Aahana Swrup
In ‘American Girl: Corinne Tan,’ the titular character traverses through life as a Chinese-American teen with recently divorced parents and a new stepdad. With the drastic change comes new opportunities and challenges as well as expectations. As such, a part of Corinne’s process of settling into her new life comes with the search for her passion as an individual within her multi-talented family. In search of the same, Corinne crosses paths with Flurry, an avalanche dog trainee. Once the girl realizes the puppy is struggling to pass his certification to become a search-and-rescue dog, she takes up the responsibility of training her pawed friend and finds her own true calling in the process.
Flurry, the Dog remains a loyal fixture by Corinne Tan’s side for most of the film and blazes his own entertaining narrative. For the same reason, viewers must be curious to know more about his role in the film.
Multiple Dogs Play Flurry’s Role In The Film
From behind-the-scenes cast photos and actors’ experiences, we can conclude that Flurry, the Dog is not a CGI-ed addition but an actual dog— or maybe even two! In many ways, this family-driven film also hits all the marks of a typical “dog movie,” with Flurry’s character moving through the narrative almost as a secondary protagonist. His journey remains reflective of Corinne’s quest for self-discovery, with both individuals helping each other in invaluable ways.
As such, Flurry’s character carries great emotional significance with him. For the same reason, it makes sense that the modest-budgeted kids’ film would employ actual dogs to fill in for Flurry instead of utilizing CGI or any other special effects. We can back this conclusion further with the fact that Lori Boyle, who has previously worked on projects such as ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘The Revenant,’ worked as the Head Animal Trainer on this film.
Furthermore, a multiple personnel-built crew, including dog trainers and handlers, also joined Boyle. The Movie Animals Protected, who monitor and guide productions through animal welfare, was also involved in the making of this film. Therefore, it remains evident that real-life animals played a significant role during the film’s development.
Since Flurry’s character remains such a vital part of the film and undergoes a number of situations varying in physical exertion, it’s only natural for the crew to employ more than one actual dog for the job. In an Instagram post shared by lead actress Miya Cech, the young artist, her co-star/ real-life sister Kai Cech, and director Angela C. Tortu can be seen hanging out with two identical dogs during filming. While the names of these dogs remain unknown, they are likely the individuals behind the lovable Flurry.
Within the same Instagram post, Miya Cech acknowledged her experience working on set with the real-life dogs and said, “Corinne is forever a part of me now and I’ll always cherish the wonderful people (and pups!) who helped us bring her story to life!”
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