In this next movie, we let the animals lead the way. I had grown up with the remake for this movie but hadn’t realized that it was a remake and not the original. So I was pretty happy (in my nerdy way) to get the chance to watch this. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.
A Brief Summary
(Taken from D23)
Story of the 200-mile trek across the wilds of Canada by three inseparable animal friends in search of their beloved owners, a family who has gone to Europe, leaving the animals with a friend. After hardship, danger, and near fatal accidents, together with some moving encounters with friendly humans, the two dogs, Bodger and Luath, and a cat, Tao, complete their incredible journey, and have a joyful reunion with their owners, who have returned from their own journey and have come to believe their beloved pets to be dead.
What works
- The movie was narrated by Rex Allen, which was similar to Lobo but this time there were no songs which I was very much okay with as the Lobo songs were a hit or miss for me.
- It starts present-day before having a flashback to how the animals arrived at Mr. Longridge’s house. While it probably would have been fine starting from the very beginning (when the pets were still at the Hunters’ home), I think it worked out getting first into the action and then catching the audience up on the backstory.
- I always appreciate a smooth narration & storyline. Thankfully this was not that long of a movie and nothing felt unnecessary to the overall plot. Points for that.
- Early on the personalities of the main animals are established which made the individual struggles stand out that much more.
- I know I already did some comparisons to Lobo, but another thing that I liked here versus Lobo, was that in this movie, there were other humans that speak so its not just Rex Allen. Actually, the movie Nikki would be the positive comparison for this kind of narration/actor ratio.
- After Longridge discovers the animals are missing, he jumps into finding them full-force. It was great to see the effort he put in to locating information and tracking the animals.
- I like that it ends with a birthday party for the original owner kid Peter. It makes the reunion that much more special.
- Literally the final words are ‘incredible journey’. In most cases, I would be against a story ending with the same words as the title, but, in this case, it’s okay as it fits the narrated/storytelling vibe that the rest of the movie had. Very much like a children’s book.
Honorable Mentions
- “For a magic moment, James Hunter was a child again, hoping against hope.”
- James (the dad) wasn’t featured much in the movie, but I just really liked this line as the family was hoping that the barking really was their pets and that they had finally come home.
Side Questions
- Longridge gave Peter the registration papers for a dog in the kennel to make up for the loss of the pets, but then the pets arrive back home. So what are they going to do about the dog at the kennel?
Would I watch this movie again?
- It was cute, and I probably would watch it again, but it wouldn’t be my first choice for a movie night. Maybe with friends and family, but I don’t know how often I would watch it by myself.
If you’ve seen The Incredible Journey, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!
Rewind to the beginning of the Disney Film Project
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Fast Forward to the next film with The Sword in the Stone
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