Review of Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild is the story of all of us out there searching for our inner wolf

The CGI animals in this movie were so good, I just assumed it was a remake of an older animated Disney movie.

Seriously, I can’t even tell the difference anymore. I’m not even sure if there were some parts that were played by a real dog and some parts that were CGI and I’m not gonna look it up. As far as I’m concerned, all dogs and wolves in the movie were real and trained actors. I think if I ever show my kids Turner & Hooch, they’ll just ask why Mr. Rogers is working alongside such a horrible dog actor.

This is a movie adaptation of a book that came out 117 years ago. And they wisely didn’t try to modernize it. There are no need for cell phones or TVs or even cars. It’s the story of a dog’s journey from the living room to the wild. Buck starts out as a home body, but he’s meant for something more, though he doesn’t know it at the time. He is kidnapped and taken to the Yukon, where he is used as a sled dog for the US Postal Service until that route is no longer necessary. After another small adventure, he eventually ends up living with Harrison Ford in an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere. His journey is both exciting and poignant, as he rescues his owners, earns the respect of his canine peers, and learns about himself, specifically his ancestry in the form of a wolf, quite literally his spirit animal.

This story is a journey not all of us have the privilege to take, for lack of time and resources and “real life” problems. A journey of discovering oneself. Of listening to your inner wolf. An adventure the whole family will enjoy and learn from. The movie at times will be sad for the child and/or animal lover among us, but that pain is a necessary part of Buck’s journey. And in the end, Buck ends up right where he belongs, even if it’s not where he thought he belonged in the beginning of his journey. I look forward to telling my son this story tonight as he lay down in his bed. And hopefully one day, he’ll be inspired to seek out his own inner wolf. Perhaps I will too.

8/10

Dustin Fisher