''White Fang'' is a 1991 American Northern

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

adventure drama film directed by

Randal Kleiser John Randal Kleiser (born July 20, 1946) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter and actor, best known for directing the 1978 musical romantic-comedy film '' Grease''. Biography John Randal Kleiser was born in Lebanon ...

, starring

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in ''The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto'' ...

and

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

. Based on

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

's 1906 novel ''

White Fang ''White Fang'' is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) — and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in ''Outing'' magazine between May and October 1906, it was published in book form in Oc ...

'', it tells the story of the friendship between a young Klondike gold prospector and a

wolfdog A wolfdog is a canine produced by the mating of a domestic dog (''Canis familiaris'') with a gray wolf (''Canis lupus''), eastern wolf (''Canis lycaon''), red wolf (''Canis rufus''), or Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis'') to produce a hyb ...

. White Fang is portrayed by a

, Jed, who also appeared in such films as '' The Thing'' (1982) and ''

The Journey of Natty Gann ''The Journey of Natty Gann'' is a 1985 American adventure film directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The film introduced Meredith Salenger and also starred John Cusack, Lainie ...

'' (1985). The film was released on January 18, 1991, by Buena Vista Pictures. A sequel to the film, '' White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf'', was released in 1994.

Plot

In 1896, during the Klondike Gold Rush, a young explorer named Jack Conroy arrives in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

to look for his deceased father's mining claim. Conroy meets two mushers named Clarence "Skunker" Thurston and Alex Larson, Conroy's father's buddy, who reluctantly agree to guide Jack to his father's claim in

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. While on their journey, they are stalked by a large pack of

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 un ...

. One night, while resting at a campfire, a female wolf named Kiche manages to lure one of the

sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transportation in Arctic areas ...

s (Digger) away from the group, and another wolf appears and chases the dog into the woods. Skunker uses his ammunition to wound Kiche and gives chase to save his dog, but is killed and devoured by the rest of the pack. Later that night, the wolves return but are scared off by Jack and Alex using burning branches. The following morning the wolves attack the two men, but they are saved when another sled team arrives with one of the men mortally shooting a female wolf. The injured wolf hobbles back to her den, and her cub remains by her side until she dies. The pup is left to fend for himself. Jack and Alex reach a town where they plan to stay for the winter. A band of Native Americans, meanwhile, find the pup, and the chief, realizing he is a

(a hybrid of a wolf and dog) from the color of his teeth, names him White Fang. As spring comes, Jack and Alex resume their quest, but stop off at the Native Americans' settlement. The chief explains that White Fang has been raised to obey, not to be friendly, but Jack seeks to change that. Jack's chance comes when he is suddenly attacked by a vicious grizzly bear, who chases him until he takes cover under a woodpile. White Fang, seeing Jack in danger, intervenes and holds the bear at bay rather than fighting it while standing his ground against the animal until it eventually gives up and leaves, saving Jack's life in the process. Jack and Alex later leave the settlement. Not long after, White Fang is unfairly traded to a brutal dogfighter named Beauty Smith (who previously stole Jack's money); he blackmails the Native American for the wolfdog, saying that ownership of a wild animal is considered illegal. Smith and his gang train and abuse White Fang into becoming a vicious killing machine in order to enter him into illegal dogfights. White Fang eventually meets his match in a brutal fight against a

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, but he lets Jack know that city life is no place for a wolf; he must let White Fang run free in the wild. Though White Fang cannot understand why Jack is trying to leave him, Jack's efforts by using a stick (which is White Fang's worst fear when he was under Smith) finally succeed in scaring the wolfdog off. Later, just as he's boarding the ship back to

, Jack realizes that his rightful place is in the Yukon and he decides to stay behind alone and live off the land; Alex congratulates him by saying that it is what Jack's father would have wanted. After a short time, White Fang returns to the cabin site where he and Jack are happily reunited.

Cast

as Jack Conroy, a young man trying to fulfill his father's dying wish to find gold in the treacherous Yukon Valley * Jed as White Fang, a

grey wolf 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 ...

- Siberian husky hybrid that starts his life in the wild and becomes more of a tamed animal after he goes to the Indian camp *

as Alex Larson, an experienced, but gruff miner who knew Jack's father *

as Clarence 'Skunker' Thurston, Alex's companion * Susan Hogan as Belinda Casey, Alex's lover *

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...

as Beauty Smith, a villainous dogfighter who buys up White Fang to fight dogs * Pius Savage as Grey Beaver, a Native American chief who is White Fang's first master * Bill Moseley as Luke, Beauty Smith's colleague * Clint Youngreen as Tinker, Beauty Smith's colleague * Suzanne Kent as Heather, Belinda's best friend * Michael Davis Lally as Sykes, Beauty Smith's archrival * Aaron Hotch as Mit-sah, Grey Beaver's son * Diane E. Benson as Kloo-koosh, Grey Beaver's wife * Charles Jimmie Sr. as Older Indian * Clifford Fossman as Old Timer 1 * Irvin Sogge as Old Timer 2 * Tom Fallon as Prospector * Dick Mackney as Sled Dog Prospector * Robert Hoelen as Bar Patron * George Rogers as Registrar * Raymond R. Menaker as Shopkeeper * Davis Fallon as Lookout * Michael A. Hagen as Teenager * Robert Scott Kyker as Frozen Prospector 1 * Tom Yewell as Frozen Prospector 2 * John Beers as Sykes' Dog Handler * Van Clifton as Bar Pianist * Jim Moore as Violin Player * Marliese Schneider as Woman of the Night * Cherokee the Bulldog as Cherokee *

Bart the Bear Bart the Bear (January 19, 1977 – May 10, 2000) was a male Kodiak bear best known for his numerous appearances in films, including '' The Bear'' (for which he received widespread acclaim),Prettyman, Brett"Utah's Bart the Bear: Hollywood star, ...

as Bear

Production

The Walt Disney Company began filming on February 26, 1990, and officially ended this cinematic production five months later.

and the timber wolves were trained by professional employees of

Heber City, Utah Heber City is a city and county seat of Wasatch County, Utah, United States. The population was 11,362 at the time of the 2010 census. It is located 43 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. History Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robert ...

's ''Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife''.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mixed-to-positive reviews. On the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 67% from 21 critics, with an average score of 5.80/10. The site's critical consensus states, "This glossy edition of ''White Fang'' shaves off the rough-hewn edges that made Jack London's epic story so distinct, but gorgeous photography and heartfelt performances make this an appealing adventure." On Metacritic the film has a weighed average score of 62 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews". Roger Ebert of the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

gave the film three stars out of four. He described it as a film that "holds the natural world in wonder and awe", and praised the actors' "authentic and understated” performances as well as the "magnificently photographed” cinematography.

Box office

The film was produced on a budget of $14 million and grossed $34,793,160 in the United States and Canada. The film was also a particularly large box office hit in France where it had 3,501,373 admissions and a gross of over 35 million French Franc ($6 million), becoming the fourth highest grossing film of 1991.

Award

* Genesis Award for Feature Film – Family in 1993.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Authority control 1990s adventure drama films 1991 drama films 1991 films American adventure drama films 1990s English-language films Films about animal cruelty Films about dogs Films about friendship Films based on American novels Films based on White Fang Films directed by Randal Kleiser Films scored by Basil Poledouris Films set in 1896 Films set in Alaska Films set in the Arctic Films set in Yukon Films shot in Alaska Grizzly bears in popular culture Films about mining Mushing films Northern (genre) films Walt Disney Pictures films Films about wolves 1990s American films ja:白牙#映画