Trivia / Beethoven

• B-Team Sequel: For Beethoven's 2nd, Len Blum took over writing duties from John Hughes and Amy Holden Jones, while Rod Daniel replaced Brian Levant as director, since Levant was in pre-production for The Flintstones.
• Dawson Casting: Although he looks much younger, Charles Grodin was in his late fifties during the filming of both the first and second film.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Debi Mazar, who played a Cruella-esque villainess in the second film, is in real life an animal lover who adopted one of the puppies after the film was made, and would hug and apologize to the dogs after shooting any scene in which she had to be cruel to them.
• Playing Against Type: Dean Jones as the evil Dr. Varnick. Doubles as a Casting Gag, as Jones was typecast as the sort of character Charles Grodin was playing in many Disney films of the 60s and 70s (starting with That Darn Cat!). And then just a few years later, he ends up voicing Grodin's character in the animated series.
• Real-Life Relative: Ivan Reitman's son, Jason Reitman, worked on both Beethoven and Beethoven's 2nd as a production assistant, while Jason's sister, Catherine Reitman, appeared in Beethoven's 2nd in a minor role as Janie, a girl whom Ted has a crush on and later befriends.
• Referenced by...: The Young Sheldon episode "Babies, Lies and a Resplendent Cannoli", in which Missy (Raegan Revord) describes the titular dog as "a big, dumb dog."
• Technology Marches On: The climax of the first movie relies on Alice having to leave the car to call the police from a payphone. Nowadays, she would have called the police on her cell phone, thus remaining in the car and denying Ted the opportunity to plow the car into the warehouse.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Steve Martin, John Candy, Danny DeVito, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Jeff Goldblum, Rick Moranis, Robin Williams, Ed O'Neill, Tim Allen, John Ritter, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, John Goodman, and Tom Hanks were all considered for the role of George Newton.

---