Hearty Paws

An eleven-year-Old Boy steals a dog to give to his younger sister on her birthday. She loves the dog and names it "Maumy". They all live together in harmony, but something unexpected separates the boy and the dog. It's rare for a domestic film to have a dog as a main character.

"Maumy" ("Heart is...".), is a movie about a deep friendship between a dog named Maumy and a brother (Yoo Seung-ho) and sister (Kim Hyang-ki). Not surprisingly, one of the main characters is a four-year-old female Labrador Retriever named "Dari", the first "acting dog" in Chungmuro. Labrador Retrievers are known for gentle and faithful natures and used as guide dogs for the blind or as drug sniffing dogs. In the movie, Dari shows a variety of face expressions and excellent acting. The movie studio was enthusiastic about making Dari a star in the news conference. Dari won several dog training contests and Dari's owner Kim Jong-gwon brought Dari to the audition when he happened to find the news about making a movie with a dog as a main character.

The secret to Dari's acting is its voracity. In the scene Maumy runs after a train on which Chani (the brother character) is, Kim was on the train with a fried chicken leg. Other scenes were also shot with the help of sausages and squid ice cream. In the scene Dari covers with newspaper Chani who is sleeping on the streets as a homeless, Kim had to divide the move and train Dari for each part: bringing newspaper, crouching, and lowering its head.

The care for Dari, a "lead actress", was the top grade. On a break, Dari rested in a Starex van with a carpet and curtained windows. It cost 5 million won to remodel the van. After a day with lots of shootings, Dari was allowed to rest the next day. Dari's son Jjangi played the part of Dari in the scene of fighting with a Shepherd. An imitation was used for the scene Dari is bitten by the Shepherd. Dari is a fine dog worth 100 million won. Kim received 50 million won for Dari's acting in the movie. It may seem too much. But a consideration was given to the fact that Kim had to give up on his job as a business manager and concentrate on the movie.