Herr Bello (2007)

Max Sternheim lives with his father in a small German town. His mother has died, and her loss still weighs heavily on Max. He refuses to let his father fall in love again. But Mr. Sternheim has eyes only for the new lodger, Mrs. Lichtblau. A short time later, an old acquaintance turns up at his father’s pharmacy and gives Sternheim a mysterious substance. After they test it on a houseplant, it becomes clear that the mixture has magical powers: it makes the plant grow at an unnaturally fast rate. At a farm, Max meets a stray dog, whom he is allowed to take home and names Bello. By chance, Bello drinks some of the magical liquid and turns into a human. From then on, “Mr. Bello” lives in the Sternheims’ house and has to get used to human customs. While Max’s father tries to charm Mrs. Lichtblau, Mr. Bello also discovers that he is interested in the pretty lodger. Max immediately sees his chance to distract Mrs. Lichtblau from his father and tries to set her up with Mr. Bello. After a series of complications, Max cleverly manages to arrange a date for the two of them at a restaurant. But just as Mr. Bello happily sets off, the potion wears off and he turns back into Bello, who nevertheless goes to the restaurant. When Mr. Sternheim hears about the date, he hurries over to clear things up. At the restaurant, he tells Mrs. Lichtblau about Bello’s transformation, whereupon she angrily leaves. Max now realizes he has made a mistake. With Bello’s help, his father mixes up a new bottle of magic potion so that Mrs. Lichtblau can see with her own eyes how Bello turns back into Mr. Bello. After the demonstration, she takes Mr. Sternheim in her arms and marries him a little later.