Fluke

A little story about a stray puppy who lost his way and is now trying to find his family.

His human family.

Fluke is a 1995 film about a dog named Fluke, who for most of his life remembers brief flashes of his other life, leading him to believe that in his past life he was actually a human named Tom with a family and a job. Upon finding his widowed wife and son, his memory intensifies as well as his suspicions, especially against his former business partner Jeff whom he believes caused his human death.

Tropes used in Fluke include:

• A Boy and His X: A boy and his dog. Actually scratch that... a reincarnated dog and his human son.
• Amplified Animal Aptitude
• Animal Talk: Animals seemingly can understand each other, as well as human speech. Humans cannot understand animals, of course.
• Big Damn Heroes: Rumbo, who rescues Fluke and other animals from animal experiments at a cosmetics company. It doesn't end well for him.
• Big Friendly Dog: Fluke and to some degree, Rumbo.
• Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Done with the same person. When Tom dies in the opening, he is soon reincarnated as a newly born puppy.
• Dogs Are Dumb: Averted.
• Precious Puppies
• Fridge Horror: According to the movie, everyone can reincarnate into someone else, particularly different species. Also, that fly you killed yesterday? Someone's reincarnated grandfather.
• Hey, It's That Voice!: Rumbo is voiced by Samuel L. Motherfuckin' Jackson.
  • Fluke and Tom are played by Joker.
• Homeless Person: Bella (not that Bella) who decides to raise Fluke after he escapes from a pound.
• It's All My Fault: Said word for word when Fluke remembers what really happened on the night of his accident.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Fluke leaves Carol and Brian after he realizes he's only been getting in the way of their happiness. He does ensure he'll always be with them as he uncovers his grave.
• Jerkass: Jeff, at first. Turns out Tom was the real Jerkass who ignored his family, worked days and nights and refused to develop Jeff's brake system.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: What Fluke believes Jeff did to his past human self.
• Married to the Job: Tom. He only gets to know his family better as a dog.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After causing Jeff's car crash, Fluke regains his memories as Tom and realizes that Jeff didn't have anything to do with his accident other than his own carelessness.
• Old Dog: Rumbo, a Saint Bernard.
• One-Woman Wail: The music makes some use of it, but most powerful during Fluke's real flashback of Tom's death.
• Pounds Are Animal Prisons
• Romancing the Widow: Jeff toward Carol.
• Reincarnation: A big theme in the film, as the main character upon his death reincarnates as a Golden Retriever.
  • Rumbo was once a sailor and Bert's brother (the man who feeds him and Fluke.)
    • At the end of the movie, he is revealed to have been reincarnated again as a squirrel.
• Revenge by Proxy: To get revenge on Jeff, Fluke hides in the backseat of his car and attacks him, causing him to crash which also flings Fluke through the window.
• Rule Number One: Rumbo states various rules, all numbered one, throughout the film.
• Save the Day Turn Away: Textbook example. Fluke saves his son and reveals his true identity to his ex-wife. She screams his name as he flees into the night.
• Widow Woman: Carol.