The Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1975)

Nice effects though.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The first of 3 episodes that follow the adventures and misadventures of the Robinson family, which consists of father Skip, mother Pat, 11 year old Jenny, 5 year old Toby, and Labrador Crust(strange name). In addition, mountain man Boomer and his mule are occasional guests in this and subsequent episodes. Some reviewers label Boomer as creepy. I didn't get that impression at all. Rather he comes across as a knowledgeable grandfather, who probably likes animals better than most people. Some reviewers complain that these episodes have little or no plot. Well, there are so many interesting things happening, that you don't need a complicated plot. The same is true of certain raucous comedies and some musicals. As in the other episodes, there is an alteration between disasters or fights, and periods of play and glee: a good format. I enjoyed the film for the most part. The shots of wild animals and the fights with some of these are spectacular. However, they didn't bring that much equipment and supplies with them, so I have to wonder where they got all that food and equipment ?Skip seems to have great familiarity with wilderness living. He seems indestructible, and brushes off any disasters or fights with animals as nothing to worry about. In contrast, Pat is often stressed out after a negative experience, and sometimes cries. Canine Crust saves or helps save the situation numerous times throughout the series.The family gradually adopts several animals as pets, beginning with a nosy raccoon. Soon, they are feeding 2 small bear cubs, whose mother can't be found. The kids discover a pair of cougar kittens which follow them home. Skip takes these back to where they were found, and has a fight with the mother, Skip aided by Crust.Crust has a fight with a bear, then 3 wolves at once, and miraculously survives these with only minor wounds. Skip scares the wolves away with several shots in the air. Apparently, he didn't want to kill them unless absolutely necessary.They make a pet of a friendly adult bear, but another bear: "(3- toes") terrorizes them. Maybe he's mad because he lost 2 toes escaping from a trap.Skip and Toby are nearly crushed by a boulder slide. Then, Skip's canoe capsizes when he's going to find a doctor, when Jenny runs a fever. If you or your kids enjoyed this film, you might check out "The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family"(Part 2), and/or "The Mountain Family Robinson"(Part 3). Yes, there is much overlap in what you will see, but each has some unique happenings, as well.

A couple of hippies living in Los Angeles who were forced to grow up and get jobs when they had kids, decide they've had enough of the smoggy city and pack up their family to move to the Rocky Mountains. Once there they play with bears and befriend a grizzled old mountain man. That is, when they aren't running for their lives from wolves or a big grizzly named Three Toes.Ah, the Wilderness Family. Despite its laughable premise, it's actually one of the better of the "getting back to nature" genre of family dramas that popped up in the 1960s and 1970s, when the times they were a-changing and people thought by the 1980s the world would be overpopulated with unbreathable air and no natural resources left. Really, there's not much wrong with the idea of living the natural life and getting away from the crowded cities. But these movies were often so irresponsibly naive, treating living off the land like it' s a cake walk and there are just as many Disney-style friendly wild animals as there are ones that will kill you. Oh and they never talk about bugs. As anyone who has ever been camping can attest, bugs are the worst. Nature's PR guy should get a raise for keeping bugs out of the brochures. And I don't want to even get into understanding why these movies all seem to have old men wandering around the mountains being friendly with kids.Like I said, this movie is one of the better examples of this genre. At least here it is shown that you have to work to live in the wild and there are some dangers, unlike the completely unrealistic "My Side of the Mountain," where a kid goes to live in the wilderness and befriends animals and a creepy old guy who plays a flute. That kid had it easy but there is some effort made here to portray the struggle it takes to live in the wild, although this is still far from realistic. The cast here is decent, led by Robert Logan as the stubborn hippie dad and George Buck Flower as the mountain man. Corny hippie soundtrack oddly works. As always with these types of films, the best part is the scenery. No sets or cheap CGI fakery going on, just real grass, trees, rivers, mountains, and animals. It adds an authenticity to things missing today. Plus, who doesn't love a good view? This was followed by two sequels that are pretty much more of the same.

It's nice to watch this flick every now and then - no cussin', no fussin' - a family where arguments are few and far between-but-although it is praised as a wonderful offering for little and big ones, there are some nervous moments involving some animals who resent the invasion of their turf. The carefully staged scenes involving man vs. animal and/or animal vs. animal could frighten little ones -ooohhh, look daddy, they're beating and biting. What fun.Still, you can't help but enjoy the idea of getting out of the big city and opting for life with Mother Nature and mother bear, the latter justifiably ticked because her cubs have been humanized.The humans in the picture are good folk to watch. Logan, a Brooklyn boy, yet, looks like a rugged mountain man. The wife is pleasant, and the children seem to be having a good time. Like other reviewers, I can't help but wonder why the daughter in this pic was replaced by another daughter in the two follow-ups. There is zilch about her on her web site which contains wonderful information - her name.The movie is certainly watchable, the scenery beautiful and the story - well, it's like a fairy tale.Somebody complained about the speeding in re-building (not building) their humble abode. Shoot, Ty Penningtonhe does it every week. Of course he has a host of experts and several hundred people to help. If Logan is still around they might draft him."The Wilderness Family" is, for the most part pleasant, harmless entertainment unless, of course, you're an animal about to become a dinner.Still, it is far less vicious than city life where you can get snuffed for no good reason.

I saw this film when I was 13. Loved-it-to-death! I have since watched it through the eyes of a much older person and a parent. AH! What was I thinking!?!?!The parents live in the hussle and bussle life of L.A.(although it doesn't seem so bad to me at all) Dad gets this thought one day that he's not very happy living that kind of life so he throws around the idea about leaving it all for the quiet life of the wild, wild wilderness (you know, the wild, man-eating bears, the wild, man-eating cougars etc...) and there, under the glow of the traffic light they decide to leave it all(why do my life altering decisions seem to take years to make and they can decide their fate in an instant?).So they move.Blah, blah... man chops down trees, builds home, makes friends with nature, nature turns on them and they run for their lifes until the dog comes to the rescue yadda, yadda, yadda.Great premise-not very realistic. Aside from the fact that they were literally dropped into the middle of "wild African Safari" as a parent, the majority of their problems stemmed from poor parenting and nearly cost the children their lives on more than one occasion. This upset me (I know, it's only a movie).What I liked? Beautiful scenery, good, wholesome family entertainment without one questionable word, phrase or action. Hard to find these days.What disturbed me? Children riding in the back of a pick-up doing 50 mph down the street, children allowed to run-off into the wilderness with no parental supervision, children and adults constantly domesticating wild animals, feeding wild animals and the overall obvious lack of respect for nature the Wilderness family showed in this film.