The Call of the Wild is the first movie to be released by the newly minted ‘20th Century Studios’, fresh off of their Disney Acquisition, and it’s a lot better than most people thought. It is directed by Chris Sanders, his first live-action work after a career of animation (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon). He transitions well to the new medium of storytelling, delivering a very well put together final product. It was also oddly enough, written by industry heavyweight Michael Green, known for his work on Blade Runner 2049 and Logan. The film stars Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan, Bradley Whitford, and Colin Woodell, although co-stars is probably a more accurate term. The real stars of the show are the VFX team who brought the main character, the entirely computer-generated dog ‘Buck,’ to life. While the very similar Disney Plus original Togo captures similar moments with real animals, it’s Bucks cartoonish attitude (that can only be pulled off with a digital animal) that gives him his charm. You find yourself rooting for him throughout the movie, despite the fact he isn’t real. The practicality of using real animals in some of these scenarios must have also been a big part of the decision to go digital, but at the end of the day, it works and Buck is still the undisputed protagonist.
On that note, this movie was marketed as a Harrison Ford film, but he really is not in it as much as you would think, maybe half of the movie at most. He comes in for what is essentially an elongated version of one of the shorts in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, but a mighty good one at that. When he is actually on screen, he gives a surprisingly deep and nuanced performance, especially when you consider he is interacting with a completely computer-generated character. However, it was the very likable Omar S
y, who was virtually hidden in all the marketing material, who delivered my favorite performance. Just like Harrison Ford, his interactions with Buck sell the idea that this is a real thing they’re talking to. When he unceremoniously exited about halfway through the script, I was disappointed. I was equally disappointed with Dan Stevens’s very generic bad guy, who served as a sort of foil to Harrison Ford in the latter half of the film. It felt a tad overdone and a good bit cheesy, but it got the job done. The story still sticks the landing and satisfies for a surprisingly intense conclusion.
My mother always used to say to me, “There’s nothing wrong with a good dog movie.” Now while that may not actually be true, the sentiment remains and I didn’t think there was anything really bad about this movie. Unfortunately, It’s likely that now that not many people will be seeing any movies in the theaters, but if this comes on streaming its worth a watch. It’s a feel-good, heartwarming, even exciting experience that provides an enjoyable time at the theater, you can’t really ask any more than that.
4/5 STARS