Once again, the movies have paired Harrison Ford with a furry co-star. The Wookie Whisperer has been paired so many times with a mass of fur, one wonders why he’s never been romantically involved with a werewolf. Remember how he reminisced in Last Crusade, “I have a lot of fond memories of that dog?” Perhaps he was thinking about Buck, his canine companion in The Call of the Wild, a film that takes place roughly forty years prior to Last Crusade.
Buck is the true star of Call of the Wild. A very good-natured St. Bernard mix born somewhere in the mid-1890s, Buck is dognapped from the plushy California home where he ruined everything. You want to imagine this was a straight kidnap/selling-off-to-dog-slavery issue, but let’s look at a few facts: 1) Buck is a menace. 2) Buck singlepawdedly ruined a fancy outdoor party feast. 3) The thieves knew his name; they even had it written on the abduction crate. 4) Despite the enticing ads, I’m not sure there’s a lucrative future in the competitive field of dognapping. So … I’m not sayin’ his owner set it up … but I’m not denyin’ it, either. I’m also wondering why such a prominent live-in-maid California family estate had no understanding of the terms “leash” and “tether.” Did rope not exist in the 1890s?
Eventually Buck finds Skagway, Alaska and becomes a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. The best scenes in the film happen with Buck learning his role as working dog under Perrault (Omar Sy) and Françoise (Cara Gee). This is where Buck also starts to hallucinate. In story terms, the black wolf appearing to Buck and Buck alone is The Call of the Wild, an imaginary force propelling Buck to live wild and free. To someone who sees all things in the oppressive light of flaw-exposing cynicism, there’s a dog on screen who is hallucinating and cannot tell the difference between the real and the imagined.
Perhaps it doesn’t matter. After all, he’s a dog. Love them I do, but no dog I’ve ever owned could tell the difference between the mail carrier and an existential threat to mankind.
The previews made it look like there were two Bucks: a live version, and a CGI version. Go ahead and watch: “real dog, real dog, fake dog, real dog, fake dog, fake dog, fake dog, real dog …” The final product, thankfully, considerably blurred the dichotomy. In the end, one could reasonably guess when something fake was on-screen (“dogs aren’t actors”), but it was much better not being able to tell instantly. Hence, the screenplay becomes much more dog-friendly.
The Call of the Wild is one of those movies likely to be remade every generation or so. Your generational results may vary. Unfortunately, the tale fairly anachronistic. You can’t set The Call of the Wild in 2050, where roboBuck answers the beggin’ bacon beacon beckon from robowolf, can you? I dunno. Maybe you can. I more-or-less enjoyed Acts II and III of this film in which Harrison Ford became Buck’s companion, but the strength of this film lies in Buck’s transition from obnoxious housepet to alpha. No, it’s not an overwhelming recommendation, but have you seen what else is out there? Wild.
Giganto-pup did not enthrall
Like cine-dogs once and for all
If you wish to endear
Then, Buck, I fear
You will have to play basketball
Rated PG, 100 Minutes
Director: Chris Sanders
Writer: Michael Green
Genre: Harrison Ford grumbles at things
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Dog lovers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who flinch at the idea of wilderness survival
