Movie Reviews: White Fang (Disney) by MDTartist83 on DeviantArt
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Title: White Fang

Cast:

Jed as White Fang

Ethan Hawke as Jack Conroy

Klaus Maria Brandauer as Alex Larson

Seymour Cassel as Skunker

Susan Hogan as Belinda Casey

James Remar as Beauty Smith

Bill Moseley as Luke

Clint Youngreen as Tinker

Pius Savage as Gray Beaver

Suzanne Kent as Heather

Cherokee as himself

Bart the bear as himself

Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures

Directed by: Randal Kleiser

Genre: Drama/Adaptation

Country: United States

Year of Release: 1991

Synopsis: Based on the novel of the same name by Jack London, this film takes place in the late 19th century, and focuses on the story of White Fang, a wolfdog hybrid who was born in the Yukon wilderness, where life is harsh and it’s all about survival of the fittest. White Fang began life innocently as a young pup under the care of a single mother who dedicated her life to protecting him from the dangers of the outside world. She and her pack are constantly hunting for food. And whatever animals they kill, they rip them to shreds and share whatever is left over with each other. And White Fang’s mother gathers whatever food she can for her son to eat (like a good mother should). Meanwhile, a young man by the name of Jack Conroy (who takes the place of Weedon Scott from the novel) has arrived to the state of Alaska (which is just next to Yukon), where he meets Skunker and Alex Larson, who just so happens to be an old friend of Conroy’s father. Jack accompanies the two of them to transport a piece of cargo (which contains a frozen corpse) to a certain location. They have some close calls as Jack nearly drowns in freezing cold water during their expedition, and the group is attacked by a pack of wolves. During the attack, Skunker manages to shoot one of the wolves (which turns out being White Fang’s mother). Wounded and dying, White Fang’s mother returns to the cave where her son is, just seconds before her death. As she dies, White Fang howls in sadness at his mother’s passing. Now orphaned, the young pup sees that he has no choice but to leave the cave and journey to the outside world where all kinds of dangers exist. He travels through the snowy fields of the wilderness, looking for food and for any wolf packs that could take him in. He stumbles upon one pack, but they reject him. Somewhere along the line, White Fang and Jack come face to face. But their first meeting is short lived as White Fang is afraid of humans. But then, White Fang gets caught in a trap, which just so happens to belong to the natives who live there. And soon thereafter, he is adopted by the chief of the tribe, Gray Beaver. Growing up, White Fang learns to be obedient to his master. But when Jack comes across him and tries to pet him, Gray Beaver denies him the privilege, saying that dogs are for work and not for petting, even going as far as to boast “We are their gods“. But later, when Gray Beaver and White Fang journey to a local town, White Fang gets into a fight with a St. Bernard, who he defeats with little effort. It turns out the dog belonged to Beauty Smith, who forces Gray Beaver to give up White Fang. And from here, Beauty Smith, who is far more cruel and abusive, gets White Fang into dog fighting.

Personal Thoughts: In the past, I made a rant (both in written and video form) about the Goodtimes adaptation of White Fang; a cartoon which I despise and hate with a passion. And for those of you who have been keeping up with me (and I honestly wouldn’t know how many followers I have at this point since I first started off), you already know why I hate that cartoon so much. As I said before, it’s a poorly made film that feels rushed with no real effort put into it at all. The animation was awful, the characters were idiotic and obnoxious, the musical numbers were grating, and the story is WAY too over simplified and cuts out WAY too many important events from the novel. The writing especially feels rushed because things are not properly explained, and they escalate way too rapidly without any proper development. In short, the cartoon REALLY does not do the novel any justice at all. But I’ve ranted about that piece of shit long enough, so let’s just move on. Now, despite the bad memories I have of that cartoon, the novel from which it was based on is a great book. And to this day, more than a century after its publication, it’s a book that’s worth reading. Especially for those of you who haven’t read it yet. And as I said in my review of the Goodtimes cartoon, there are better adaptations of the story. And the live action Disney film is thankfully such a movie. And let me tell you, this is a movie that I remember quite well, because this is one of my favorite childhood films of all time. And in comparison to the godawful Goodtimes cartoon, it is a vastly superior film. Now, as to be expected, this movie doesn’t follow the novel 100% accurately. Some events are changed, and some characters and story arcs from the novel are missing. But then again, I guess no film adaptation follows the original source material 100%, right? I mean when it gets right down to it, we really can’t expect that. To quote the song “The Music in You”, we only get what we get. Right?

Released to theaters on January 18th, 1991, White Fang received generally positive reviews, with a 63% “Fresh” rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and described it as a film that “holds the natural world in wonder and awe”. He also praised the actors for their performances. The film was produced on a budget of $14,000,000 and grossed $34,793,160 in North America. And apparently it was also a major box office success in France, where it grossed $3,501,373, making it the 4th highest grossing film of 1991. It was released on VHS on June 12th, 1991, and on DVD on April 23rd, 2002, over a decade since its initial release. Now you may ask me, what are my thoughts on this film? Well, that’s what I’m about to go over right now. And beware, because I’m going to be comparing this movie to the Goodtimes film as I go along. It may get somewhat repetitive, but just bear with me. So anyway, the cinematography is just beautiful. I like how the film makers have managed to capture such gorgeous images of the Alaskan and Canadian wilderness during the winter and the spring. And the props and costumes are very authentic and reflect the 1890s rather well. That and they make great use of all the different camera angles for dynamic shots, making the film stand out a lot. Now, as I said before in my review of the Goodtimes cartoon, the dog who plays as White Fang in this movie is none other than Jed, who was also the stray dog from the 1982 horror film “John Carpenter’s The Thing”. He was also in “The Journey of Natty Gann” (1985). But aside from those two films, White Fang is the one film that I remember him best for. And I’m glad that the film makers made the decision to cast him as White Fang because well, Jed was perfect for the role. Because much like the character he plays as, Jed was a wolfdog hybrid. And he looked very close to how the character was depicted in other media. And some covers made for the novel closely resemble Jed. Though, I remember when I was a kid, my first exposure to White Fang was from the 1992 animated series titled “The Legend of White Fang”, where the titular character was portrayed being all white, which was more accurate to his name. So when I saw this movie for the first time, I thought to myself “Hang on, he’s black and white. So shouldn’t he be called Black-and-White Fang?” Well, that’s what I thought back then. But once I read the novel, I learned that White Fang earned his name for his pearly white teeth. Not for the color of his fur.

So anyway, our story begins in the Yukon wilderness, where a pack of wolves are seen chasing a rabbit through the snowy woods. And unlike in the Goodtimes film where they made White Fang’s father look like an incompetent hunter who couldn’t even catch a fly let alone a rabbit, these wolves actually catch the rabbit and kill it. And yes, I know, nature isn’t always pretty. But hey, what were you expecting? That the rabbit would get away and the wolves would starve? Get real; this isn’t a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Besides, it actually makes more sense. Because if all wolves were as incompetent as One-Eye from the Goodtimes film, then they would have gone extinct. And I pray to God that never happens. Anyway, after the wolves kill the rabbit, they tear it apart and share the pieces with each other. Then we cut to White Fang’s mother (who I assume is Kiche from the novel, although her name is not mentioned in the film at all), who returns to the cave to feed her only son; a young wolfdog pup (the soon to be named White Fang). Yes, in this movie, White Fang doesn’t go hungry because his mother actually had something to bring back to him. Hey, who said that only the males do the hunting? Females are just as skilled as males are when it comes to this sort of thing. Besides, its foolish to underestimate what females can do. Now, remember how I pointed out that White Fang’s mother was a complete brainless idiot in the Goodtimes film? Remember how I said that she NEVER seemed to get the big picture and was a TERRIBLE mother who did a poor job protecting her son? Well, in this film she’s different. She’s a caring, loving, and dedicated mother who feeds, cares for, and looks out for her son. You know, like a good mother is SUPPOSED TO. That and she is a capable hunter who sacrifices everything for her pup. THAT is what I call a GOOD MOTHER. You know, I like this version of Kiche a lot better. Because like I said before, she’s very dedicated and faithful to her pup. Because if all dogs were as stupid as Goodtimes Kiche, then well… God forbid. The world is a cruel, harsh, and violent place. And one has to be smart in order to survive. And this doesn’t just apply to us humans. Even animals know this rule. Though, one thing I noticed is that we are never introduced to White Fang’s father One-Eye. And Lip-Lip isn't in this movie either. But then again, like I said, the film doesn’t follow the novel 100%.

Our focus is now on a guy named Jack Conroy, who as I mentioned earlier, replaces Weedon Scott from the novel (White Fang’s third master). He arrives to Yukon, where he meets up with Skunker (a musher), and Alex Larson (who as I mentioned earlier is an old friend of Jack’s father). Upon arriving there, Jack and the two men are tasked to guide a piece of cargo through the wilderness to a specific location. They have some close calls, and nearly lose the cargo on a hillside, which breaks open to reveal a frozen corpse. Jack tries to retrieve the corpse as it slides lifelessly onto a field of thin ice. And this goes as well as you’d expect; the ice breaks, and Jack nearly freezes to death in the freezing cold water. But luckily for him, he is rescued by Skunker and Alex, who then set up a camp fire to warm him (and themselves) up. They are somehow successful to retrieve the frozen corpse from the thin ice, and they lay rest for the night. But just then they are attacked by a pack of wolves (one of which is White Fang’s mother). During the attack, Skunker uses his shotgun to wound one of the wolves, and gives chase to save his dog. But he is killed and devoured by the rest of the pack. Later, White Fang’s wounded mother (who Skunker shot earlier), makes her way back to the cave where her pup was waiting, and she dies in front of her son, who tries to wake her up but to no avail. Realizing his mother is dead, White Fang howls in absolute grief and sorrow at her loss. With his mother dead, the now lonely White Fang is forced to fend for himself out in the wild. He leaves his mother’s corpse behind, and travels out into the open. Now, when I got to this part of the film, I have to admit, I cried. Because I could really feel White Fang’s pain and sorrow over the death of his mother. It made me feel genuinely sad for him. And believe me, if I where there standing next to him, I would do my best to comfort him. Seeing a puppy being orphaned is just as sad as a human child being orphaned. These things do happen, and its one of the sad realities in life.

During his venture, the lonely pup travels a great distance from home, exploring the land for any signs of food and help. Eventually, he gets himself caught in a trap (thankfully it wasn’t a bear trap because we know how that would have gone). Meanwhile, Jack and Alex lay the frozen corpse to rest, and they set foot in a local town where they plan to stay for the winter. Back with White Fang who is still caught in the trap, he tries to bite his way free. But just then, a group of Native Americans find him in their trap. And the chief, who turns out to be Gray Beaver from the novel, realizes that the pup is half dog and half wolf judging by his teeth. Gray Beaver then adopts the pup, and names him White Fang. Well hey, at least in this case in makes more sense because White Fang didn’t have his name until Gray Beaver gave it to him. Because if you remember from the Goodtimes film, White Fang already had his name given to him by his parents. And Gray Beaver basically just made a lucky guess considering “White Fang” was already his name (as both me and Phelous pointed out). White Fang is understandably frightened as he has never been around humans before until this point. But even so, Gray Beaver takes him in trains him to be obedient. Time passes, and White Fang has now grown into an adult, serving his master loyally.

Now, remember how I said that Gray Beaver was a complete asshole in the Goodtimes cartoon? Remember how I pointed out that he was a cruel, negligent, and irresponsible owner who abused White Fang and blamed him for everything that happened? And remember how I pointed out that he was a total hypocrite who contradicted himself, telling Smith to “Treat White Fang fairly” when he never showed his dog any respect? Well, Disney’s Gray Beaver is not as despicable or as contemptible as his Goodtimes counterpart. In fact, this version of the character is actually pretty decent and tolerable for the most part. But true to how the character was depicted in the novel, Gray Beaver is a neutral master to White Fang; not as cruel as Beauty Smith, but not as kind as Weedon Scott. Though, for as much as I despised him in the Goodtimes film, I will say this much; Gray Beaver was abusive towards White Fang in the book as well. So the Goodtimes film was actually pretty accurate in that sense. But at least he had some standards in the novel, which Disney’s Gray Beaver also has. So I will give him that much. But I still find Disney’s Gray Beaver to be somewhat unlikable. Because in one part of the film, he stops Jack from trying to pet White Fang (most likely because White Fang had some aggression issues), stating that “dogs are for work, not for petting”. Jack tells Gray Beaver that “he’d be a lot friendlier if you were nicer to him.” (which I agree with). But Gray Beaver disagrees, and says that dogs obey not because their masters are nice to them but because they impose their authority on them (much like my brother does with me). In other words, Gray Beaver believes in abusiveness and cruelty over love and compassion. Yeah, this guy’s kind of a dick. He even goes as far to say “We are their gods”. Okay, I have to stop you right there, chief. You are a dog’s owner and master. But that doesn’t make you a “GOD”. You are simply a person. Just because you have authority over someone or an animal doesn’t make you a quote on quote “god”. This gave me the impression that Gray Beaver was somewhat arrogant. But then again, he did use the “god” argument in the novel, so I guess that’s pretty accurate. Again, I don’t hate Disney’s Gray Beaver as much as I hate his Goodtimes counterpart (who was far more of a dick in comparison), but I still don’t like him very much. One trait that most versions of the character have in common is that to Gray Beaver, all that White Fang is is a piece of property. Nothing more and nothing less. But in comparison to Goodtimes Gray Beaver, Disney’s take on him is strict, but is not so cruel and abusive. Say what you will, but Disney's Gray Beaver at least has some level of common sense. And I will say this much, at least he’s not a hypocrite. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between being strict and being a complete asshole.

One part of this film I remember well is the part where Jack is attacked by a grizzly bear who chases him down and corners him in a disclosed area, until White Fang comes to his rescue and somehow gets the bear to retreat (despite the obvious advantage the bear has over White Fang with his larger size and greater strength). But I guess either White Fang stood his ground and showed the bear he wasn’t afraid, or I guess the bear must have thought “Ah, to hell with you. You’re not worth it.” Either way, it’s safe to say that Jack and White Fang were both lucky. Now, the fact that White Fang stood up for Jack could be hinted that they remember each other from earlier (especially during their first meeting when White Fang was still a puppy). And it was most likely this and the fact that Jack showed kindness to White Fang earlier that prompted White Fang to defend him from the bear. I mean why else would White Fang do this? He wouldn’t show loyalty to him otherwise now would he?

And so later, Gray Beaver and White Fang travel to town to sell fur coats (much like in the Goodtimes film). And similar to the said film, White Fang inadvertently gets into a fight with a dog. Only instead of a dog named Spike, it’s a dog named Buck (like from the other Jack London story “Call of the Wild”). White Fang easily dispatches Buck with surprisingly little effort (I guess wolves are stronger than dogs), and Buck’s owner, who just so happens to be Beauty Smith, takes an interest in White Fang, and forces Gray Beaver to hand him over, saying that it’s illegal to bring wolfdogs into town. And unlike in the Goodtimes film where Gray Beaver gets off easy or in the novel where he trades White Fang for beer so he can get himself drunk, Gray Beaver is instead taken into custody. And yes, this is pretty much the last we see of him for the rest of the film. Oh if only Goodtimes Gray Beaver received this sort of sentence. Now, as I pointed out elsewhere, Beauty Smith is White Fang’s second master. And if you’ve read the book or seen any of the cartoons or film adaptations, you know what this guy is like; he’s far more cruel and abusive, and he’s pure EVIL. Yes, EVIL! But unlike his Goodtimes counterpart, who was a blundering lumberjack selling merchandise and a bumbling idiot and who lacked much in the way of intelligence or menace, Disney’s Beauty Smith was a TRUE VILLAIN who was bad to the bone, and who you genuinely want to see get what’s coming to him. Because unlike White Fang’s previous master Gray Beaver, Beauty Smith trains the wolfdog to be a vicious monster, and uses him for profit by having him participate in dog fighting. And not only that, but Smith is a sadistic bastard as well. You can feel the evil aura surging within him, and he really provokes whatever spite and hatred you may have for him. Yes, Beauty Smith is so utterly unlikable and despicable that you just want to see him pay for what he does. You know, much like some other fictional bastards I know of (e.g. Todd from Beavis and Butthead, and Blackthorne Shore from Inhumanoids). And yes, I even go as far to say that he’s more unlikable than either Gray Beaver and Smith from the Goodtimes film.

During the time White Fang spends under Smith’s cruelty, the wolfdog becomes bitter and aggressive towards everybody, even towards his master. So much that he won’t even let him feed him a chicken leg. But honestly, who could blame him? Because I’m like this with my older brother Michael because he mistreated me throughout my life, and this resulted in me becoming bitter towards him. So I know just how White Fang feels. As the cruelty and abuse continues, so does Smith’s greed. Eventually, White Fang meets his match in the ring when he is faced with a bulldog, who bites into his neck, fatally wounding him. And Beauty Smith, being the complete bastard he is, hits White Fang with his staff and orders him to “get up and fight”. But Jack happens upon the fight and intervenes in the nick of time. Having earlier reached his father's claim and begun the work of digging for gold, Jack returns with White Fang to the cabin where he treats his injuries, and seeks to rehabilitate White Fang's vicious and territorial nature. But this proves much more difficult than he imagined, as White Fang is at first unwilling to open up to Jack, growling and snarling at him, and even biting his hand when he grabs his chain. Hey, at least Jack and Alex had the brains to use chains instead of ropes that could break easily like in the Goodtimes cartoon. Because like I said before, they HAD CHAINS back in the 1890s. And even long before that. So anyway, Alex tells Jack that there’s no hope for White Fang. But Jack disagrees, and tells him that all he needs is a little kindness. And so he spends his time doing his best to tame White Fang and to reach out to him. It takes a bit of effort on his part. But through kindness and compassion, Jack is successfully able to gain White Fang’s trust and respect, and they become friends. You know, I like this take on the story more than the Goodtimes version. Because for one, it’s more realistic. And second, because in the Goodtimes film, it escalated way too quickly without any proper development. Also in the Goodtimes film, they don’t really take the time to develop White Fang’s relation with Scott or even give a proper explanation other than “Scott’s the good guy, he’s nice to White Fang, just accept it!” No, in this movie, they properly develop Jack and White Fang’s relation by having them meet for the first time when White Fang is still a puppy. And then they go further into the relation by having them meet at the village (before Gray Beaver gave his “god” speech), to having White Fang save Jack from a bear, and then by having Jack return the favor by saving the wolfdog from Beauty Smith (and the bulldog who nearly killed him). If you ask me, that builds up their history and their chemistry a lot better, and it gives a better explanation than simply having Weedon Scott just show up out of nowhere just because he’s “the hero”. I mean the Disney film is executed so well that there’s just no contest. And I could really feel the emotion building up as Jack and White Fang bonded with each other. It’s just so powerful a sensation.

One morning, Jack travels to the town to claim proper ownership to the gold when Luke (who was working as a janitor in the place) notices White Fang with him. White Fang growls at the guy, who then flees the scene. Seeking retaliation and planning to steal the gold for himself, Smith and his goons attack the cabin site and set it on fire. And it is here where White Fang has some of his most badass moments in the film, when he attacks Tinker, who accidentally discharges his gun, wounding Luke. White Fang then goes after Smith, and subdues him until he's ordered by Jack to back down. Jack and Alex take their attackers to prison and force them at gunpoint to haul gold ore into town. Now that’s what I call a satisfying comeuppance. Although, considering how cruel Smith was to White Fang, I believe he deserves much worse than being sent to prison. Oh no. He deserves much worse. To quote Hanover Fiste from Heavy Metal; “Hanging’s too good for him! Burning’s too good for him! He should be torn into little bitsy pieces, and buried alive!” Whoa! Excuse me!

Anyway, after Smith and his goons are busted for their crimes, Alex and his wife offer to take Jack back to San Francisco, but he warns Jack that the city is no place for a wolf, and that he must let White Fang run free in the wild. Jack is hesitant at first as he doesn’t want to lose his friend. But even so, he reluctantly takes him out into the woods, and tries to set White Fang free. But White Fang, who has grown comfortable around humans, doesn’t want to leave, and follows Jack, who then chases him off with a stick, which alarms the wolfdog (as he was abused with sticks in the past by Beauty Smith) and forces him to flee. As the wolfdog scurried into the woods, Jack regretted his actions, and reflects on the times he spent with him. Alex congratulates Jack on his efforts, saying that it’s what his father would have wanted, and leaves town with his wife. Jack continues to reflect on the good times he and White Fang had together, starts to grieve as he genuinely misses him. And I could really feel Jack’s pain in this scene. Because a lot like Weedon Scott from the novel, Jack is a good owner to White Fang. And I know just as well as anybody else does that saying goodbye to a friend (be it a person or a pet) is never easy. But then, towards the end, White Fang returns to the cabin. He and Jack are both genuinely happy to see each other, and the two of them are reunited at last, making for a happy and satisfying ending. And yes, I know that in the novel, White Fang has pups from Collie. But in this film series, White Fang doesn’t have pups until the sequel. And rather than having them from Collie, he has them from a pure wolf.

In 1994, a sequel to this movie was made, titled “White Fang II: Myth of the White Wolf”. I saw this one in theaters with my parents when I was 11. Now, I heard that a lot of people have bashed this movie. But honestly, I didn’t think it was bad. I mean sure, the first movie will always be the best. That stands to reason. But I found the sequel to be a pretty good watch, and I still have fond memories of it today despite the length of time that has elapsed. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s a decent sequel. Again, it’s not perfect, but it’s still good. Sadly though, 1994 was also the year when Jed passed away. He was born in 1977. So at the time of his death, he was 16. At least in human years. To this day he is remembered for his roles in The Thing, The Journey of Natty Gann, and White Fang.

Overall: Despite what some people may say about this movie, White Fang is an overall enjoyable and satisfying experience. It’s a well-written film that properly tells the story of a young man and his bond with a wolfdog hybrid. The cinematography is beautiful, the actors give solid performances (especially Jed), the writing is great, the music fits the atmosphere of the film pretty well, and the character interaction really gets me invested into it. And I could really feel the emotion that it conveys. This movie is just wonderful. And in comparison to the horrible Goodtimes film, the Disney film is a vastly superior version. Especially considering it came six years before hand. I loved this movie back in my childhood, I loved it as I was growing up, and I still have fond memories of it to this day. But I think Jed really steals the show. Not just because the film focused on him, but because I could really feel for him. And Jed made me sympathetic towards him. Of course, it’s not exactly a perfect film as it doesn’t follow the novel 100%. Like I said before, there are story arcs and characters from the novel that are missing (the Lynx, One-Eye, Lip-Lip, etc.). And some events are changed outright just to fit the film’s running time of an hour and forty-seven minutes. Believe me, there’s so much more that happens in the novel than in the film. But while this movie is not 100% true to the source material it’s based on, what matters more is that it was written and executed well, which is more that can be said for the Goodtimes film. But then I realized something; I’m comparing a movie that was made on a high budget to a film that was made on a low budget. And comparing the Disney film to the Goodtimes film is like comparing a work of art to a piece of shit. You just don’t do it. There’s no contest. Because naturally, people would much rather prefer the former. But all in all, Disney’s White Fang is a film that I strongly recommend. It’s a beautiful and emotional story, and it’s a great family film that audiences of all ages should see.