Dogs have always stolen the show on screen — and honestly, who can blame the directors? When you have that kind of charm on set, you let it run. From stop-motion adventures to neorealist masterpieces, here are eight films where dogs take centre stage (or very nearly do). We left out the Disney classics, you've already seen those at least ten times.

1.     Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson, 2018)

Leave it to The Grand Budapest Hotel’s Wes Anderson to create a marvellously weird stop-motion animation film, in which all dogs of the Japanese city of Megasaki are banned to a fictional island – in an attempt to stop them from spreading some sort of canine corona virus. It’s clearly an allegory in the same vein as Animal Farm, but with loads of laughs, lots of funky Japanese imagery and music, and with the voices of Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Frances McDormand and Yoko Ono (as Yoko Ono).

2.     Frankenweenie (Tim Burton, 2012)

Technically a Disney movie, though the 1984 short film it’s based on actually got director Tim Burton fired from his job at the company. His bosses felt he wasted Disney’s money with this “dark and upsetting” fantasy about a boy bringing his dead dog back to life. Almost thirty years later, Disney begged him to turn his short into a feature film. A love letter to dogs and to classic monster movies.

3.     The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” It’s probably a bit of a stretch to call The Wizard of Oz a dog movie, but is there really a more famous movie dog than Toto?

4.     White God (Kornél Mundruczo, 2014)

White God is a superb mix of The Birds, Planet of the Apes and Lassie Come Home, but set in Bucharest, where hounds have turned on their humans (after having been abandoned by them). The movie was quite a sensation at the Cannes Film Festival, where the entire cast won the Palm Dog that year for best canine performance. No, that’s not a joke. Yes, it’s a real prize, which comes in the form of a dog collar and has been handed out since 2001. Other previous winners include Uggie from The Artist and Dug from Up.

5.     Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Nick Park & Steve Box, 2005)

After winning two Oscars in the animated short category, Gromit and his companion Wallace finally made it to the big screen with this amusing take on classic Hammer horror films. Though nowhere as brilliant as Nick Park’s masterpiece Chicken Run, it’s all jolly good plasticine fun.

6.     Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, 1952)

In this neorealist masterpiece from Vittorio De Sica, a poor man tries to scrape together some money to pay the rent for him and his dog Flike. An incredibly warm, touching and even magical film.

7.     Wiener-Dog (Todd Solondz, 2016)

Ever since exploding onto the scene with Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness, Todd Solondz has made virtually the same movie over and over again – a mix of wonderfully depressing vignettes filled with deadpan humour and disturbing characters. Wiener-Dog is no different. Only this time, every story features a cute dachshund, who is far more likeable than the other characters in the film – brilliantly played by Danny DeVito, Ellen Burstyn and Greta Gerwig.

8.     Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)

Okay, just like The Wizard of Oz, not really a dog movie. But if it weren’t for the pit bull Brandy in the end – her real name is Sayuri, by the way – Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece would have ended very, very differently.