White Fang

1991 • 108 minutes
4.5
187 reviews
67%
Tomatometer
PG
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Jack London's immortal tale of courage and survival comes to glorious life amid the breathtaking beauty of the great Alaskan frontier! Ethan Hawke stars as a young man trying to fulfill his father's dying wish to find gold in the treacherous Yukon valley. His incredible journey begins when he meets a veteran gold miner (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who guides young Jack to his father's claim. Along the way, Jack discovers a kindred spirit who will change his life forever -- a magnificent wolf-dog named White Fang. From the taming of a wolf, to the taming of the wild, he must find the courage to conquer his fears and become a man in this spectacular outdoor adventure!
Rating
PG

Ratings and reviews

4.5
187 reviews
Kyle Vansteelandt
August 23, 2021
I was not expecting much from this film adaptation of Jack London's novel, and the end result was a mixed bag that left me torn with it's redeemable qualities and downsides that are overwhelming. To start off, I will immediately acknowledge the drawbacks that I found here, because I couldn't help noticing these problems. The wolf pack in the first act were shown attacking our human characters and one character says that the wolf is the devil on earth. Wolves are not man-eaters that are out to get us, they are naturally shy and almost never attack humans. Not to mention that wolves elicit powerful emotions in all of us. As the film progresses, there are some scenes that gave me a feeling of deja vu, and most of them are uninspired; There are three scenes that reminded me of "The Bear," but when the pup is howling and the score starts playing, there is some affecting execution that has ben delivered with almost no effort. There are two scenes that reminded me of "The Black Stallion," these are the moments that feel uninspired in terms of the ideas, the cinematography, and pacing. White Fang himself is a wolfdog, a strange unique hybrid. The idea of owning and training a wolfdog is a truly bad idea, considering the fact that wolfdogs are a dangerous animal towards other dogs and of course: all humans in all ages and sizes. People who own a wolfdog are going to end up with a genuinely unhappy beast with a feral behavior and a bite force that is fifty times stronger than the bite of any large domestic dog. Also, training a dog to fight with force counts as animal abuse. There is also one scene where our main hero shows a stick to White Fang. Any person with a stick is a threat to White Fang. There is a line that says "bulldogs are killers." No they are not. Jack Conroy is running away from a Kodiak bear; never EVER run from any bear; they can sprint at thirty miles per hour (much faster than any human). Also, bear attacks on humans are rare, just like wolf attacks are rare. Brown bears don't want anything to do with humans. When Jack Conroy and White Fang go into town In the third act, it gets to the point where something predictable is about to happen involving the main antagonists. Although the distribution company of "White Fang" is Walt Disney Pictures, there is some bad language here with the use of the two types of "B" words. That is such an unpleasant surprise for a Disney movie. Okay, I am not going to complain too much, because there are some redeemable qualities that are so great; The first act with the wolf pup is so engaging. The action sequences are rousing in a dramatic way. The adventure aspect of the film is so much fun to experience. The cast has high-energy to deliver when they are performing on set, and the dramatic performances from the cast were nicely directed. The filmmakers led by Randal Kleiser (the director) has some effective craftsmanship to expose from start to finish with the ability to let my guard down, the excellent use of the camera, and some beautiful shots. Basil Poledouris (composer) has made an emotionally fantastic score; it has the perfect notes, the agreeable tempo, and superb choice of instrumentation to add effective gravity to the entire movie. Ethan Hawke plays Jack Conroy, a young man who will complete a quest that his deceased father was trying to accomplish: to find gold. He has a sympathetic backstory to tell. Jack Conroy plays the primary villain "Beauty Smith." Smith is a brutal dogfighter, and as a villain, he is such a malicious jerk. But the script for him with Jed who played White Fang is way out of hand, because they are forcing Jed to be aggressive. Some of the dialogue is smartly written. In conclusion: "White Fang" does have unnecessary choices, but ultimately, it is such an impressive and enjoyable diversion that feels dramatic in a fun way. Not recommended for everyone (skip it).
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Alex Shiro White
September 10, 2019
Huh? Is This Movie The Same As The Book Where White Fang Gets Shot And Ends Up Injured Due To A Man Breaking Into The House Within The Middle Of The Night And White Fang Attacks The Man? Jim Hall Was His Name! If It's A Rip-Off And Not The Real Thing, I Would Rate This 0 And I Would Not Buy Into This! Go Watch Balto Instead!
7 people found this review helpful
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PainlessDurst (PainlessDurst)
December 13, 2021
One of my favorite movies to watch as a kid in the 90s! May not be very close to the book but a great movie itself!
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