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The Call of the Wild Trailer Pairs Harrison Ford With a Heroic CGI Dog
Harrison Ford makes friends with a CGI dog in the trailer and poster for Fox's upcoming The Call of the Wild. Adapted from the 1903 novel by Jack London, the movie follows the adventures of Buck, a St. Bernard/Scotch Collie dog who's stolen from his cushy home in California and, eventually, finds his way to the Alaskan Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. There, he becomes the member of a mail delivery dog sled team and is later befriended by John Thornton (Ford), a loner who end up going on some grand adventure with his newfound companion.
The Call of the Wild was originally scheduled to arrive on Christmas Day, but was pushed back to early 2020 after the Disney-Fox deal was finalized. Ford is joined in the film by a fairly noteworthy supporting cast that includes Karen Gillan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) and Dan Stevens (Legion), in addition to Omar Sy (Jurassic World) and Bradley Whitford (Godzilla: King of the Monsters). However, as the newly-unveiled trailer illustrates, he spends most of his time in the movie opposite the heroic Buck.
Fox dropped the official trailer for The Call of the Wild online this morning, ahead of its release in theaters this weekend with Frozen 2. You can check it out below, followed by the first poster.
Ford, who's famous for loving the outdoors and being charmingly grumpy, is such a perfect match for a Jack London adventure story that, frankly, it's kind of shocking it hasn't happened until now. Buck might be digitally rendered, but he's pretty dang charming in The Call of the Wild trailer and his interactions with Ford's Thornton seem equally entertaining. The film itself marks the live-action debut for director Chris Sanders, following his previous efforts on the acclaimed animated movies Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Croods. He's proven he knows how to create enduring friendships onscreen in the past, so London's source material ought to be in safe hands here.
All the same, it was probably a smart call on Disney and Fox's part to move The Call of the Wild away from the highly-competitive winter holidays. The Mouse House had success adapting London's novel White Fang back in the '90s, but it was far from a blockbuster and The Call of the Wild doesn't have the muscle to go toe to toe with other big tentpoles. Fortunately, it looks to be well-served by its late February release date, where it will serve as counter-programming to Vin Diesel's superhero movie, Bloodshot. No doubt, there will be families who're more than ready to join Ford and his CGI dog-buddy on a journey into the wilderness, instead.
