THE CALL OF THE WILD
****
Director: Chris Sanders
Screenwriter: Michael Green, based on the eponymous novel by Jack London.
Principal cast:
Harrison Ford
Terry Notary
Bradley Whitford
Omar Sy
Dan Stevens
Karen Gillan
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 100 mins.
Australian release date: 20 February 2020.
Based on the classic novel of the same name by the American author Jack London (a book that, incredibly, has never been out of print since it was first published in 1903), this latest cinematic incarnation of The Call Of The Wild uses similar photorealistic computer-animation techniques to those seen recently in The Lion King. The story has been filmed many times over the years, from a silent version in 1923 and the first sound adaptation in 1935, through to others in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Now, animation director Chris Sanders has taken on the big-themed tale, working from a script by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Michael Green (Logan).
Like the book, the movie begins in Santa Clara, California, where we meet Buck, a huge St. Bernard/Scotch Collie cross, a domesticated dog living in the home of kindly Judge Miller (Bradley Whitford). He’s a happy fellow, if a bit rambunctious and unaware of the mayhem his massive size can cause in the judge’s richly furnished rooms. It’s the time of the Klondike Gold Rush when strong animals like him are highly sought after as sled-dogs and, one night, Buck is lured from the house, captured and sold. After days of travel, he arrives in the North, where he is bought by a mail despatcher in the Yukon, Perrault (Omar Sy), and trained to be a member of his dog-team. Working with Perrault, Buck starts to mature, and travelling through the frozen, snowy terrain awakens in him the first stirrings of ‘the call of the wild.’ When the mail-run closes with the introduction of the telegraph, Buck is passed on to other masters, some good, some not, until he comes into the possession of John Thornton (Harrison Ford), a good-natured recluse still grieving the death of his son. Together, man and dog travel further into the wilderness, where Buck encounters his wild ancestors, the wolves; but there’s still one last remnant of ‘civilisation’ following them, in the form of crazed prospector Hal (Dan Stevens).
Motion capture technology allows Terry Notary to play Buck. Film lovers will recognise Notary’s name from movies like The Square and the Planet Of The Apes franchise. He’s an actor who specialises in animal movement and his extraordinary abilities are perfectly displayed in The Call Of The Wild. At first, it was envisaged that he would simply be doing the facial performances, the look in Buck’s eye, emotions like sadness and happiness, and so on, but Notary convinced the creatives that he could perform the canine’s body movements as well. Sanders stated that, “Terry was invaluable… Dog timing is a very specific thing. There's a certain unpredictability to a dog's timing, they have these offbeat moments where they'll tilt a head or blink an eye or just momentarily glance away, and he was able to do all those kinds of things, while at the same time, overcome his human physiology.” And he does overcome it. At no time do you think, ‘There’s a man in there!’ Harrison Ford is also in top form, playing a character of similar age (Ford is 77), a man who’s weary of life and ready to let everything go - even his beloved friend Buck. There’s true love at the heart of their relationship.
Green’s screenplay adheres to London’s novel reasonably well, at least until the demise of Thornton, and the change there can be put down to the differences in society’s sensibilities between 1903 and today. Apart from that, The Call Of The Wild covers matters that are as relevant now as they were last century. It’s a coming-of-age story that can be taken at face value or as an allegory for the stages of our own, human, lives. Either way, it’s a ripping yarn for young and old alike.
Screenwriter: Michael Green, based on the eponymous novel by Jack London.
Principal cast:
Harrison Ford
Terry Notary
Bradley Whitford
Omar Sy
Dan Stevens
Karen Gillan
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 100 mins.
Australian release date: 20 February 2020.
Based on the classic novel of the same name by the American author Jack London (a book that, incredibly, has never been out of print since it was first published in 1903), this latest cinematic incarnation of The Call Of The Wild uses similar photorealistic computer-animation techniques to those seen recently in The Lion King. The story has been filmed many times over the years, from a silent version in 1923 and the first sound adaptation in 1935, through to others in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Now, animation director Chris Sanders has taken on the big-themed tale, working from a script by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Michael Green (Logan).
Like the book, the movie begins in Santa Clara, California, where we meet Buck, a huge St. Bernard/Scotch Collie cross, a domesticated dog living in the home of kindly Judge Miller (Bradley Whitford). He’s a happy fellow, if a bit rambunctious and unaware of the mayhem his massive size can cause in the judge’s richly furnished rooms. It’s the time of the Klondike Gold Rush when strong animals like him are highly sought after as sled-dogs and, one night, Buck is lured from the house, captured and sold. After days of travel, he arrives in the North, where he is bought by a mail despatcher in the Yukon, Perrault (Omar Sy), and trained to be a member of his dog-team. Working with Perrault, Buck starts to mature, and travelling through the frozen, snowy terrain awakens in him the first stirrings of ‘the call of the wild.’ When the mail-run closes with the introduction of the telegraph, Buck is passed on to other masters, some good, some not, until he comes into the possession of John Thornton (Harrison Ford), a good-natured recluse still grieving the death of his son. Together, man and dog travel further into the wilderness, where Buck encounters his wild ancestors, the wolves; but there’s still one last remnant of ‘civilisation’ following them, in the form of crazed prospector Hal (Dan Stevens).
Motion capture technology allows Terry Notary to play Buck. Film lovers will recognise Notary’s name from movies like The Square and the Planet Of The Apes franchise. He’s an actor who specialises in animal movement and his extraordinary abilities are perfectly displayed in The Call Of The Wild. At first, it was envisaged that he would simply be doing the facial performances, the look in Buck’s eye, emotions like sadness and happiness, and so on, but Notary convinced the creatives that he could perform the canine’s body movements as well. Sanders stated that, “Terry was invaluable… Dog timing is a very specific thing. There's a certain unpredictability to a dog's timing, they have these offbeat moments where they'll tilt a head or blink an eye or just momentarily glance away, and he was able to do all those kinds of things, while at the same time, overcome his human physiology.” And he does overcome it. At no time do you think, ‘There’s a man in there!’ Harrison Ford is also in top form, playing a character of similar age (Ford is 77), a man who’s weary of life and ready to let everything go - even his beloved friend Buck. There’s true love at the heart of their relationship.
Green’s screenplay adheres to London’s novel reasonably well, at least until the demise of Thornton, and the change there can be put down to the differences in society’s sensibilities between 1903 and today. Apart from that, The Call Of The Wild covers matters that are as relevant now as they were last century. It’s a coming-of-age story that can be taken at face value or as an allegory for the stages of our own, human, lives. Either way, it’s a ripping yarn for young and old alike.
