Feb 21, 2020

"The Call Of The Wild" has been let down by its animation, critics say

As cgi pushes into photorealism and animated characters play an ever-bigger role in live-action blockbusters, the creative hazards of this approach are becoming apparent. The latest case in point: The Call of the Wild, directed by animation veteran Chris Sanders, which is released today by the Walt Disney Company's 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox).

The film is based on Jack London's beloved novel of the same name, which recounts the adventures of the canine Buck through the Yukon of the Gold Rush age. In past adaptations, Buck was played by real dogs; the advancement of both animation technology and animal rights legislation has made that option less viable, and here he's rendered in highly naturalistic cgi. The human characters are performed by a live-action cast led by Harrison Ford.

The hybrid style hasn't gone down well with critics, who broadly agree that the animation of Buck is unconvincing as a real dog. While many recognize the sophistication of the animation and vfx (which were led by MPC's studio in Montreal, with Erik Nash serving as vfx supervisor), they tend to compare the film unfavorably with both cartoonish animation and the purely live-action versions of the past.

Some reviewers liken the overall effect to Disney's recent remake of The Lion King, which was also animated by MPC. However, Sanders has distinguished his film from that one, pointing out that Buck is subtly stylized to compensate for the fact that he doesn't speak. This Indiewire article has more on the subject.

At the time of writing, The Call of the Wild has a 65% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes. Here's a sample of the reviews:

Brian Lowry, CNN:

Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post:

Yolanda Machado, The Wrap:

Tim Robey, The Telegraph:

Owen Gleiberman, Variety:

Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com:

Anthony Lane, The New Yorker:

Sanders cut his teeth at Disney, serving in various capacities - including storyboard artist, character designer, and voice actor - on its 1990s features, before writing and directing Lilo & Stitch with Dean DeBlois. Their partnership continued at Dreamworks, where they wrote and directed the first installment How to Train Your Dragon together. Sanders also wrote and directed The Croods with Kirk DeMicco.

As well as Sanders's live-action debut, The Call of the Wild is the first feature on which he has sole credit as director. The film is produced by Erwin Stoff and executive produced by Diana Pokorny and Ryan Stafford. The adapted screenplay is by Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049).