The Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1975)

A family flees the city for the wilderness. They learn to live with nature and more importantly, that when one has family, one has everything.

Director:

Stewart Raffill

Writers:

Arthur R. Dubs (story), Stewart Raffill (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Logan, Susan Damante, Hollye Holmes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Logan	...	Skip (as Robert F. Logan)
Susan Damante	...	Pat (as Susan Damante Shaw)
Hollye Holmes	...	Jenny
Ham Larsen	...	Toby
George 'Buck' Flower	...	Boomer
William Cornford	...	Pilot
John F. Goff	...	Doctor #1
Herbert F. Nelson	...	Doctor #2

Storyline

City dweller Skip leaves his urban life behind indefinitely to seek fresh air for his daughter's health. His wife begrudgingly sacrifices domestic comforts, while their darling boy Toby, their daughter Jenny, and their dog Crust have the time of their lives roaming in the wild. Meeting wildlife however has its pros and cons, especially as not all bears are nearly as tame as a local glutton and a pair of cubs in need of adoption. They soon learn to love every moment with family- including old man Boomer and animal friends.

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Plot Keywords:

bear | nature | mountain | dog | wilderness | 

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Taglines:

Based on a true story of a modern pioneer family who turned their backs on civilization...never to return.

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Genres:

Family | Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 1977 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Die Abenteuer der Familie Robinson in der Wildnis

Filming Locations:

Kamas, Utah, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$31,223,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pacific International Pictures,Wilderness Family Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

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Goofs

The shadow of the boom mic is visible on the ground as the family is unloading their gear from the plane.

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Connections

Followed by Adventures of the Wilderness Family 3 (1979)

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Soundtracks

To Touch The Wind
Music by Gene Kauer and Douglas M. Lackey (as Douglas Lackey)
Lyrics by Dennis Bachmann
Sung by Lee Dresser

User Reviews

A fun escape for families stuck in the grind

I saw this movie as a kid and loved it. Today, I saw it again with my wife and two kids and loved it.

There are aspects that are completely unrealistic (i.e. a welder knows how to build a very nice log cabin, a fast grizzly does not run down the little girl who happens to be ten feet away, the man is not seriously mangled by the mountain lion, the dog is not killed by the wolves, etc.), but what I loved about it was the fact that the family does what so many families long to do--get out of Dodge and head for the high country.

People weren't meant to be stuck in a box 24/7 because they are enslaved to a house payment, the monster SUV, and all the other trappings of civilization. Families were meant to hang together and kids were meant to learn from parents--not MTV, the druggies on the corner, or their friends at school. Parents, to your children love is spelled TIME. This film reinforces that notion and illustrates that this misguided idea of quality time being more important than quantity is ridiculous. The pragmatic message from this film is for parents to sell the BMW and buy a Chevy, sell the mansion on the hill and buy the house in the valley, chuck the ladder-climbing job and take the one that allows you to be home for dinner every night. After all, nobody every regretted not spending more time at work, but they did regret not spending more time with the kiddos.

I believe that it's a movie that was ahead of its time and I'd love to see a more modern (and more realistic) take on the subject. Besides, it's a good family film, which is a rarity these days. It's not a perfect film by any standard, but the scenery is beautiful and the plot is visionary. That's why I give it an 8 out of 10.