very well-trained, and portrays fear, sadness, caution, excitement, exhaustion, and a full range of emotions simply through actions, reactions, and facial expressions.
Tom McIntosh's score is excellent too. So are the songs "Remember Me" performed by veteran actor Chill Wills (who gives a layered performance here as a lonely old man who rescues Poco and grows to love the dog, while also recognizing that the dog must have somewhere and someone to go home to, which the man must recognize and accept despite the pain of letting the dog go), and also the title theme song performed so beautifully by Ren Woods.
Photography and cinematography are also very nice, with Poco's journey taking him through the California desert, the Owens Valley and its Alabama Hills rock formations, the gold mining ghost town of Bodie, the Mono Lake and Owens Lake areas, and Yosemite National Park. The Yosemite sequence is a special favorite, with Poco running through the mountain meadows to a playful score by Tom McIntosh, and an abundance of beautiful scenery.
All who watch Poco's journey to the end will be very happy and deeply moved. This movie is such a nice "slice of life" from the 70s with good values that all ages can enjoy. Poco appears on a few DVD compilations which appear to have been transferred from VHS; however, it would be great if this movie could be remastered to clean up a few scenes where the coloring is a bit washed out and/or dark, and then reissued on its own DVD.
This movie is underrated and it deserves to be rediscovered and loved.
Poco will always have a very special place in my heart.
