IMDb > My Side of the Mountain (1969) > IMDb user reviews
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12 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Not so bad, 20 April 2005
7/10
Author: muddred from United States

I saw this movie when i was a kid and thought it was wonderful. i must have been about 12 or 14. It made me want to eat algae pancakes. I think it had a good lesson, and remember it made me appreciate the mountains. maybe the acting isn't all that great, but it is a Good kid movie. i don't remember why the title was my side of the mountain but i have thought about it over the years and i am 42 now so it must have had an impact on me to last this long. with all the bad movies they make for kids these days i don't think you can go wrong with this one. if you go into it with low expectations you may find that is was much better than you thought it would be.

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12 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Read the book then see the movie, 26 February 2005
10/10
Author: bcolquho from Saco, Maine

I saw this movie when it first came out. It's about Sam. A boy who runs away from home when he finds out that his family's summer trip has been cancelled. So he heads for the Catskill Mountains. It's there that he learns how to survive with the help of several wild animals including a ferret and a Peregrine falcon. During his year in the wilderness, he learns about himself. He learns that he can't run away from his problems and the only way to handle them is to face them. I read the book when I was ten. It was published the year I was born. It was close to, if not faithful to, Jean Craighead George's book, because she worked on the script. Unlike today's movies, where the author sells the rights, and is cut out of the loop by the studios. Things were different back in 1969. What do I have to say to anyone who wants to see this movie? Read the book. Then see the movie.

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11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
A place closer to home, 5 March 2002
Author: dlhunt

I saw this movie as a child with my family, my mother being the most enthusiastic as it was filmed in Sutton QC, where she grew up. Back then, I thought the idea of going into the mountains and living in one's own treehouse was a fabulous idea!

The familiar scenery of the Green Mountains of southern Québec was breathtaking on the big screen. My mother pointed out the scene where Teddy Eccles' character, Sam, goes to the library in Knowlton, a library she had been to many times.

I understand Eccles attended and signed the guestbook of Olivet Baptist Church in Sutton, the church where my mother grew up.

Certainly, every kid has a dream of some adventure independent of parents and this movie helped me live mine a little.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Entertaining Family Film, 13 February 2005
9/10
Author: gf1701 from Marin, California

"My Side of the Mountain" is an entertaining family film that I enjoyed both as a teenager and as an adult.

The movie has adventure and a sense of wonder in its portrayal of a young boy intent on making his way alone in the wilderness. The lead character, Sam, does sometimes overact and can get on one's nerves, but the supporting cast--human, mammalian, and avian--keeps the film interesting and prevents Sam from become too overbearing. Kids can learn lessons on self-reliance and interdependence from the film, in addition to enjoying San's adventures and the beautiful scenery of the Laurentian Mountains.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
I loved both the book and the movie, 23 October 2005
10/10
Author: ladylittle from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

If you're looking for good clean adventure, it's here.

The relationship between the boy and 'his' mountain, the animals, and the other people is well portrayed and thought provoking. I found it amusing that even in the middle of nowhere he kept a journal - proof that he was not running from the benefits of civilization just the 'boxed in' feeling. His parents' choices are also noteworthy. I started out not thinking too much of them and changing my mind by the end.

How often we live in our own little worlds and think we have all there is. There's so much more out there! I loved it as a kid and still enjoy it as an adult. I look forward to watching it with my kids.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Boy runs away from home to study nature, 26 February 2000
10/10
Author: jaybabb (jaybabb@clearwire.net) from Lewiston, Idaho

This is a wonderful and insightful film. After being told by his father, that the trip to the Mountains in Montana is being cancelled-he decides to run away from home and go to the mountains by himself.

This film would be boring except for one thing- this film is narrated by the boy, Sam (Ted Eccles). throughout the entire film, we get to listen into his thoughts or what he is writing in his journal. Ted Eccles does a GREAT job narrating this film.

The nature scenes are wonderful. After seeing this film, I have a greater appreciation for nature. Sam's ability to interact with other animals (Including his pet raccoon) is remarkable.

I recommend this film for everyone. It will make you think, it will awe-inspire you. You will also learn a new recipe for pancakes and syrup. This film is not to be missed!

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Heartwarming Yet Bland Movie (SPOILERS), 22 February 2007
7/10
Author: I_Am_The_Taylrus from Minnesota

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

SPOILERS

It may be a bit bland, but this is a great early children movie that everyone should probably see at least once in their lifetime. There are a lot of differences from this movie from the My Side Of The Mountain novel. For starters, the falcon does not die is the novel, and guess what happens to the falcon in the movie? What do you know? It dies! How unpredictable. Anyway, enough of the sarcasm, if you can call it sarcasm. This is an enjoyable children movie for anybody, so really, it is not a children movie.

Here is the plot. A boy named Sam leaves his home with his pet raccoon and goes out to the wilderness, mountains, to be exact, to study algae. He has to try to survive out in the wilderness. On his journey he meets a musician, he finds and raises a falcon, and he gets snowed in from inside a tree. Then his falcon named Frightful is killed by a careless hunter. The boy continues to try to survive and he meets a librarian on his way again. In the end of the movie he returns back to his house.

Overall, there is a lot more things that happen to Sam along the way. I can not remember all of it. This is a fun wilderness movie. I also like the montage of the thoughts of the words "Symbolic relationship," and "Next summer," going through Sam's head as he finishes his daily wilderness routine. It was creepy and very unsettling. Anyway, this is a nice and emotional romp about a boy who leaves homer to study algae. There are hardships through the way, but the boy makes it. Why I am giving the summary of the movie again is anybody's guess.

7/10

Recommended Films: The Yearling.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Unusual and highly recommended children's movie, 16 March 2006
Author: quicreva from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

My Side of the Mountain made a huge impression on me when I was a kid, so much so that I still remember most of the details, although I have not seen it in about thirty years. It is based on the novel of the same name by Jean George, and is reasonably faithful to it. What I liked best as a kid is that My Side of the Mountain was so unlike the cutesy, syrupy kid flicks of the time. I mean Disney and all the Disney wannabes, with their adorable moppets and idiotic plots. The protagonist, Sam, actually has a brain. Although he's not larger-than-life, he's certainly one of a kind. I envied him. I spent endless days alone in the forest myself when I was his age, watching nature and enjoying my own company. I would leave right after breakfast and return home only as dark was falling. It was considered usual behavior at the time, but not dangerous. Few modern kids will ever have such experiences - what a pity! Watching My Side of the Mountain would be a terrific way to get a taste of it, however. Parents everywhere should rent this rather obscure little gem.

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Watch it with your kids., 9 July 2001
8/10
Author: suzy q123 from United States

This film will mean a lot to children of a certain age, particularly boys. It's not really an adventure story, but it is 'boy runs away from family' story done in the old Disney style- that is, you never reall feel that he's in serious danger, and you learn a lot about nature and love along the way. Worthwhile.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
39 years later..., 5 October 2008
10/10
Author: gomitch2 from United States

Unbelievable! I seen this movie when I was 5 years old. I am 44 now. Since the movie, I did all sorts of similar things. I build tree forts, hiked around lakes and tinkered near the ponds and lakes of South Dakota. I've trapped small animals as a 7-12 yr old including noosing gophers and small rabbits. I eventually joined the US Marines as a 20 year old and now I am involved in teaching a Jungle Survival and Leadership Course five or six times a year in the Philippines. This movie created such a LASTING IMPRESSION on my innocent spirit I nearly became like the kid in the movie. My life has been a very fulfilling, independent and satisfying experience/journey. I just came across the DVD again after over 39 years and showed it to my kids. SO many great memories have come back to me during watching the movie again. One of the best movies ever made. Mitch

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