The Call of the Wild is a vibrant story of Buck, a big and kindhearted dog, a crossbreed between a St. Bernard and a Scotch Collie, whose carefree life of leisure was suddenly upset when he was stolen from his home in Santa Clara County, California and deported up north, to be sold in Skagway, Alaska, and taken further north, to Dawson City, Yukon, during the late 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. As a newcomer to the dog team delivery servi... (Full plot summary below)
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The Call of the Wild is a vibrant story of Buck, a big and kindhearted dog, a crossbreed between a St. Bernard and a Scotch Collie, whose carefree life of leisure was suddenly upset when he was stolen from his home in Santa Clara County, California and deported up north, to be sold in Skagway, Alaska, and taken further north, to Dawson City, Yukon, during the late 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. As a newcomer to the dog team delivery service - and not before long their front-runner - Buck, a dog like no other, who had been spoiled, and who had suffered, but he could not be broken, is having the time of his life. Forced to fight to survive, eventually taken by his last owner, John Thornton, to proximity of the Arctic Circle, somewhere between Yukon and Alaska, he progressively depends on his primal instincts, sheds the comforts of civilization and responds to "the call of the wild", as master of his own.
Leave your thoughts about The Call of the Wild.
| Original-CinKaren GordonThe Call of the Wild is aiming to be an old-fashioned adventure movie for family viewing, and it delivers the requisite big warm cinematic hug. And more than being the story of a dog finding his inner wolf and fulfilling his destiny, it’s also an homage to the natural world. And that, wrapped in the adventures of a dog, is a pretty wonderful thing. |
| The Film StageDan MeccaUltimately, it’s the upbeat energy from Sanders’ direction that keeps the engine going. The Call of the Wild is a welcome adventure for a cold winter’s night. |
| ObserverRex ReedBuck is lovable forever. If you think he’s perfection on four legs, he is. If you think he’s the most human dog since Lassie, Benji and Rin Tin Tin, he isn’t. Because Buck, you see, is computer-generated. Never mind. I guarantee you will love him anyway. |
| The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenThe essence of the London story is retained, with stouthearted Buck being annealed by adversity, overcoming brutality, confusion and loneliness and then responding to the kindness of Thornton to become the leader of the pack. And all that is accomplished with a soft touch. What we have here is the call of the mild |
| Slant MagazineMichael Joshua RowinThe film’s avoidance of cruel Gold Rush realities is more than made up for by its spirited kineticism and by its deepening of the man-dog bond that forms the heart of London’s story. |
| Entertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee LenkerThough this tale of redemption and survival doesn’t feel particularly relevant or essential in today’s media landscape, it still has the capacity to entertain and move, well over a century after the story first was published. And Ford’s presence and performance inject it with a wild heart it desperately needs. |
| UproxxMike RyanI’m not sure who a faithful adaptation of The Call of the Wild would even be for in 2020. Instead, we get a pleasant movie about Harrison Ford having a nice time, laughing it up with his dog pal – and I really can’t imagine a better way to tell this story than that. |
| Film ThreatAlan NgThe Call of the Wild is actually a good story and ultimately works as a movie. |
| Austin ChronicleSteve DavisAt least the heroic Buck remains the focal point here, unlike in other less faithful screen incarnations that mainly trade on the familiar title. |
| Little White LiesElena LazicA winning adaptation that never condescends its audience. |
