Pugs are pretty funny animals to tote around. I've lived with two in my life, and they spend a lot of time sleeping, wolfing down food items, snorting and farting. It's a Frat-In-A-Dog, only with a curly tail! My pug Caesar tried to inspire me to write an ode to pugs in cinema. While there's no way I'm gonna do that, I'll at least make mention of some of the more notable squished-faced canines that have strutted across the silver screen and sneezed right into the face of anyone who tried to pet them.

Pocahontas
The pug in that film, as you remember, was the mascot of the standard Disney Evil Character. However, since all pugs are good-natured beasts at heart, the pug finally went over to the Light Side of the Marketing Force. It quibbled a bit with the raccoon, but eventually made friends there and did all manner of cute little deeds that made kids everywhere want their own freeze-dried pug to play with.

There's a question WHY Disney would choose, out of all the dog species available, a pug to use as a mascot. They're horrible singers. I suspect nepotism was involved.

PUG POWER: Three Snorts (for eventually joining the good guys, even though a pug would eat a raccoon for dinner)

Milo and Otis
Milo is the cat, Otis is the pug. They are victims of an unholy union between natural-born enemies (like raccoons, pugs pick their stubby little teeth with the bones of tabbys), forced to join wits to do some sort of cross-country adventure that would surely have ended in a tragic roadkill event if it were not for the protective guidance of the film crew. It's a Japanese film crew, so you just know that Otis was given all manner of pharmaceutical items in an attempt to make him dance and transform into something with Atomic Breath.

Now, this film (narrated by Dudley Moore, of all people) is a hit among billions of people, all under the age of four, so chances are if you know how to surf the web, even the prospect of seeing Otis sniff at Milo with romantic interest won't be enough to get you to see this.

PUG POWER: One Snort (because it has a pug on the video box)

Dune
Yes, there is a pug in Dune (the David Lynch version). It's the pet of fat Duke Leto Atreides, which makes the pug by association, a fat waddling aristocrat. Which they are, yes, but don't rub it in their wrinkly little faces!

PUG POWER: One Snort (for Pugs: In Space)

Men In Black
Now this one is everyone's favorite, because finally pugs got a voice! Specifically, the voice of intergalactic alien Frank, who is disguised (?) on earth as a beige-and-black pug. He's got sass, attitude, and an "I Love NY" sweatshirt that I just must get for Caesar! Oh, sure, Frank gets a bit shaken around by Agent Kay, but he's still the dog in the know, smarter than the entire MIB division.

[Pregnant Pause While We Grow Extremely Patriotic Toward Pugs]

Frank rules. Pugs rule. Coincidence?

PUG POWER: Five Snorts (and he even gets the girl... sorta!)

Planet of the Pugs
Remember that crappy Tim Burton film? Well, thanks to the wonderful power of the Internet (tm), we've got a viable solution, and it involves those squat little dogs! The trailer to Planet of the Pugs (see the link to the right) might very well be the funniest thing we've seen all year. Imagine crash-landing on a planet populated by thousands of pugs... or at least, three of them. Imagine being chased for the mere possibility of food or a tummy rub. Imagine... the horror.

With the tagline "Drool on the Planet" and the catch-phrase "Bow your head!", Planet of the Pugs overwhelms us with clear pug superiority. We might as well just give up now. Human achievement has clearly reached its peak.

PUG POWER: Six Snorts (because it kind of gets your blood pumping, too)