The Call of the Wild * * * ½

Give a dog a bone

        Freely adapted from the Jack London novella this film is more or less two parts. The lead actor, Harrison Ford doesn't really feature until part two.
      Set in Canada over a hundred years ago The Call of the Wild enthralled readers with its description of the great white north and the harshness of the frozen wilderness.
      Jack London told his story of the Yukon and the gold prospectors, through a dog called Buck. Mercifully this film has third person narration.  The dog does not think aloud which is just as well, because all a dog would ever say is "Feed me" or "Throw the ball".
       Part one rather reminded me of the dog that lives in my house as it trashed everything, stole food, slept wherever it liked and thought it could do no wrong.
       Then Buck is stolen for a sled dog, and his family never see him again.  I thought "How come good things always happen to other people, never to me?".
        Poor Buck soon finds out that not everyone is kind and not everyone loves him. After a while he is sold to the postal delivery service who are run by a fine looking couple, who understand and like dogs, but they do expect them to work. Buck is put into a team with other dogs and soon learns that he is part of a hierarchy. And the best place to be in a hierarchy is at the top!
        In Part two he ends up with a kindly man nursing a broken heart. Together they venture into the wilderness and there Buck meets the hottest she-wolf you will ever see, "Warrrrrrr ooooo!" says Buck as he checks out her fluffy white fur and piercing blue eyes,
       I won't tell you the outcome but there is lot of adventure in this somewhat childlike but very endearing film. To be honest, I really enjoyed it.
       Using some clever new technology (they can just about do anything with a computer these days) they make Buck look just like a real dog, but kind of uncannily expressive.
       If you liked Alpha you'll love this.