“The Call of the Wild”, directed by Chris Sanders, retells a fantastic fairy tale story based on the book by Jack London. Sanders has also directed “How to Train Your Dragon”, “Lilo and Stitch”, and “The Croods”. In “The Call of the Wild”, Sanders once again did a phenomenal job at capturing a well-written story.

In Sander’s recent film, he is adapting London’s story about the life of a dog, Buck, and his incredible journey. During this journey, Buck had to deal with pain and sadness. Even though there were hardships, he gained courage along the way. Eventually, Buck meets a man, John Thornton, who has also been through similar pain. However, both Buck and John find what they were searching for, happiness.

Oscar winner, Harrison Ford, narrates Buck’s adventure from the perspective of John Thornton. Ford has been in countless movies such as “Indiana Jones”(1981-2008) and “Star Wars”(1977-2019). Alongside Ford is Buck who is a computer-generated dog that is also partly played by motion-capture actor, Terry Notary. Notary has been in popular movies such as “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) and “Planet of the Apes”(2011-2017). 

Other film stars are Dan Stevens, Karen Gillian, and Colin Woodell. Stevens plays a dog musher named Hal, Gilian plays Mercedes (Hal’s sister), and Woodell plays Charles (Mercedes husband and brother-in-law to Hal). Omar Sy and Cara Gee are cast as mail drivers, Perrault and Francois. All of these actors not only brought their characters to life, but passion to the film. The adaptation wouldn’t be the same without them because they really fit their characters.

“The Call of the Wild” is a must see family movie. It is rated PG for peril, violence, thematic elements, and mild language. The film came out in theaters Feb. 21 and I highly recommend dog fans and fans of the cast to go see this movie. Go hear the call.