Hey everybody and welcome to a new 2020 movie review! For this one I’ll be going back to a little earlier in the year to take a look at a movie that has been somewhat overlooked since it’s initial theatrical release. I am of course talking about the Call of the Wild which is an adaptation of the acclaimed novel written by Jack London who is a very prolific writer whose most popular stories tend to revolve around nature and survival and have some aspects of his own life experiences thrown in for good measure. While I’ve actually never read “The Call of the Wild” I have read his other famous book, “White Fang”, which I really love as I think it’s extremely well written, engrossing, and has a lot of compelling themes. So naturally I was interested in seeing how one of his novels would be adapted and this type of story seems right up director, Chris Sanders’s wheel house so I was excited to see what he would do with this material. Luckily I thought he did an impressive job here as I found this to be a compelling and at times beautifully done wilderness adventure. Now let’s head off on a grand adventure through the great unknown to see what made this such a heartfelt surprise!
Set in the late 19th century the story follows a St. Bernard/Scotch Collie dog named Buck who lives in Santa Clara, California with his owner, Judge Miller. Now Buck is as pampered as any dog could be and he just loves to run around and have fun getting into all kinds of mischief even if he ends up getting in trouble with his master. One night however Buck gets captured by some mysterious men and is then sent to the Yukon via freighter. While scared of the situation he is in and unsure of this brand new environment, as his journey progresses and he meets more new faces such as the sledding mailman, Perrault, and an old loner named Jack Thornton, who has a past of his own, he comes to learn more about his true nature and unearth a long dormant wild side through extreme circumstances that push him to become more than who he is.
Even though I’ve never read the book this is based on this still feels right in line with London’s way of storytelling and deals with themes that are common in his works. Those being that of nature vs. nurture, survival of the fittest, the power that companionship can have, and more and the movie does a really nice job of showcasing these themes through Buck’s character arc. We see him start out as this pampered dog afraid of the unknown but as the movie progresses and we see how his environment is changing him he starts to awaken his wild side (visually portrayed as a black wolf) and I thought it was a satisfying arc that was really well done. Even more impressive is that while there is narration by Jack, there were also times were the visuals would tell the story and convey what’s going on and I’m always impressed when a movie is able to do that successfully. It also works very well as a story about friendship as Buck comes to befriend Jack as his owner and I really like how that was handled as it leads to many funny scenes and also a quite a few emotional moments that do leave an impression and it helps that the movie is able to balance the comedy (which can be quite funny especially when it concerns Buck’s playful personality) and heart very well while also not shying away from some of the more darker elements of London’s works (like that of animal brutality). Even it’s pacing is somewhat refreshing as it’s content with letting us go on this journey with this dog and seeing what goes down and it’s just the type of wilderness adventure story that we don’t see much of nowadays. My only real issue with the story really has to do with the third act as it felt a little more rushed and uneven than the rest of the movie. Now there are many moments and ideas that are wonderful (like Buck meeting up with a pack of wolfs) but it just felt that the movie wanted to shorten them just so that we can get to the ending quicker and I felt more time should’ve been given. It’s still well done for the most part and the ending is effective it’s just that I felt more screen time would’ve made it even better. On the whole though it still works as a heartfelt and often beautifully done tale.
Now much has been said about the choice to use completely CGI animals instead of actual ones ever since the first trailer drop and many people have stated how much they hate the choice finding it to feel uncanny and unnecessary. While I can understand people just preferring if it was fully animated or who just didn’t like the effects I found them to be really exaggerated and seeing the film itself I think it is able to justify the decision. Of course it means that no actual animals would get harmed during filming but it also fits the story being told as Buck is the focus of the movie and thus requires facial expression to emote and express how he is feeling and I feel like the VFX artist did a great job making him to life in that regard as you can tell just by his expressions what he is thinking (same goes for the other animals). Does it take some getting used to? Yes as it is a little weird seeing these computer generated dogs interact in a real setting with real people but I did get used to it and it never was a huge distraction for me. I also thought Terry Notary did fine work with the mo cap for Buck as he really was able to capture a dog’s movements in a convincing manner. Really in general the VFX work is extremely well done and it along with the production design and costumes do a good job of capturing the 19th century, Gold Rush setting well and the vastness of the Yukon and the wilderness in general is captured nicely here. The film also just looks gorgeous at times with Januz Kaminski’s cinematography being a highlight as there are just some scenes that are just beautiful to look at and immerses us into the story even more. As for Chris Sanders he proves himself to be the perfect match for this material as he brings that same sense of wonder and adventure that he brought to his other movies and he shows why he so good at bringing these types of unlikely friendship stories to life with way he does certain scenes making them have a nice quiet or relaxing feel to it. He also excels at the building up a lot of excitement especially when Buck is fighting with another dog, leading the sleigh dogs, or helping the wolfs out the stand out being an avalanche sequence which has a lot of tension and shows Sander’s knack for crafting visually engaging and exciting action. Also we have a little reunion here as composer, John Powell, has worked with Sanders on the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy and he once again composes some sweeping, grand music here really capturing the vibe of the movie so well and being just darn great on it’s own terms. It’s honestly one of my favorite scores of last year and one that I think should get more attention as it is really fantastic. Again the looks animals may not be for everyone but for me they worked and everything else regarding this movie on a technical level was very impressive.
Of course among the bigger draws for this movie is regarding Harrison Ford as I’d argue this is his first true lead (or co-lead alongside Buck) role in quite some time as he’s mostly just done supporting stuff over the last couple of years. Not surprisingly he is as good as he’s always is as Jack giving a very solid performance as Jack selling the drama and the comedy very well (I also find him to do comedy really well due to how naturally he sells it) and is able to act alongside a digital dog rather convincingly and it helps in making us buy into their relationship even more. The character himself is very well written as he is kind man that has gone through some tough things in his life and he finally is able to find happiness and some sort of purpose with Buck. I like the way in which how things are revealed about him as the movie goes on as it never feels like spoon feeding information and it makes the emotion all the more effective. The friendship between him and Buck is beautiful and the beating heart of the movie and it was a pleasure seeing where that went. Funny enough he actually isn’t the focus until later on in the movie as we spend a good amount of time with Perrault, the sledding mailman who always wants to arrive on time played by Omar Sy. He’s not as developed as Jack but I still thought he served his role well and Sy gives a pleasant performance as the good hearted man who helps Buck by making him a sled dog and he gets some really funny moments. He’s also accompanied by his assistant, a Native American mail runner named Francoise played by Cara Gee and she also serves her purpose in the movie well. The only character that could’ve used some work was Dan Steven’s Hal, another master Buck has who is abusive and grows a vendetta against Jack due to some huge misunderstandings and just plain stubbornness. Now I don’t mind the idea of the character as he is meant to be another obstacle for Buck to face and even taps into the obsessive nature of the Gold Rush during that time, but I just felt like Stevens, who has proven himself to be very good at portraying villains (just look at his fantastic work as Scarlemagne in the animated series, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts), was a bit too over the top here and didn’t completely fit with the tone of the movie. The rest of the cast does well in their roles and there are a couple of familiar faces that were fun to see here and there but again the focus is mainly on Buck and his own journey as well as the different owners he encounters along the way.
In the end I found the Call of the Wild to be a beautiful and and investing film that I feel is greatly overlooked. It does a nice job at capturing the themes of London’s works, Buck’s character arc is wonderfully realized, the main friendship is compelling, Sander’s direction is great, the CGI dogs work within the context of the movie, the visuals can be stunning, and Harrison Ford gives a strong performance as Jack. Aside from the third act benefitting from more time, the effects taking a little bit of time to get used and Steven’s over the top performance I was very impressed by this movie and I’d actually consider it among my favorites that I’ve seen from last year as it really did exceed my expectations. It’s the type of family movie we don’t see too much of nowadays and I’m hoping it gets more attention as I felt it was somewhat ignored due to the mixed reactions to the CGI. Hopefully people will look past that as there is a really well done story here and I’m excited to see what Chris Sanders will do next in the future.
Rating: A-
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