Forty years after Dog, Wal and the gang first hit the big screen, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most beloved films is heading back to cinemas. A new trailer for the remastered 4K version of Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tale has been released, ahead of a 40th-anniversary theatrical re-release in cinemas nationwide from 28 January 2027.

More than 700,000 New Zealanders saw the film in cinemas on its original release in 1986, making it the country’s most successful film at the time. It grossed more than NZ$2.5 million in Aotearoa—approximately NZ$7.24 million in today’s terms—and over A$4 million in Australia, and remains in the top 10 highest-grossing Aotearoa films of all time.

Aotearoa’s first animated feature film, Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tale brought Murray Ball’s iconic comic strip to life, following Wal Footrot and his faithful border collie Dog through life, love and trouble on the farm. Four decades on, the film remains unmistakably Kiwi—from Dog’s eternal pursuit of Jess and Wal’s romance with Cheeky Hobson, to Cooch, Rangi and the fearsome Murphys from across the river.

There’s a fitting piece of history behind the timing: the trailer arrives exactly 40 years after Slice of Heaven first entered the Aotearoa charts on 2 October 1986. Written by Dave Dobbyn for the film and performed with Herbs, Slice of Heaven reached No. 1 on the Aotearoa charts, where it stayed for more than six weeks, and went Gold within five weeks of release. It was named ‘Song of the Year’ at the 1986 New Zealand Music Awards and remains one of Aotearoa’s most enduring singles.

Directed by Murray Ball, produced by John Barnett and Pat Cox, and written by Ball with Tom Scott, Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tale features the voices of some of Aotearoa’s best-loved performers, including John Clarke as Wal Footrot, Peter Rowley as Dog, Rawiri Paratene as Rangi, Fiona Samuel as Cheeky Hobson and Billy T. James as Pawai.