Daninger very weak, unfortunately

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

moonspinner55 Scripted nature film from Walt Disney seamlessly mixes wildlife footage with the engrossing, entertaining story of Nikki, a Malamute dog (1/8 wolf) separated from his owner in the Canadian Rockies after rescuing an orphaned bear cub up a tree. The unlikely bond between dog and bear survives different methods of sleeping and hunting for an amusing effect (the film is very careful not to dwell on the carcasses). But when winter comes and the bear must hibernate, Nikki forges off alone and is nabbed by a trapper who wants to use him for dog fighting. The animals are marvelous, though the cinematographers (all five of them, including William W. Bacon III, Lloyd Beebe, Ray Jewell, Donald Wilder and Jack Couffer, who also co-directed) are the stars this time. Jacques Fauteux provides a warm and funny narration, and Oliver Wallace's background score is very lively. The different types of film used is noticeable on occasion, and the speed is played with (slowed down or sped up) a few times; otherwise, a first-rate family product from the studio, one with the requisite tug at the heart at the finish line. *** from ****

atlasmb 'Nikki, Wild Dog of the North" is a live action animal film typical of the Disney studios in the sixties. Its stars are a dog that is part wolf (Nikki) and a bear, who grow up together. This is a story that feels like a Jack London tale, full of adventure and celebrating the natural world.The filmmakers impose their story on some real action sequences and, probably, also stage their animal "stars" to conform to the desired story. A voice over is used to pull the parts of the story together and to provide human interpretations of animal behaviors. This anthropomorphism, while a large part of what makes the film enjoyable for some, trades in common misconceptions of animals and furthers inaccurate beliefs about animal psychology. When the narrator says the dog feels certain emotions or make judgments based upon rational decisions, it obscures the real nature of the animal. While children will find much of the story adorable and engaging, they should be disabused of the conceit that the animals have thought processes like humans. Besides, it is not necessary for dogs to think and feel like humans for them to be good companions.While the interactions between some of the animals usually can be explained by the filmmakers imposing their story on natural behavior, one has to wonder about the scenes involving the dog and a wolverine or the dog and some rats. Were any animals harmed in the making of this film or were animals put in harm's way?In the end, there are some incredibly beautiful scenes of nature, including towering mountains and lovely blue waters in all seasons. And the values inherent in this film are kindness and respect for life.

skotzilla This movie is based on "Nomads of the North" by James Oliver Curwood, who also wrote "King Grizzly", which was made into the movie "The Bear".Nikki, a malamute that's 1/8 wolf, and his kind fur trapper owner encounter an orphaned bear cub. The cub and puppy initially don't get along. An overturned canoe separates them, while tethered together, from their master, and they set out on their own in a "Defiant Ones" sequence that shows their different approaches to survival in the wild. The puppy wants to hunt critters, but can't catch any due to the cub stubbornly anchoring the other end of the tether. The cub tears into a rotten tree stump to get at a beehive, but the puppy runs away after getting stung, dragging the cub along with him. The cub climbs a tree to sleep, resulting in the puppy trying to snooze with his rear end slung a foot off the ground. After a number of weeks they escape their tether and become friends, until the bear hibernates, and Nikki heads out on his own. Over a year or so, he grows up, gets into scuffles with a wolverine, and tries to join a wolf pack who let him know violently that he's not welcome. Eventually Nikki gets captured by an evil fur trader who beats him into an aggressive pit fighting dog. At the movie's end, his original owner confronts a snarling bloodthirsty Nikki, but both eventually recognize each other, and resume their friendly travels.NOTE - there are many fights in this movie: bear vs bear, Nikki vs wolverine, wolverine vs lynx, Nikki vs wild wolves, Nikki vs wolf-dog, and even good fur trader vs bad fur trader, and a number of "dead" animals are shown. An Indian is treated in typically poor 60's cinematic fashion as well, although he is shown as noble and smart, becoming a companion to Nikki and the good fur trader at the end.All -in -all though, this is a Disney dog movie that deserves to be a little better remembered. The DVD I saw was put out by a company named Anchor Bay, and not Disney, so there were no extra features at all. This, combined with Disney's "Alaska Sled Dog" from 1957 would make a good Disney DVD package.

OmegaWolf747 I remember loving to watch this movie on Wonderful World of Disney as a kid. It's about a malamute puppy who becomes separated from his master. He befriends an orphaned bear cub named Neewah and the two are together for about a year. After Neewah starts hibernating, Nikki is very lonely and seeks out the companionship of wolves, but is rejected.I thought it was a very dramatic movie for being about an animal. It shows how a dog passes through the hands of two masters, one kind and one cruel. How easily trust can be shattered and how things must be put right again. The friendship between the dog and the bear was great too because they had to compromise in such things as diet and sleeping position.I'd definitely recommend this movie for a kid I loved, especially one who loves dogs.