''The Adventures of the Wilderness Family'' (also known as ''The Wilderness Family'') is a 1975 American

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Stewart Raffill Stewart Raffill is a British writer and director. Biography Raffill was born in England and grew up near Stratford before immigrating to the US and working in the motion picture industry. His writing and directing work in film and TV spans ...

and starring Robert Logan,

George Buck Flower George Albert "Buck" Flower (October 28, 1937 – June 18, 2004) was an American actor, writer, producer, assistant director, production manager, and casting director. He was sometimes credited as Ernest Wall, Buck Flower, George "Buck" Flower ...

and

Susan Damante-Shaw Susan Damante (born June 17, 1950; formally credited as Susan Damante-Shaw) is an American actress who has starred in various films and television programs. She is the mother of Vinessa Shaw and Natalie Shaw (both actresses). Personal life Daman ...

. The film is about Skip Robinson and his family who decide to move from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to a new home in the majestic Rocky Mountains, Skip builds a log cabin, and the children befriend wild animals. As the intrepid Robinsons make a simpler life for themselves off the grid, they discover that, in the wilderness, each day brings its own adventure. ''The Adventures of the Wilderness Family'' was released in theaters on December 19, 1975, by

Pacific International Enterprises Pacific International Enterprises (PIE) was an American film production company and film distributor, founded by Arthur R. Dubs as a producer of family films. Pacific International Enterprises was a privately held company that had been in business ...

, and grossed $28.8 million. The film had two sequels: ''

The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family ''The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family'' (a.k.a. ''Wilderness Family Part 2'') is a 1978 adventure/family movie that stars Robert Logan, George Buck Flower and Susan Damante-Shaw and is a sequel to ''The Adventures of the Wilderness F ...

'' (1978, also known as ''Wilderness Family Part 2'') and ''

Mountain Family Robinson ''Mountain Family Robinson'' is a 1979 family movie that stars Robert Logan, Susan Damante-Shaw and George Buck Flower. This film is a sequel to ''The Adventures of the Wilderness Family'' and '' The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family'' ...

'' (1979). The filming location was the Gunnison National Forest in the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Plot

Skip Robinson is a construction worker who lives with his family in

. Concerned about his daughter's health and the welfare of his family, as well as despising his job, Skip grows tired of the city life and decides to move his family to the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

with no plans to ever return due to the smog and congestion. After moving his wife Pat and two children, eleven-year-old Jennifer and seven-year-old Toby to the wilderness and then building their own cabin near a large lake, they settle in to find out that their new environment isn't always as peaceful as it may appear. From the start, the Robinson family seemed to be adjusting to their new life in the Colorado wilderness. A few days after finishing building their new cabin, Toby and Skip go out hunting one morning with their

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

Crust, and succeed in catching a

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...

for the family dinner. Later that day, while climbing along the rocky slopes of a large hill, Skip and his son almost get caught in a deadly

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

. They later find a pair of young

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

cubs who have lost their mother to the same landslide they got caught in. The cubs are quickly adopted into the Robinson family, but Pat and Skip tell their children that sooner or later the cubs would have to be released back into the wild when they are fully grown. During the next few weeks, the Robinson family slowly adapt to their new life in the mountains. In addition to the two young bear cubs and their family dog, Skip and his family also befriend a

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

that they find living near their cabin and name him Bandito. While Jenny and Toby are collecting flowers, they encounter

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

cubs near their den. The family receive numerous letters and packages from friends and family back in Los Angeles. Pat receives several letters from her mother and Jenny and Toby are given numerous schoolbooks from the Los Angeles schoolboard. Skip continues hunting for small game and fishing in the nearest creek to provide food for his family, while his wife works around the house and their two children work on their schoolwork. One day, while fishing for some trout down by the creek with the two grizzly cubs, Skip and the cubs are scared by a large

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

that was roaming along the creekbed. Jenny and Toby had gone out for a walk with their dog Crust, to which they later encounter the same bear that their dad saw down by the creek. While Toby heads back to the cabin to get his parents, Jenny goes after Crust, who has managed to scare the bear away. Skip is informed by Toby of what happened, and he heads out with his rifle to find his daughter. While trying to find their way back to the cabin, Jenny and Crust are attacked by a pack of

gray wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

who chase them down to a nearby lake and almost attack Jenny. Crust is able to fend the wolves off long enough for Skip to arrive in the nick of time and drive the pack away. Despite this frightening encounter, Jenny quickly recovers from the shock of what had happened and is brought home safe and sound. The next day, Skip and his family meet a friendly aging mountain man who introduces himself as Boomer. Boomer informs them that he had been a longtime partner and friend to Ol' Jake, Skip's uncle who lived in the same area where the Robinsons had built their cabin. Ol' Jake had been known to take extremely good care of the local wildlife in the area, including a friendly black bear named Samson he raised from a cub to a massive adult that was the same black bear that Skip and his family had encountered a few times before. Boomer also warns Skip and his family to keep a watchful eye for Three-Toes, a locally notorious grizzly bear that has been known to invade the properties of humans who are living in the mountains. Boomer is then forced to leave when the two bear cubs accidentally frighten away Boomer's

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

Flora. Later on, while the family was out gathering a large bear walks into their cabin. Seeing it's a black bear, the children decide it must be Samson. Taking a risk, Skip follows Boomer's advice and "introduces himself". Thankfully it pays off and the bear, who turns out to be Samson, befriends the family and joins them for dinner. The family settles in further to their new life, gathering from the surrounding forests and spending time with their new animal friends and Boomer. One day, while Pat and Jenny are picking berries, they encounter Three-Toes; Crust manages to fend off Three-Toes while Pat retrieves Jenny, who suffered a massive shock. Skip goes to find Crust while tracking down Three-Toes. The following morning, Jenny's condition has gotten worse, Skip tries to call for help but the radio's batteries are dead, so he has to walk to get help. During a windstorm, Three-Toes tries to break into the cabin, but Pat tries to fend him off. Samson comes to the family's defence and engages Three-Toes in a brawl as Pat reloads the gun. Samson manages to hold the grizzly off long enough and Pat manages to shoot Three-Toes, killing him. Skip returns with a doctor, saying that Jenny's health is improving. Pat is still hesitant about staying but she agrees to adapt as this is a better life for her and her family. Boomer then shows up and comically loses his animal again, and the children run off to help him.

Cast

* Robert Logan as Skip Robinson *

as Pat Robinson *Hollye Holmes as Jenny Robinson *Ham Larsen as Toby Robinson *

as Boomer

Production

Parts of the film were shot in

Summit County, Utah Summit County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a rugged and mountainous area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 36,324. Its county seat is Coalville, and the largest city is Park City. History The county ...

and Colorado.

Home media

Originally released on VHS by Pacific International Enterprises. More recently, the film series was released on DVD,

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and the

digital format Digital data, in information theory and information systems, is information represented as a string of discrete symbols each of which can take on one of only a finite number of values from some alphabet, such as letters or digits. An example is ...

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

References

External links