*Get "The Call of the Wild" (2020) on Amazon here*
*Get "Call of the Wild" (1935) on Amazon here*
*Get "The Call of the Wild" (1972) on Amazon here*
*Get The Call of the Wild by Jack London on Amazon here*
Maybe I shouldn't have finished Jack London's celebrated novel, and then watched this sanitized film the same day.
Set in the early 1900's, Buck, a half St. Bernard/half Shepherd mix dog, is a goofy screw-up in the same vein as "Clifford the Big Red Dog" or "Beethoven," wreaking havoc in Judge Miller's (Bradley Whitford) household. Buck is kidnapped, sold, and tossed on a ship headed to the Klondike Gold Rush, where he is put onto a mail delivery team run by Perrault (Omar Sy) and Francoise (Cara Gee), running into John (Harrison Ford) here and there in a gold rush town. Buck asserts his dominance with the team after a bunch of screw-ups, is bought by tenderfoot Hal (Dan Stevens) and his brood, and eventually finds his way back into the loving arms of John, who is suffering on his own. John is invigorated by Buck, and takes him on a hunt for fabled treasure that would prove to be their last adventure together.
We need to address the elephant in the room- Buck is computer animated, CGI, whatever you want to call it, and it is very noticeable. I could understand if it was needed to not put a real dog in peril, but since Buck is in almost every scene, it takes you out of the film from start to finish. Director Sanders' background is in animation, and every shot is manufactured and unrealistic- never has a squalid mining town looked so dainty. London's novel was a bloody, violent affair, but the film makers opted to make a message-filled movie, with a story that is kicked into overdrive so the kids don't get bored. The screenwriter messes with the basic plot of the novel, taking attention away from Buck to give Ford some acting scenes. Other important plot points are dropped entirely, perhaps explaining Michael Horse's one scene. The movie is breathtaking in its bogus look, but the live action/animation hybrid does not work. The novel was told from Buck's point of view, and with this film, he has been gifted with Superdog powers like facial expressions, English language comprehension, alcohol abstinence, and perhaps the ability to read. Buck's transition from dumb dog to leader of the pack is quicker than Jack going bonkers in "The Shining," and the musical score sounds too similar to another animated wilderness-bound misfire "The Good Dinosaur." I did like the personification (dogification?) of Buck's ancestral call in the shape of a gray wolf with glowing eyes but that is introduced and dropped quickly. I've lived in North Dakota for most of my life, I know cold weather, and no amount of computer animation can replace actual location shooting. It was nice to see Ford smile onscreen again, I'm not a fan of the cranky old dude persona that he's been trotting out for the last few years. His performance is reliable, but nothing spectacular. The producers do make with some woke messaging here and there, and it stands out only because I read the novel, and common sense would tell you that the Klondike Gold Rush could not have been this antiseptic and progressive.
London's story has been told a number of times onscreen, it would be interesting to track down the other versions as well since this version of "The Call of the Wild" couldn't possibly be "the best." You might stick to reading the original novel instead.
Stats:
(2020) 100 min. (3/10)
-Directed by Chris Sanders
-Screenplay by Michael Green based on the novel by Jack London
-Cast: Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Cara Gee, Dan Stevens, Bradley Whitford, Jean Louisa Kelly, Michael Horse, Karen Gillan, Colin Woodell, Micah Fitzgerald, Heather McPhaul, Adam Fergus, Stephanie Czajkowski
-(PG)- Physical violence, mild gun violence, some adult situations, alcohol use
-Media Viewed: Digital
