The Call of the Wild

2020

The Call of the Wild

Critics Consensus

It's undermined by distracting and unnecessary CGI, but this heartwarming Call of the Wild remains a classic story, affectionately retold.

61%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 180

89%

Audience Score

Verified Ratings: 9,333

Where to watch

Rate And Review

User image

Tap to review this movie

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    Step 1 of 2

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Step 2 of 2

    How did you get your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMC (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Cinemark (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Bought somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

    You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

    Verify I bought my ticket from

    How did you get your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMC (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Cinemark (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Bought somewhere else

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

  • How did you get your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMC (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Cinemark (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Bought somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

The Call of the Wild Videos

View All Videos (1)

The Call of the Wild Photos

View All Photos (7)

Movie Info

Adapted from the beloved literary classic, THE CALL OF THE WILD vividly brings to the screen the story of Buck, a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Alaskan Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail delivery dog sled team--and later its leader--Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his true place in the world and becoming his own master.

Cast

Harrison Ford
as John Thornton
Dan Stevens
as Hal
Omar Sy
as Perrault
Karen Gillan
as Mercedes
Bradley Whitford
as Judge Miller
Colin Woodell
as Charles
Cara Gee
as Francoise
Jean Louisa Kelly
as Katie Miller
Wes Brown
as Mountie
Terry Notary
as Rail Worker
Lon Gowan
as Postman
View All

News & Interviews for The Call of the Wild

Birds of Prey, The Gentlemen, and Bloodshot Hit Digital Release This Week
The 76 Most Anticipated Movies of 2020
Weekend Box Office Results: Invisible Man Sees $29 Million Opening
View All

Critic Reviews for The Call of the Wild

All Critics (180) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (110) | Rotten (70)

  • There is little here, amid the high-tech photorealistic animations, that would satisfy London's concept of "wild."

    March 2, 2020 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Jake Coyle

    Associated Press
    Top Critic

  • Harrison Ford does quietly powerful work as author Jack London's hero, but his computer-generated co-star looks weird.

    February 25, 2020 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Richard Roeper

    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic

  • If you squint your eyes and blur out the effects (it's not only Buck - all the dogs, squirrels, wolves and bears are computer-generated) you are left with a fantastically muscular tale from the Logan co-screenwriter Michael Green.

    February 24, 2020 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Kevin Maher

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • Ach, it's easier to go with the flow, even if the script, inspired by Jack London's 1903 novel, is flagrantly sappy and frequently ridiculous.

    February 24, 2020 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Charlotte O'Sullivan

    London Evening Standard
    Top Critic

  • It occupies a very uncomfortable middle ground in terms of the ideal audience that it's for... It's got some thrilling moments, but it has way too many cheesy moments.

    February 22, 2020 | Full Review…

    Christy Lemire

    FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
    Top Critic

  • The Call of the Wild proves that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks to a cute puppy and charming characters, Jack London's classic novel, which has translated poorly to the big screen thus far, finally comes to life here.

    February 22, 2020 | Full Review…

    Asher Luberto

    L.A. Weekly
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (180)

Audience Reviews for The Call of the Wild

All Audience (3370) | Verified Audience (2544)
  • Feb 23, 2020
    When asked how he would like to re-enter the Hollywood workforce, Harrison Ford sat pensively on his agent's black leather casting couch before bellowing, "I think in my younger days I really killed it doing disinterested narration voiceovers." A frantic memo was sent to the Disney hivemind - execute :Operation Jack London: we have our codger - . Suddenly, as if called forth from the Skynet compound itself, casting directors, production assistants, and CG animators emerged from their frost-dusted ice lockers with the fine-tuned vision and coldly calculated compulsion of an A.I. cavalry. *beep-boop* make the 1890's Yukon mailman a Jamaic-I mean-French Black guy for token diversity *beep-boop* all human antagonists are ugly or have mustaches *beep-boop* main character is a good boy fren who is doin me a frighten *beep-boop* shoehorn preachy theme about the shortsightedness of greed despite production originating from one of the world's highest grossing media conglomerates *beep-boop* convey all emotional intentions through invasive score *beep-boop* drinking is sort of bad *beep-boop* dog is not gay *beep-boop* Thanks to the magic of modern CG animation, in just a few months we have been given awful-looking cat humans and, now, stupid-looking human dogs. What will we see next on the Disneys? Yes, I already forgot the five new Disney remake/reboot/franchise trailers that preceded THIS ADAPTATION OFA BELOVED AND CLASSIC PIECE OF LITERATURE THAT HAPPENS TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN UTILIZED AS A PRIMER FOR HARRISON FORD'S UNNECESSARY AND UNWANTED RETURN TO THE INDIANA JONES FRANCHISE.
    Steve L Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

The Call of the Wild Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

Movie & TV guides