[ By DAN DEMING ]
[ ENTERTAINMENT CONTRIBUTOR ]
Anyone who likes dogs and most children five through twelve may find the just-out version of "The Call of the Wild" the best movie so far this young movie season. Some national critics are vilifying the PG-rated film and no, it will never come close to award winning caliber acting or overall production. But if you are searching for a good family-friendly film, not wanting to worry about language, sex and excessive violence, then "The Call of the Wild" may well be worth a visit to Hutchinson's B&B Theaters. Audiences can walk away feeling good about what they just saw.
There are several amazing aspects to this movie. All dogs, including Buck the principal star, are computer-generated with no real dogs shown on screen. The movements were created by a former Cirque du Soleil performer who spent months working with Harrison Ford, the most notable human appearing in the movie, using an imaginary computer animal who comes to life on screen. Ford also skillfully narrates the movie. As we noted in last week's column, the film was almost totally filmed in California, not Canada or Alaska where much of the Yukon-like scenes take place.
There is a Kansas connection to "The Call of the Wild." Director Chris Sanders' wife, searching on the internet to replace her aging pet, found the same breed, a farm collie and St. Bernard cross named Buckley, at an Emporia shelter. Buckley was picked up and driven from Kansas to California by Mrs. Sanders. The dog was used as a stand-in for the make believe movie dog, although it is unclear how much, if any, screen time Buckley received. The film is a hybrid of live action and animation, somewhat similar to last year's "Lion King," It uses cutting edge visual effects and computer technology. Once rescued from Kansas, Buckley stepped into a role previously carried out by an actor since he amazingly resembled Buck the animated dog and the story he was telling.
The movie strays in several aspects from Jack Londons' more than 100-year-old novel that created the original story. But it still has plenty of action combined with a love of animals and the outdoors. As one critic wrote: "It's an old-fashioned animal-friendly adventure for kids, based on a classic piece of literature." For the type of movie it is, this $125 million production gets three strong stars. It sold a respectable $25 million in ticket sales opening weekend, just behind weekend two for the super popular "Sonic the Hedgehog," which has now down more than $100 million in sales.
New this weekend in Hutchinson is "The Invisible Man," not to be confused with the original 1933 "Invisible Man." A crazed scientist fakes his own suicide to become invisible to stalk and terrorize his ex-girlfriend, a Bay area woman architect who takes matters into her own hands. Elizabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson star in this R-rated sci-fi horror fantasy.
āMovie news you can useā is a weekly feature submitted by Dan Deming. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of Hutch Post or its affiliates.