'The Call of the Wild' review:Well-crafted, kid-friendly adventure story
Harrison Ford stars in a live/animated adaptation of Jack London's 1903 novella about a pampered dog in 20th Century Fox's "The Call of the Wild." Credit: 20th Century Fox
PLOT A pampered dog adapts to the Yukon wilderness during the Gold Rush.
CAST Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Cara Gee
RATED PG (some intense scenes and deaths)
LENGTH 1:40
BOTTOM LINE A kid-friendly and much-softened version of Jack London's brutal novella.
Primal instincts resurface in a domesticated dog when he's thrust into Gold Rush-era Alaska in "The Call of the Wild," a new film adaptation of Jack London's 1903 novella. "He was ranging at the head of the pack," London wrote of his canine hero, Buck, "running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with his own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm blood."
Relax, parents: There's none of that in this movie, which features Harrison Ford as the kindly mountain-man John Thornton and a computer-animated incarnation of Buck. "The Call of the Wild" is a handsome-looking, well-crafted and decidedly kid-friendly adventure story with several thrilling and moving sequences. What it doesn't have is even a trace of the brutal violence and animal amorality that give London's story its stirring and enduring power.
"The Call of the Wild" introduces Buck as a big, bumbling rascal owned by the wealthy Judge Miller (Bradley Whitford). Genetically, Buck is part St. Bernard, part Scotch Collie, but cinematically he's a mix of Beethoven and Clifford, so enormous he shakes the house as he gallops through it. No wonder a dognapper steals the massive animal and sells him to pull sleds in Skagway, Alaska.
In the novel, that turning point begins Buck's retrogression (London's word) from civilized pet to feral animal — to his truer and purer self. Director Chris Sanders and writer Michael Green give us a coming-of-age story instead. Buck learns teamwork among the sled dogs of two mail couriers, Perrault (Omar Sy) and Francoise (Cara Gee, adding some gender parity to this ultra-male tale). Buck also faces his first bully, the conniving dog Spitz, in a rousing fight scene. Meanwhile, Buck is guided by a giant wolf spirit, whose rippling fur and yellow eyes should give younger viewers a nice case of goose pimples.
"The Call of The Wild" has several things going for it. One is Ford, who radiates gentleness and wisdom as Thornton, Buck's one true human love. Buck himself is a remarkable blend of photo-realism and cartoon, with subtle traces of emotion around his eyes and mouth. (Not an easy feat, as last year's expressionless "The Lion King" proved.) Terry Notary, a Cirque du Soleil veteran, also deserves credit for providing the motion-capture basis for Buck. Dan Stevens, as a jealous prospector named Hal, is a pure Disney villain, with narrowed eyes and a disagreeable moustache. (Disney, by the way, now owns this film's studio, 20th Century Fox.)
Many moments in "The Call of the Wild" are guaranteed to make London fans choke on their popcorn. In one, Buck kindly offers his dinner to a weaker dog; in another, he chases down a juicy snow hare but doesn't have the heart to kill it. So much for what London called "the law of club and fang." Kids will find much to enjoy in this movie. Just imagine their shock when they finally read the real thing.
FOUR MORE
Alaska may not be as popular a film setting as, say, Los Angeles or New York, but it's served as a backdrop for dozens of titles. Here are four examples:
THE FROZEN NORTH (1922) Buster Keaton stars in this semi-surreal comedy as a man who takes a subway (!) to Alaska, where horses pull sled-drawn "taxicabs" and people use carpet sweepers on the ice floors of their igloos.
RUNAWAY TRAIN (1985) Jon Voight and Eric Roberts deliver career-high performances as felons who escape from prison, only to find themselves on a driverless train barreling through Alaska. The eclectic group of screenwriters included YA author Paul Zindel and Akira Kurosawa, who is credited with the story.
GRIZZLY MAN (2005) Werner Herzog's mesmerizing documentary focuses on Timothy Treadwell, an amateur naturalist in Alaska who, despite warnings from park rangers, frequently socialized with grizzly bears. Treadwell and his girlfriend were killed and partially eaten by one in 2003.
THE PROPOSAL (2009) Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are a Canadian book publisher and her American assistant who agree to marry so she can obtain a visa. Much of this rom-com takes place in his small hometown of Sitka, Alaska, population 8,881. — RAFER GUZMAN
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