YUGLY

Yugly is a loving puppy with a unique smile. But to a human eye, Yugly is also the ugliest dog ever! Because of his 'challenging' appearance, Yugly is never picked for adoption. After his mom dies, he is abandoned by his owners. When he watches the Best in Dog Show on TV and sees how much love the winner gets from his owner, Yugly has only one thing on his mind... He must participate in the competition where he will find an owner! But needless to say, Yugly does not match the beauty standards of the show. Determined to make his dream come true, he befriends a pack of misfits he meets at the pound. Thanks to his never-failing optimism, he manages to lead the pack to the show. Brave and selfless, he frees Skull from his chains and risks his life to give Puppaccino his tennis ball back. In the end, Yugly may not have won the show, but by embracing his true self and following Cute his own path, he has found an owner and a group of friends for life....

She is Gerald and Martha’s show dog: she’s a beautiful Afghan Greyhound, three times Best in Dog Show finalist and dog model for UNIQUE by Shampwoof. Lady Hawkeye is slightly posh (after all, she’s been trained to be a show dog!) and kind-hearted. To Gerald and Martha, she is just a trophy to get to their ultimate goal: win the Best in Dog Show and be accepted into high-society. While Hawkeye deeply dislike her owners, she has developed a strong bond with Molly, her handler. As Molly grows attached to Yugly, Lady Hawkeye becomes jealous of him and manipulates him into leaving Molly ’s house. But she soon regrets it and all she wants is now to help Molly find Yugly.

Molly is a young woman (25) and Lady Hawkeye's trainer. She is the only human who shows unconditional love to dogs, no matter what they look like. She is the polar opposite of her employers, Martha and Gerald Chesterton. She saves Yugly's life and gives him his real name: Yugly, a mix of his old name, 'ugly' and 'unique'. She takes him home and cares for him, like no human ever did. When he mysteriously disappears, she is devastated and, together with Lady Hawkeye, Molly looks for him everywhere. When she sees him on stage at the Arena, she is beyond happy and can't help but join him and dance with him. At the very end, she adopts the whole pack.

She is a charismatic Komondor with fur that looks like dreadlocks. At first, she pretends to be a stray dog, trying to hide her real story: her owner used her as an accessory to show off on social media. Because of this, Virginia mistrusts everyone and especially humans. Although she is a bit harsh to Yugly when they first meet at the pound, she soon grows attached to his goodwill and optimism and decides to help him get to the dog show. Yugly has indeed given them hope that there is something better waiting for them. At the end, not only does she save Yugly from Gerald’s grip together with the pack, but seeing Yugly and Molly’s strong bond, she also realizes that humans are not all the same.

He is an old bulldog who ended up at the dog pound after his owner died. When Yugly helps the pack break out and gives him Chris’ skateboard, Geezer feels full of life and energy again. During their trip to the Arena, Yugly ’s optimism and confidence starts growing on Geezer.

He is a Rottweiler and a veteran dog who was adopted by a group of headbangers. He spent his daily life in captivity, chained to a spike in the ground before a doghouse. When he spots the dog pack getting closer to him, he viciously foams and barks. But as soon as Yugly unhooks his collar, Skull rediscovers what it feels like to be free. In exchange, he helps out the pack by fetching some kibbles. Deeply grateful, Skull is willing to help Yugly do the show, no matter what it takes.

He’s a Great Dane, and meets Yugly at the dog pound. Puppaccino thinks that his owner abandoned him because he was getting too big. As a result he feels overly shy and uncomfortable in his body. Holding onto the memory of his former owner, he constantly keeps the tennis ball they used to play with inside his mouth, which makes him utterly unintelligible. Indeed, he squeaks instead of speaking! Yugly’s self-confidence despite his “challenging” appearance shows Puppaccino the path towards self-acceptance. When Yugly apologizes for having lost his ball, Puppaccino shows that he doesn’t need it any longer: he now feels confident with his body and with himself.

He’s a white teacup poodle who aspires to be a stand-up comedian despite an obvious lack of talent. Jerry J. is slightly despicable: although he has the means to, he refuses to free the dogs at the pound in order to keep them as his captive audience. But Yugly manages to convince him to free them by promising that Jerry will perform for the wide audience of the Deluxe Treat Arena. On the road to the show, Jerry J. gets on everyone’s nerves with his selfish remarks and unfunny jokes, if he is not spending his time quarreling with Geezer. But thanks to Yugly, Jerry J. reflects on his behavior and realizes that he needs to change. Towards the end, he is instrumental in saving Yugly ’s life when Gerald tries to finish the little dog.