Poor but happy, young Nello and his grandfather live alone, delivering milk as a livelihood, in the outskirts of Antwerp, a city in Flanders (the Flemish or Dutch-speaking part of modern-day Belgium). They discover a beaten dog (a Bouvier, a large sturdy dog native to Flanders) and adopt it and nurse it back to health, naming it Patrasche, the middle name of Nello's mother Mary, who died when Nello was very young. Nello's mother was a talented artist, and like his mother, he delights in drawing, and his friend Aloise is his model and greatest fan and supporter.
Jack Warden
Jehan
Jeremy Kissner
Nello
Jesse James
Young Nello
Jon Voight
Michel
Cheryl Ladd
Anna
Bruce McGill
William
Steven Hartley
Cogez
Andrew Bicknell
Stephens
Farren Monet
Aloise
Antje De Boeck
Millie
Madylin Sweeten
Young Aloise
James Garde
Steerns
Jenny Tanghe
Gertrude
Fred Van Kuyk
Mayor
Bouli Lanners
Constable
