Characters / Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

Animals

Chance

Voiced by: Michael J. Fox

Dubbed by: Christian Clavier (European French)

• Adaptation Name Change: From the book's "Bodger".
• Adaptation Species Change: In the book, Bodger is an English Bull Terrier, while in the film, Chance is an American Bulldog.
• Age Lift: Bodger was older than Luath (the retriever) in the book; however, Bodger still had the devil-may-care personality that Chance has.
• Amplified Animal Aptitude: He is able to talk, plan an escape out of a pound, and make pop-culture references.
• Big Eater: A notable example is at the beginning of the film, where Chance manages to eat the entire wedding cake before the newlywed Seavers got a chance to cut it, much to the attendee's shock (and one old man's amusement). Chance later ends up regretting eating the cake when he is forced to vomit it out, apparently due to it disagreeing with his system.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He already spent some time in the pound, where it's implied he only saw other dogs being put down.
• Deadpan Snarker: Chance and Sassy frequently try to out-quip each other in the second film.
• Dogs Are Dumb: Shadow lampshades this repeatedly. It's more likely that he was meant to be young and naive, as compared to every other dog in the movie and sequel who range from quite knowledgeable (Shadow), to street smart (Riley).
• Meaningful Name: It's mentioned In-Universe; Chance got his name when he got his "second chance" after being adopted.
• Older and Wiser: In the second film, to an extent. He now knows that the "squirrel having a bad hair day" is a porcupine, and the smelly animal from the hollowed log is a skunk. He also still has scars on his muzzle from where the porcupine nailed him.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Chance and Delilah. Delilah is a streetwise city dog who's wary of humans and Chance is a house pet.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Sassy. The two practically never stop bickering and complaining about each other, but when push comes to shove, they try as hard as anyone else to help the other out.

Shadow

Voiced by: Don Ameche (1st film), Ralph Waite (2nd film)

Dubbed by: Jean Reno (European French)

• Adaptation Name Change: Luath is renamed Shadow for the movies.
• Adaptation Species Change: Shadow is Luath's breed type but he is a Golden Retriever while Luath was a Labrador.
• Age Lift: In the movies Shadow is older than Chance while it is switched in the books. However Shadow is as stone-cold determined just like Luath.
• Amplified Animal Aptitude: He is able to talk to the others, plan an escape out of a pound, and understand pop-culture references.
• Deadpan Snarker: While not on the same level of Chance and Sassy he can be quite coldly sarcastic.
• Determinator: Shadow is injured and trapped, and tells Chance to go on without him. He somehow manages to get home anyway.
• Disney Death: Shadow becomes trapped after falling through the floor of an old shack. Initially we're led to believe he doesn't make it home with Sassy and Chance, but he comes over the hill just as Peter turns away.
• Heroic Dog:
  • A big subversion comes about halfway through the first movie when Shadow fails to save Sassy when she falls in the river, not that he didn't do everything he could.
  • In Lost in San Francisco, he pulls off a Heroic Fire Rescue to save a boy trapped in a burning house. One of Riley's gang even notes his bravery.
• Meaningful Name: Albeit a Genius Bonus one; a rather archaic meaning for shadow is "an inseparable companion," which fits Shadow's relationship with Peter to a T.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Subverted. It looks as though Shadow won't make it — he even gives Chance a "you have to go on without me" speech — but he gets home.
• Not So Above It All: He at first appears to be the more mature and serious of the trio: then again he frequently falls on dogs' "foolishness and dumbness" instinct. You have to remind that it's all his idea to try to return their home in the first movie while putting their two companions in danger by adventuring in the wildness.
• Team Dad: Out of the three, Shadow is the oldest, wisest and most mature, and he frequently tries to protect the others and keep them from getting into too much trouble. He especially acts as a mentor to Chance.
• Undying Loyalty: Even though Shadow doesn't understand why he was left behind, he never stops believing in Peter or trying to get back to him. Justified as dogs are already famed for their often incredible loyalty to their human companions, with Golden Retrievers like Shadow being reputed as being one of the most loving and loyal breeds.

Sassy

Voiced by: Sally Field

Dubbed by: Valérie Lemercier (European French)

• Adaptation Name Change: The character Sassy is based on is a male Siamese cat named Tao in the original novel.
• Cats Are Mean: Downplayed. Sassy is snarky, but kind and heroic.
• Cats Are Snarkers: Sassy lives up to her name.
• Cats Are Superior:
  • Sassy is quite arrogant and condescending to Chance, often talking about how cats are superior to dogs.
  Sassy: Cats rule and dogs drool!
  • This bites her in the hind end when she ignores Shadow's warnings and attempts to cross the dangerous part of a river, all the while chanting "Cats rule and dogs drool!" This leads to her going over a waterfall and almost dying. This experience makes her more humble and grateful for her canine companions (but no less pampered than before).
• Cats Hate Water: Sassy goes out of her way to find a way to cross a river without getting wet. Unfortunately for her, one part of a log she finds isn't quite stable and it collapses, dumping her into the river and sending her over the Inevitable Waterfall.
• Cats Have Nine Lives: Sassy references the idea after barely surviving going over a waterfall:
  Sassy: "Was that my sixth life? Meh, I'll just say it was my fourth."
• Comical Overreacting: Sassy after Chance pushes her off of the seesaw and into the sandbox, landing on her feet.
  Sassy: He threw me in the big litter box! Call the vet now! I've never in my life! I think my fur is falling out! I'm losing my fur!
• Deadpan Snarker: Chance and Sassy frequently try to out-quip each other.
• Female Feline, Male Mutt: Sassy being the feline with Chance and Shadow being the dogs.
• Gender Flip: The character Sassy is based on is male in the original novel.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may be smart aleck and brash, but she still means well.
• Meaningful Name: Sassy is a snarker.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Chance. The two practically never stop bickering and complaining about each other, but when push comes to shove, they each try as hard as anyone else to help the other out.

Riley's Gang

• Dogged Nice Guy: Bando thinks of Delilah as his girlfriend, in spite of the fact that Delilah has told him multiple times that they're friends, nothing else.
• Freudian Excuse: Riley was bought as a gift, then abandoned when the kid he was supposed to be a present for didn't want him. Needless to say, there's a reason he's bitter.
• Porky Pig Pronunciation: Stokey talks this way only when he scratches himself.
• Shipper on Deck: Sledge accepts Delilah and Chance, and doesn't think Banjo is good enough for Delilah.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Chance and Delilah. Delilah is a streetwise city dog who's wary of humans and Chance is a house pet.

Humans

The Burnfords / Seavers

• Decomposite Character: The family has three children instead of two, and Peter, like his namesake, "belongs" to the older dog, while Jamie "belongs" to the bull-type dog, both of which were Bodger in the original film.
• Female Feline, Male Mutt: It applies to the humans as well, since "Hope belongs to Sassy" and they're both female, while "Jamie belongs to Chance" and "Peter belongs to Shadow" and they're all male.
• This Is My Human: At the beginning of the film, Chance is describing their supposed owners and says "Hope belonged to Sassy" and "Peter belonged to Shadow."

Molly

• Damsel in Distress: Pretty much fits the description of one. She's a little girl who's lost in the woods, with her parents and a search party trying to find her.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Played with. The animals reward for finding Molly and leading the search party to save her is being taken to a pound. To Chance, this is a Fate Worse than Death. But the animals don't understand that their owners are on the way and that they'll only be there for a little while, necessitating a Great Escape.
• Small Role, Big Impact: She's only in the film for a few scenes, but it's because of the animals finding Molly that they end up in the pound, resulting in the movie's third act.