Wild America

Although this is an old movie, I just saw it on television for the first time. It is a great Saturday afternoon movie to watch with kids. I didn't remember Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Weiss) in any other shows, but he has a very commanding presence on screen. The director really knew how capture his very cherub face with his captivating blond hair and haunting blue eyes.For a while I was just mesmerized watching how he moved throughout the film. I could actually 'see' his maturity and growth as he encountered many antics with his brothers. It was very believable and the theme is definitely something I would encourage my students to evaluate and analyze as their own lives reflect some of the same things these young men experienced. It had action, adventure, love and caring parents -for once! The family structure was secure and I was happy to see that. Our kids see so much violence and family destruction- they need to see something positive. I will definitely add this one to my list of videos my students can watch.

This movie is an absolute classic! It's Disney at its best for the wild at heart it is timeless. The relationship between the brothers makes the movie. Each character is beautifully woven and "real".

Inspired by imperfect but truly loving and good old American idealist parents, the boys leap out of the nest and clamor after their own dreams. It rings true to any wise parent, who knows that someday they will have to let go. Great movie for the whole family! A beautiful story of family ties, courage, perseverance and imperfect but admirable characters who each learn their very own lesson. It truly captures the essence of true American spirit! Watch for - The real Stouffer brothers who have cameos in the film as three "uncredited" ruffians (in the scene where the boys are driving to snow country).

When I heard that Jonathan Taylor Thomas was doing a movie with Devon Sawa at the height of my teenybopper stage, needless to say I was excited. The weird thing is that I still love this movie now. The plot follows the three Stouffer brothers, Marty, Mark, and Marshall, following their dreams to get out of their small town and dead-end future as mechanics and go out and film animals. Not just any animals, though, the "biggest bad-a**es of the animal kingdom," which results in a few thrilling, sometimes comic adventures for the three brothers. The brothers want the piece de resistance of their film to be an infamous cave where a group of bears are reputed to sleep together, the rumor that actually starts their trip and leads to the biggest adventure of all. This movie is full of hope that dreams can come true, as cheesy as that sounds, and is even better as it is a true story based on the naturalists behind Wild America. Great shots of animals, as well (not counting fake bear suits).

I certainly don't have the credentials to analyze screenplays or actors performances. I'm just a ordinary guy who enjoyed this movie immensely. I will say this about anyone who doesn't enjoy this movie... I don't think I'd like having a beer them. Watch the movie, it's pretty darn good in my book. :)

I believe in grading movies on a curve. This one is not in the same class as Citizen Kane or Fargo or Some Like It Hot. Instead this is a low-budget and somewhat corny—okay, pretty corny—family film like, oh, Because of Winn-Dixie. And graded on the curve appropriate for that class, this is at least an 8 out of 10. I'll be honest, my wife is the one who ordered this from Netflix and I didn't want to see it. I had Gosford Park in the DVD tray ready to go. But my wife thought our 15-year old would enjoy Wild America more, and our daughter agreed. I was outnumbered. So we watched this film.

I didn't know anything about it. We were a good 10 minutes or more into the film before I put the family's last name (Stouffer) together with the first name of the oldest son (Marty) and realized, "Hey, I know who this kid is: It's Marty Stouffer of..." D'oh.

Anyway, I expect that the real adventures of the real Marty and his brothers weren't quite as colorful as those of the characters in the film. But there were a good combination of excitement (and from some unlikely sources, like F-14 jets dropping bombs) and genuine humor. I laughed hard again and again.

Special effects? Well, I'll just say, it ain't Jurassic Park. I think the animal props were rented from a budget prop store in Atlanta. But it didn't matter. I enjoyed the film a lot. Do what I did, get some fresh hot pizza, sit back with your spouse and a kid or two, and enjoy it yourself.