Free Movie In The Park: A Dog’s Way Home
This week the movie will be the movie “A Dog’s Way Home” on June 18th.
Join us for “Moonlight Movies” in Town Center Park. Make a magical memory under a beautiful Ocean Isle Beach night sky with your entire crew! Bring a comfy chair or blanket and enjoy your favorite family-friendly films projected onto a 16ft screen on the Amphitheater stage. No matter where you are, every spot has a great view! A variety of food vendors will also be on site with yummy snacks and treats for purchase. Moonlight Movies is a great way to relax with your friends and family in an inviting outdoor setting.
The Plot:
In a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, a mother stray dog and her three newborn puppies live peacefully with a colony of feral cats in an abandoned house. One day, Animal Control officers discover the animals and capture most of the cats, two of the puppies, and the mother dog. Luckily, Bella is saved by a mother cat, who then adopts and raises her. Lucas Ray and his friend Olivia, two local residents who visit often to feed the cats, find Bella in the old house along with many kittens and the mother cat. He names the dog Bella and takes her home to live with him and his mother, Terri.
Over the years, Lucas plays with and takes care of Bella. However, Lucas also continues to feed the cats at the old house, putting himself in the crosshairs of Günter Beckenbauer, who intends to demolish the house. He calls the city about the cats who live there, which delays the demolition.
Vengeful, Günter notifies Animal Control that Bella is a pitbull because in Denver, pitbulls were illegal, due to their reputation as a dangerous breed. That evening, overzealous animal control officer Chuck Millits comes by to warn Lucas that if he finds Bella on the street, he will impound her.
The next day, when Bella gets out to chase a squirrel, Lucas catches up to her and prepares to take her home, but Chuck confiscates Bella and takes her into the local animal shelter. Lucas picks Bella up, pays a fine, and is allowed to take her home, but he is warned that if Bella is captured again, she will be euthanized. To avoid this, Lucas sends Bella to live with Olivia’s aunt and uncle in Farmington, New Mexico, until he and his mother can find another home outside of Denver’s urban limits.
However, Bella misses Lucas and leaves Farmington to begin a 400-mile journey home, which will take two and a half years to complete. During Bella’s journey, she befriends an orphaned cougar cub, whom she names “Big Kitten”. Bella and Big Kitten encounter many ordeals together, including being hunted by a pack of coyotes, but a group of men help Bella and frighten the coyotes away. The three men give Bella food at their campsite and upon learning who her owner is, try to call Lucas, only to be scared away by the sudden arrival of Big Kitten.
During the winter, Bella helps rescue a man buried in an avalanche and is taken in by two men. Next winter, she reaches a small town, where she is taken in by a homeless veteran named Axel until he soon dies in spring while Bella is tethered to him and Bella then gets unchained by a boy saving her from dehydration. Back in the wilderness, Bella is attacked by coyotes again, but Big Kitten, now fully grown, returns and intervenes, successfully fighting off the coyotes.
After encountering further challenges, Bella finally makes it back to Denver, and she bids Big Kitten farewell before they part ways.
After briefly reuniting with the cat that looked after her as a puppy and also bidding her farewell, Bella reaches the city’s VA hospital, where she joyfully reunites with Lucas, Terri, and Olivia. Lucas prepares to take her to the vet to treat an injury she received when struck by a car, but when Lucas, Terri, and Lucas’s friends bring Bella outside, Chuck arrives with several police officers, including police captain Mica.
Chuck claims that he needs to confiscate Bella again, with the threat to have Lucas and anyone who interferes arrested otherwise. Captain Mica states that he enforces the law, which states that Bella must be impounded, but Lucas and Terri stand up for Bella and point out he cannot confiscate her as the VA hospital is federal property, and thus is not technically part of Denver. Captain Mica allows Lucas to keep Bella as he has no jurisdiction.
Chuck threatens to pull Lucas over if he sees Bella leave the premises, but Captain Mica pulls him from public field duty for his over-zealousness and the number of complaints against him. He then orders the police officers not to pull anybody over just to impound a dog.
Lucas and Olivia manage to move into a new house in Golden with Bella, where they allow pitbulls. Meanwhile, Big Kitten is now revealed to be a mother herself as she and her cub watch over the city of Denver.
VENUE DETAILS
Town Center Park – 11 E. 2nd Street
Admission is FREE
Parking is FREE
Food Vendors available
Movie begins after sunset
Pets, smoking, vaping, alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, and glass containers are prohibited on park grounds and in parking areas.
For additional Park Rules & Regulations, please refer to the Town Center Park page.
Here Is The Complete Summer 2025 Schedule Of Free Movies:
Movies begin as the sun sets at Town Center Park!
