Uma Aventura na América Selvagem

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.

I thought this flick was great fun. I thought the acting was pretty decent and not as bad as other people say. Sure, the three leads are all teen idols, but I am not going to knock their performances because of that. Still, I continue to enjoy this flick, and always will

Loved the show. The acting was good, considering the ages of the actors involved. Has just the right amount of excitement, family drama, danger and humour. The nature and wildlife shots are just fantastic, and you wonder if the actors are actually in the same shots as the animals, or if it's just a brilliant camera trick. Take the part in the bears' cave - I know I wouldn't stand up to having so many bears roaring all around me with no visible route of escape. Panoramic shots of the natural world makes you just wanna get into your 4WD and take a 3 month hiatus to tour the countryside. Touching moments at the end when the normally practical-minded father applauded his son's efforts at nature-based film-making and gave them his support instead of the initial discouragement. Great movie round and round. If I had the money and the time, I'd go on trip like that too. That's how good it is.

I recently watched this movie on a Sunny Sunday morning whilst in bed, sounds very ideological, but is true. I must say I do not believe it is all that bad. OK at times the screenplay does stray away from it's original context and the stereotypical WASP family may reinforce unrealistic portrayals of Hollywood, but with this, with a little effort on our behalf, we the audience can allow ourselves to be whisked away into the young boys adventure, out of the harsh realities of life. When analysed, issues of father and son relationships and the transition of boy to manhood become quite clear. Taking into consideration that the film was made nearly ten years ago, I feel it serves importantly as balance between strong realism and fairy tale.

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).