The filmmakers of “A Dog’s Purpose” have recently faced animal abuse allegations after footage of a handler seemingly forcing a German Shepard into turbulent waters on-set of the movie surfaced.

The video released by TMZ sparked controversy, prompting PETA, a major animal welfare group, to call for a boycott of the film.

The film’s producer, director, and members of the cast have spoken out about the video. In an essay for The Hollywood Reporter, Gavin Polone, the film’s producer and a self-professed animal lover, said that the video is inexcusable, but asserted there’s more to the story than the video shows.

Polone said the dog did the scene in rehearsal without a problem, but before the first take, the handlers were asked to change the start point of the dog from the left side, where he had rehearsed, to the right side. Polone said this is what alarmed the dog, and once they moved back to the original position, the dog was comfortable doing the scene.

Continuing in his essay, Polone said there was a calmer path in the artificial water turbulence for the dog to move through, which is not shown in the video. He also said the video gives the impression the dog was thrown in and drowned because the video never shows the dog pulled out, unharmed and unfazed.

Polone lastly addressed PETA’s reaction to the video. He said the group has been sensationalizing the video to promote its own cause by circulating it with a clip from the movie’s trailer that shows a dog jumping into treacherous waters. He said this is misleading because the dog shown in the trailer is a computer-generated dog, not a real dog.

Backing Polone's claims, "A Dog's Purpose" author and co-screenwriter W. Bruce Cameron said he reviewed additional footage from the day in question that showed the dog doing the stunt when he was allowed to return to his original spot.

Director Lasse Hallstrom acknowledged the video in a series of tweets that said he was disturbed by the video and did not witness the actions.

Josh Gad, who voices the dog throughout the movie, expressed his concern in a tweet, too. He said he was never on set for the making of the film but has asked for an explanation.

Dennis Quaid, one of the stars of the film, said in an interview with Ellen Degeneres that he believes there is more to the story. While talking about his love of dogs, he teared up. He said he believes the director has a great respect for dogs.

Degeneres and Quaid hope people won’t boycott the movie. In the segment, Degeneres said she hopes people see the movie because it will make them have a deeper respect for and love of animals, which they deserve because they can't speak for themselves.

Whether the director and producer were actually on-set at the time of the video or not, which TMZ reports was taken at a pool outside Winnipeg, Canada, the footage is inexcusable. The video still shows a dog in an uncomfortable and dominating situation. The dog still ends up submerged in water for a few seconds at some point in the making of the film, even though it is unclear when.

The footage shows some evidence of mistreatment, but the timing of the video's release and the editing are both suspicious. TMZ said they obtained the video in November of 2015. November of 2015! So, why is this being released now? Why wait over a year to make this known? Why take so long?

The editing of the video seems a bit suspicious, too. The video seems to be two separate clips put together. In the second clip, the dog is submerged in the water, and nothing is shown leading up to how the dog came to be that way. Something may be missing.

What’s more disturbing in the video, on top of the fact that someone would mistreat an animal in any way, is the voice that can be heard in the background. While watching the dog struggle, someone laughs and says, “[The dog] wants to get away. Just throw him in.”

I can't even begin to imagine how someone can actually be amused by, maybe even enjoy, the sight of an animal being mistreated, let alone someone doing it him/herself. The video is definitely not something you want to see, especially if you’re a dog lover. It’s shocking and makes you wonder who would ever do such a thing.

When the target audience for a film about a dog (who discovers the meaning of his existence through the lives of humans after being reincarnated several times) is a bunch of dog lovers, the idea of mistreating dogs to make the film is extremely upsetting.

The premiere and press junket for the film were canceled amid controversy, but the film still opened in theaters on January 27.

I hope, for the dog’s sake and the sake of the self-proclaimed dog-loving filmmakers, there is more to the story. And even if there is, what can be seen in the footage is unjustifiable.