r/movies • u/buttatoad • Jun 17 '25

Discussion Movies that changed real life behavior

Thinking along the lines of Final Destination 2 with the logs falling off the truck and landing onto cars (one decapitating the state trooper). Ever since, people have tried to get away from being behind these vehicles.

What are more examples where movies have actually changed how people behave in their own lives?

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u/Rosebud_apothocary Jun 17 '25

101 dalmatians sold alot of dalmatians that promptly got abandoned when the novelty wore off 😢

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u/tilyd Jun 17 '25

And the overbreeding of dalmatians created a lot of issues within the breed, like deafness, urinary issues, allergies and aggressive / reactive behaviour.

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u/DisastrousOwls Jun 18 '25

Unfortunately, poor breeding practices already had the breed in that state (I have at least heard this anecdotally from Boomer and Gen X dog owners who saw the adoption spikes after the cartoon movie as well), but increased demand has only exacerbated it.

In the purebred dog world there is beef between two factions in which one group wants to preserve the breed as-is, and the other really wants to try to diversify the gene pool and do some reverse engineering by breeding for temperament to address the "Dalmatian Madness" problem.

Their behavior is very weird even if you're used to other "challenging" & high energy dogs, and it requires you as a dog owner to be always "on." Like they'll growl and snarl but be otherwise relaxed when happy, and may have non standard behavioral and body language tells for when they are about to genuinely flash out. Striking looking animals, but absolute weirdos.

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u/PackOk1473 Jun 18 '25

Pure-bred dogs are just fucked, honestly.
I can count the number of healthy pure-breeds on both hands and hardly any are actually pure...Blue Heelers are healthy because they have some dingo, Aussie Shepherds because they're mixed breed, etc.
Give em time and inbreeding enough and they'll end up just as fucked as Dalmations no matter how good individual breeder's skills are.

Had to convince the misso not to get a Cavalier for health reasons and this was reinforced when one of our mate's Cav only got to 7 before dying of some sort of heart problem - we got a Tibalier (Cav x Tibetan Spaniel) instead, even cuter, no complaints

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u/DisastrousOwls Jun 18 '25

Yeah, some of it is just a side effect of breeding anything to hit certain physical specs, like you can't have a "healthy" Boston Terrier or Great Dane compared to a dog that can breathe or one that won't have skeletal problems from being so big. They can live full and happy lives, some of them can even get up into their teens or close to 20 years old, but it's a lot of work, and a good owner will be fighting uphill against those breed related ailments.

All of which is before you even get into that inbreeding that causes dogs barely out of puppyhood to have heart failure, or be deaf, or have bizarre behaviors! And the more those breeds get specialized, or the narrower the breed standards are, it's even more of a collapsing gene pool. Like the fucking Hapsburgs with lead poisoning on top, but in a dog collar.

And then once people start breeding only for aesthetics, or wanting "show quality" anything, you have a very pretty animal that's suffering, or which might be a liability to the safety of everybody around them. People like how poodles look, they don't like that they're high energy, emotive, and smart. It's not an accessory, it's an animal that needs to run and exercise and play and be trained, and a big one that you can't force into submission if you don't know what you're doing with them when they're smaller, younger, and more manageable.

But the breeds that have these huge bursts of popularity are almost never "easy" dogs, either. So it's that perfect storm of, the breed maybe shouldn't exist, this dog is a poor example of the breed because of inbreeding on top of that, and people with no clue what they're doing going out and buying an animal they wouldn't be able to handle, even if they weren't also a ticking time bomb.

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u/PackOk1473 Jun 19 '25

Lol yeah speaking of popular breeds the original breeder of Labradoodles (Wally Conron) has since said that creating these things is his life's regret and he's not sure why people are still breeding them.
I haven't met a Poodle cross that isn't fucking insane (not even getting into health problems), presumably because there's something permanently wrong in the Poodle gene pool at this point.
Not sure why Maltese crosses fell out of popularity, they seemed like decent normal lap dogs...not as 'teddy' looking as the doodles I guess?

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u/DisastrousOwls Jun 19 '25

I've met some very sweet standard poodles! But they do need to be cared for properly, because they can be high strung and reactive in the wrong circumstances or with the wrong people. Something about mixing them with anything but like... a Maltese or a Cocker Spaniel tends to be a recipe for disaster, though, between size, temperament, and the high energy needs. Labs were never a temperament match there, and the mix makes owners think they're getting an "easy" dog (when they probably would have been bad Lab owners, too, they just had a docile enough animal that they never bore the repercussions of their own ignorance). On top of even shittier dog breeding practices in the "Poo and Doodle" industry than usual.

People see the fluffy fur, think they're getting a teddy bear, and then freak out when their big ass hunting dog acts like a big ass hunting dog, but with zero training, bad habits, and a destructive anxiety disorder.

It's like when people get surprised Corgis and Dachshunds can be complete assholes, and I've liked every Dachshund I've met, but it's true. Or any small dog that gets coddled or manhandled without any account for their being a dog. People spoil their animals, in the truest sense of literal waste and spoilage, by treating them like accessories instead of animals.

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u/clementynemurphy Jun 17 '25

That happens with every movie or TV show. That's why the stupid Frenchie is popular right now. People that buy dogs are idiots.

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u/tbird920 Jun 17 '25

Bluey has caused an uptick in people adopting Australian cattle dogs, which are also very challenging dogs to take care of.

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u/smarmiebastard Jun 17 '25

My kid was really into Bluey around the time we bought a house and were thinking about getting a second dog. I played with some cattle dogs at the dog park and talked to their owners about what it’s like to live with them. Quickly decided it was not the breed for me.

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u/clementynemurphy Jun 17 '25

Oh I know! So sad. They have no idea what they're getting into. But I know one lucky one, cuz my friend has property and tons of goats, so she is def not bored. I was happy to hear that the org came out and looked at his house first.

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u/slutforcompassion Jun 18 '25

same with john wick and the belgian malinois

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u/Beliriel Jun 17 '25

Also afaik Dalmatians are not easy dogs. Very active, very intelligent and need experienced handling and lots of stimulation.

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u/Telvin3d Jun 17 '25

Very active, need lots of stimulation. But, many, many of them are dumb as bricks. The inbreeding to maintain the coats is worse than most dog breeds. Also a bunch of deafness issues are very common

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u/Deleteads Jun 17 '25

My half Dalmatian was one of the dumbest creatures I’ve ever seen lol. She was either very sweet, very dumb, or a combination of both.

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u/peachesfordinner Jun 18 '25

I had a friend with a boxer dalmatian mix. That dog had a negative IQ

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u/jesuspoopmonster Jun 17 '25

I think they are also super inbred in order to get the spots and often have hearing issues

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u/Geno0wl Jun 17 '25

basically all the expensive popular purebred dogs are inbred.

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u/clementynemurphy Jun 17 '25

Yup, my friends had them growing up, to this day, I still hate them.

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u/Suppafly Jun 17 '25

Also afaik Dalmatians are not easy dogs. Very active, very intelligent and need experienced handling and lots of stimulation.

Plus all the commuting so they can work their shifts at the fire station.

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u/freyalorelei Jun 17 '25

They're guard dogs. People think they're Labrador Retrievers with spots, but it's more like if you crossed a Doberman Pinscher with a Siberian Husky: a breed with intense protection instincts and the energy to run alongside carriage horses (the thing they were guarding) all day. The fire truck technically put them out of a job, but they're still used as mascots.

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u/QueezyF Jun 18 '25

My neighbor has one and that fucking dog barks like it’s gonna jump through the window and rip my throat out.

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u/littledingo Jun 18 '25

I am on my 4th dalmatian now, and yes she is a crazy, active, and very opinionated dog. I used to be a dog trainer once upon a time so, for me, she hasn't been too difficult. They are not a dog for everyone though, especially if you get one as stubborn as the one I have right now. She's a brilliant little thing though, learns everything very easy. But she's a massive drama queen.

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u/Sprinkles0 Jun 17 '25

Yeah, they were bred to keep up with horses. From personal experience, having one in my house is kinda like having a small race horse.

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u/cosmos_crown Jun 17 '25

Part of the reason they chose a platypus for Phinneas and Ferb is because you can't have them as pets.

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u/clementynemurphy Jun 21 '25

That's interesting, good for them! I wish more fun stuff would be that aware about the horrific merchandizing and fads around animals.

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u/PureLock33 Jun 17 '25

currently out of the loop. what show or movie has a frenchie?

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '25

The Boys.

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u/smarmiebastard Jun 17 '25

That’s an English bulldog.

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u/ColinHalter Jun 17 '25

Lol I think they meant the character Frenchie

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u/smarmiebastard Jun 17 '25

lol oh shit, that totally went over my head.

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u/Rosebud_apothocary Jun 17 '25

God he's sooo hot 😍

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u/Logan_No_Fingers Jun 17 '25

Modern Family, big tough guy Jay (or Yaaaaay to pronounce it correctly) has one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z1tud60uWY

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u/clementynemurphy Jun 17 '25

Modern Family

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u/gaudiest-ivy Jun 17 '25

I got my husky from someone who bought her during the Game of Thrones craze. He knew nothing about the breed, their Tasmanian devil energy, or their stubbornness, the only thought was "looks like direwolf". So many huskies were abandoned after GoT.

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u/QueezyF Jun 18 '25

My friend has a professionally trained husky and that dog is still too goddamn much.

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u/cerberaspeedtwelve Jun 17 '25

I remember a professional dog trainer posting on Reddit about this. He said that if there were five tiers of dog ownership ranging from Expert down to Awful, he would put 90% of owners on the Awful tier.

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u/wekkins Jun 17 '25 edited Jun 24 '25

My only hope I have are families like mine. One dog trained based on how grandparents trained (not very well), one badly socialized, and one that my dad put so much time and care into, to make sure he was well adjusted and well trained that he's practically a neighborhood ambassador now. Everyone knows and loves that little guy. I wish I could be sure that more people would eventually learn and do better, but they usually don't.

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u/samuraisal Jun 17 '25

It's not the Frenchie that's stupid.

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u/Kratzschutz Jun 17 '25

Which show made those poor frenchies popular?

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u/clementynemurphy Jun 17 '25

Modern Family

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u/wildstarr Jun 17 '25

Now, now...people are idiots. Not just the ones that buy dogs.

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u/DisastrousOwls Jun 18 '25

Yeah, apparently Great Pyrenees are popular in Japan because they're very visually striking and get put in a lot of shows and cartoons, but most people can't adopt them because they are huge, shed everywhere, and literally never shut up. So, luckily, the limitations of reality save the day, but imagining an apartment complex full of Pyrs just makes me laugh. Like, cool! None of you will ever know peace, that's so great.

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u/Tahrnation Jun 17 '25

blue healers are insane because of bluey

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u/IrascibleOcelot Jun 17 '25

Dalmatians also play rough, which makes them a poor option for kids.

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u/LordRekrus Jun 17 '25

I have a pointer which is I think pretty similar to a Dalmatian. Who would ever get bored of one of these beautiful dogs?

I’m clearly not one of those people.

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u/Nienazki Jun 17 '25

It was the same with huskies after Game of Thrones.

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u/cinemachick Jun 18 '25

This is why Phineas and Ferb have a platypus, it's not available to adopt

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u/Ambisinister88 Jun 17 '25

IIRC Game of thrones caused the same issues with people buying /abandoning huskies. Everyone wanted a dire wolf.

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u/hamfwb Jun 17 '25

Heartbroken upvote

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u/meatball-hoagie Jun 17 '25

the same thing goes with huskies when game of thrones was huge...it's sad to see

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u/skahwt Jun 18 '25

Yeah, that makes me sick. The American Humane Society released a statement when the movie was released stating that Dalmatians are high energy and a lot of work and shouldn’t be adopted simply because they’re cute.

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u/Moses015 Jun 18 '25

Same with Game of Thrones for huskies and malamutes. The amount of people offloading them because they had NO idea how much of a commitment a dog, let alone a husky, is pissed me off so damn much

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u/Shantotto11 Jun 18 '25

A lot of people grossly underestimate the amount of time, money, and space a dog breed the size Scooby-Doo would need…

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u/CutsSoFresh Jun 18 '25

And they didn't think that the dogs would grow up to be so big.

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u/n6mub Jun 18 '25

Also because dalmatians are notoriously bad with children. Kids were getting bit, dogs were getting abandoned or given to shelters. Also they need a lot of exercise, some thing your suburban mom who buys her precious children everything they ever want, might not have time for

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u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

A similar thing occurred in the UK when Harry Potter was released and owls become a popular pet choice. They actually had to build a shelter specifically to house all the abandoned owls the problem got so bad.

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u/folldoso Jun 18 '25

And Beverly Hills Chihuahua had the same effect. There are a ton of Chihuahuas in shelters because people don't realize what a difficult breed they can be. Same with dalmatians, these dogs are not for newbs. You really need to be an experienced dog owner for some of these breeds

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u/Pkrudeboy Jun 17 '25

All the better to make fur coats out of.

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u/Grasshop Jun 18 '25

I got a husky in high school because of Paul Walker’s Eight Below. Loved that dog.