It's an unfortunate state of affairs that movies like "My Dog Skip" come along all too rarely these days.

In fact, the last time a live-action family film this charming, this refreshingly sweet-natured, showed up in theaters was last year, when the fact-based drama "October Sky" came along with little or no fanfare.

Admittedly, this drama — based on award-winning author Willie Morris' recollections of life in World War II-era Mississippi — isn't quite as good as that one. For one thing, "My Dog Skip" is a bit manipulative and sappy, and there are some scenes that may disturb younger viewers (particularly sequences that depict violence against animals).

But the messages put forth by the film about hero worship, friendship and racial tolerance are well-done and surprisingly subtle. All of which suggests that Jay Russell is one of only a handful of filmmakers who remember how to tell a good, old-fashioned story.

And make no mistake about it, this is as old-fashioned a tale as you've seen on the big screen in a while, about the friendship between a boy and his pet.

The boy here is Willie Morris at age 9 (played by Frankie Muniz, from TV's "Malcolm in the Middle"). An unpopular bookworm, Willie is distraught when his best friend — star athlete and town stud Dink Jenkins (Luke Wilson) — is shipped out to Europe as a U.S. Army infantryman.

After some initial disagreement about whether Willie is mature enough to handle it, the boy's parents (Kevin Bacon and Diane Lane) decide to give him a pet to ease the pain — an adorable Jack Russell terrier that he names Skipper, or Skip for short.

To nearly everyone's surprise, the dog actually helps the introverted youth become more popular, first with the prettiest girl in school, Rivers Applewhite (Caitlin Wachs), and then with the bullies who have tormented him for years.

But even his trusted animal companion can't prepare Willie for the shock he receives when Dink returns to town — not as a decorated war hero, but as a deserter who is now shunned even by his own family.

Russell, a former television documentarian and music-video director, shows a surprising flair for features (this is his second film, after the Sundance Film Festival selection, "End of the Line").

Of particular note is Russell's ability to keep the film from sinking into maudlin cliches. Of course, he's aided immeasurably by a great cast. The experienced adult actors are all very good (especially Bacon, as Willie's stern but loving father).

But it's really Muniz's show. Employing a subtly effective Southern drawl, the boy makes a very appealing, even sympathetic lead character, and he displays a good range of emotion.

However, he's nearly upstaged by his scene-stealing canine co-star Enzo (and later, Moose, who plays Eddie on TV's "Frasier").

"My Dog Skip" is rated PG for violence (including violence against animals — though most of that is offscreen and overheard), scattered mild profanities, some crude humor and use of racial epithets.