The Call of the Wild Review

4 stars of heartwarming family adventure.

The Call of the Wild is a 2020 film based on the 1903 novel of the same name by Jack London (White Fang, The Iron Heel) with screenplay by Michael Green (American Gods). It is directed by Chris Sanders (The Croods, How To Train Your Dragon) and is his live action feature debut.

“I think your dog is broken..”

“He’s not broken, he’s just got Californian feet.”

Our story takes place in the late 1890s, during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush. Buck (motion capture by Terry Notary – Kong: Skull Island, Avengers: End Game) is a very large and equally spoiled family pet. This St. Bernard/Scotch Shepherd cross disgraces himself at a family get together, destroying the dining table and ending up outside as a punishment.

Unfortunately for all concerned, in these times of gold fever, large trainable dogs of all kinds are in high demand and unscrupulous dealers will take them from anywhere they can find them. Taken from his California home by one such dealer, Buck finds himself transported to the Yukon.

He finds and returns a harmonica to lonely outdoorsman John Thornton (Harrison Ford – Ender’s Game, Air Force One) before being purchased by Perrault (Omar Sy – Jurassic World).

Perrault and his partner Françoise (Cara Gee – The Expanse, Strange Empire) deliver mail across Alaska with their rag tag team of dogs, led by the aggressive husky Spitz. Buck learns to become part of a pack and begins to follow his natural instincts.

When a change in technology leads to the cancellation of the mail run, Buck finds his life changed again as he and the team are bought by would-be prospector Hal (Dan Stevens – Legion, The Guest) a cruel man with no knowledge of how to care for a dog team.

Luck leads him back to John Thornton and the two of them form a bond which will change them both forever.

The Call of the Wild is a very entertaining film to watch. Those who have read the novel will find this adaptation diluted somewhat to be accessible to younger viewers, however there is still plenty of action and adventure.

Harrison Ford’s grizzled and kindly performance lends real heart to this surprisingly emotional film and the other performances are excellent too. There is a lot of CGI involved including all of the animals and the locations. It is occasionally disconcerting, but for the most part it is very well done and in no way detracts from this inspiring story.

Full of breathtaking scenery and wild adventures, this film is well worth a watch and is one for the whole family to enjoy.

“See Buck, we don’t carry mail. We carry life. We carry hope. We carry love.”

The Call of the Wild is out now on Digital Download and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray 15th June 2020.