Sam Carraclough, an out-of-work miner who struggles to earn enough to feed his family, reluctantly sells their Collie dog, Lassie, to the Duke of Rudling, whose granddaughter, Cilla, sees and likes her.

Lassie escapes once again, with Cilla's help, after Hynes beats the dog, for which the duke fires him, and makes the 500-mile journey back to Yorkshire.

The duke, recognizing Lassie, instead lets the family keep her by denying that it is the same dog and evicts Hynes from his premises for good.

The website's consensus reads: "A beautifully-made retelling of the classic collie tale, one need not be a dog-lover to fall for Lassie.

"[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[9] A New York Times reviewer said the film "balances cruelty and tenderness, pathos and humor without ever losing sight of its youngest audience member" and also exclaimed, "This 'Lassie' exhibits a repertory of facial expressions that would put Jim Carrey to shame".

"[10] BBC's Neil Smith said, "The combination of everyone's favourite canine and eye-catching Irish and Isle of Man locations ensure this nostalgic shaggy-dog story sends you home with your tail wagging.