Animated films have famously bestowed animals with human voices. The focus now is on dogs, our humble companions, just the way they are. We don't want to make them in our image, rather for them to make us more human instead.

Other creatures weigh in – we see bears who become loyal partners and fish who mirror kids in distress among others. Yet dogs will remain our best friends, because whether playful or sad, yearning for freedom or perhaps becoming our enemies by monopolising attention, they can tell us more about ourselves than we would have guessed.