Move over Chewbacca. Harrison Ford has a new furry companion in his latest movie “The Call of the Wild.”
Ford stars opposite a CGI dog named Buck, specifically a St. Bernard and Scotch Collie mix, in 20th Century Fox’s new film based on the classic novel by Jack London. And their journey through the Yukon has Ford breathless.
“Adventure of a lifetime,” Ford tells his canine sidekick as they stare out into the wilderness. “You’ve been sleeping for two days. In my bed,” he adds.
“The Call of the Wild” opted for CGI, photo-realistic animal characters in order to provide them with the full range of emotion that London characterizes in his novel. But the film is a live-action and animation hybrid with impressive vistas and visual effects all the same.
Set during the Gold Rush of the 1890s, a big-hearted dog named Buck finds his domestic life turned upside down when he’s uprooted from his California home and transplanted in the exotic wilds of the Yukon. He becomes a rookie mail delivery dog on a sled team and eventually becomes its leader as he goes on a quest to become his own master.
Chris Sanders directed the film from a screenplay by Michael Green based on London’s novel. It stars Ford alongside Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan, Bradley Whitford and Colin Woodell. Erwin Stoff produced along with Diana Pokorny serving as executive producer and Ryan Stafford as co-producer and visual effects producer.
“The Call of the Wild” opens in theaters Feb. 21, 2020. Watch the first trailer above.
For the record, a previous version of this story described the territory Ford’s character visits as the Alaskan Yukon. The Yukon is a territory in Canada.