Call of the Wild (2020) * *

Directed by: Chris Sanders

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan

I watched The Call of the Wild in a theater full of families with kids, and it became apparent early on this is not a movie for kids.   It is glum and depressing to watch what happens to the big lovable Buck, the CGI dog at the center of the movie.    The CGI technology didn't look promising in the trailer, but looks more seamless in the finished product.    I also found Harrison Ford's performance touching and poignant, while managing not to be upstaged by Buck.

John Thornton (Ford) narrates Buck's story, which begins in a small circa 1890's California town.  Buck is a wild, rambunctious giant of a dog who doesn't realize his own strength when he runs through the town knocking things over.  He's a bull in a china shop belonging to the family of a local judge.  After ruining a party the judge is throwing, he is left outside that night where he is kidnapped and sold to a dogsled route owner in the Yukon.   Buck is made a part of the dogsled mail route team run by the kindly Perreault (Sy), and Buck soon assumes leadership of the team after battling the dictatorial lead dog whom the other dogs fear. 

Soon enough, Buck's run with the dogsled team comes to an end, with the team being purchased by  sinister gold prospector Hal (Stevens), a cruel taskmaster who beats Buck and the dogs into exhaustion, only to be saved by John.   Well, Buck is saved by John.   What happens to the rest of the team remains off screen.    John decides to light out for the territories with Buck in tow, and the vengeful Hal following on their trail.    Hal, with his bug eyes and handlebar mustache, looks like an exaggerated silent movie villain.   John, whose marriage ended after the death of his son (how long ago did that happen?), is borderline alcoholic, but treats Buck with dignity.

As John strikes gold in a small Yukon stream, Buck befriends a pack of timber wolves and learns his place in the world resides with his own kind and not John.   We are supposed to be happy for him, I guess, and the subplots are resolved all right, but The Call of the Wild is not uplifting fare.   Based on Jack London's 1903 novel, I can't say how faithful the movie is to the source material, but this is some pretty maudlin stuff.    Just because a movie's central character is a pooch doesn't mean it is suitable for children.