2020   20th Century Studios

Rated:  PG

Length:  1 hr  40min

Adventure ~ Drama ~ Family

Directed by:  Chris Sanders

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Cara Gee, Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan, and Bradley Whitford and……..BUCKLEY.

“Every summer when he comes down to the valley, he remembers kind hands and old Masters. Before he became his own Master, before he heard…….The Call Of The Wild.”

THE CALL OF THE WILD   is a Classic Movie starring a Classic Movie Star based on a Classic Novel by Jack London . It reminds me of The Disney Movies I watched on Sunday Nights on The Wonderful World of Disney as a kid. It tells the story of Buck, a 140 pound St. Bernard – Scotch Shepherd dog, living the good life in Santa Clara, California with his owner Judge Miller and his family. It is 1897 and the Gold rush is in full swing in the Yukon region of Alaska. There is a growing need for strong dogs to pull the sleds and huge bounties are being paid for suitable dogs. Judge Miller’s Gardner notices how big a dog Buck is and sees a quick way to make some money. He tricks Buck with a treat, locks him in a wooden crate and sells him to a dog trader.

Buck ends up in the Yukon in Alaska and is sold to a Mail carrier and his wife. Buck has California feet and it is a rude awakening away from the life of luxury he was taken from. Turned into a sled dog seemingly overnight Buck must fight for his survival and grow into an amazing sled dog. Along the way he meets John Thornton (Harrison Ford) who Buck will eventually team up with for an adventure that will change both Buck and John Thornton’s lives. It is a great adventure that Buck has gone on. Starting as a domestic pet to full time sled dog in the Yukon, changing from slave to master of his own destiny, changing the very nature of Timber Wolves in the Yukon.

It is a great story. It is a great movie, I consider it classic. Harrison Ford does an outstanding job of acting with a CGI dog. I think of Buck as a real dog in the movie, he is CGI but I immediately grew fond of Buck. As the director Chris Sanders and his wife Jessica Steele-Sanders tells the story to Disney, I now know why. The real Buck was found by Jessica Steele-Sanders on the app Pet finder by accident. He was found on the street in Kansas, an exact duplicate of the breed in Jack London’s novel. Jessica drove two days from California to go get Buckley (The dog’s actual name believe it or not). Everyone immediately fell for Buckley and The CGI Buck is based on Buckley. Buckley now lives with Chris and Jessica.

All of the CGI dogs in the movie were based on real life counterparts. Watching the video about Buckley you can see that his character was realistically portrayed by the CGI Buck. I have to confess that I am a dog guy and fell for Buck. I am actually a little jealous of Buck. No, I have no desire to pull a dogsled, but I am envious of his journey. After all he went through, in the end, he finds true happiness and freedom.

I’ve probably seen this half a dozen times and would gladly watch it again.

Highly Recommended!

Two Thumbs Up!