20th Century Studios
The technology that is used in movies can create amazing things. Computers can make older actors look younger and create futuristic worlds. Computers can also create fake looking dogs and have them interact with Harrison Ford. Harrison Ford’s canine co-star in The Call of the Wild was the talk of its release back when it hit theaters in February and VOD at the end of March. The production team used computer animation to create Buck, Ford’s counterpart in the film. This was a topic of discussion because many films previously have been able to use real dogs to star in films like the most recent one, Togo. With having CGI dogs, nothing about the interactions with human characters felt believable and The Call of the Wild ended up being one of the most distracting films of the year so far.
The Call of the Wild is based on Jack London’s 1903 novel set during the 1890’s Klondike Gold Rush. Ford plays outdoorsman John Thornton, who befriends a large St. Bernard/Scotch Collie, Buck, who struggles for survival in the wilds of the Yukon. I remember reading London’s novel in 6th grade and enjoying the story of a dog and all the adventures he went on. The themes of self-discovery were a point of discussion in elementary school and were one of the strong themes of the story.
Harrison Ford is easily the best part of the movie. Despite having a limited role in the film that mostly comes towards the end of the movie, he was able to build a connection with the dog. The story focuses on Buck’s journey as he is stolen from his home and eventually lives in the wild. I enjoyed the scenes of Buck and Jack bonding in the wilderness over fishing and gold panning. The two develop a strong relationship towards the tail end of the film. Anybody who has ever owned a dog and loved them can relate to Jack’s storyline and his feeling towards Buck. It would be hard to express your feelings towards a dog especially when its just a person acting as a dog, but I was impressed with how Ford handled his scenes.
20th Century Studios
By having all the animals in the film by created by computer animation, it took away all the emotions and thrills from the film. There were plenty of action scenes within the film, but with a mixture of green screen and CGI animals, none of it felt intense. I enjoyed the story of Buck’s journey in the wild as a kid and I still do as an adult, but the film was stripped of its emotional moments towards the end with Jack and Buck. Those were heavier parts of the novel and were developed throughout the book, but it felt thin throughout the movie.
The Call of the Wild was a decent film. There weren’t that many exciting moments despite having action scenes throughout. Harrison Ford does the best he can do when working with a guy acting as a dog. Much like everyone else, I thought the CGI dogs were very distracting. The smarter choice would have been choosing real dogs to star in the film and then have smaller moments with CGI dogs during the action scenes. If you would like a more faithful adaptation, I would suggest checking out the 1996 film, The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon starring Rutger Hauer and narrated by Richard Dreyfuss.
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