Product Description

Jack London's immortal tale of courage and survival comes to glorious life amid the breathtaking beauty of the great Alaskan frontier! Ethan Hawke (DEAD POETS SOCIETY) stars as a young man trying to fulfill his father's dying wish to find gold in the treacherous Yukon valley. His incredible journey begins when he meets a veteran gold miner (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who guides young Jack to his father's claim. Along the way, Jack discovers a kindred spirit who will change his life forever -- a magnificent wolf-dog named White Fang. From the taming of a wolf, to the taming of the wild, he must find the courage to conquer his fears and become a man in this spectacular outdoor adventure!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7003 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2002-04-23
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Amazon.com
Ethan Hawke, fresh faced and full of determination, tackles the icy wilds and rowdy boom towns of Alaska in Disney's 1991 adaptation of Jack London's turn-of-the-century gold rush classic. Though somewhat tamed for young audiences, the story of a city kid who befriends a feral half-wolf/half-dog orphan while learning to survive the dangers of nature and man has its share of peril and rousing scenes of wilderness adventure. But the humans are upstaged by both the animals (the standoff between White Fang and a wild brown bear is a highlight) and the Alaskan landscape, from the snow-covered mountains and frozen lakes of winter to the rich green forests and whitecap rivers of summer. The scenes of dogfights and wild wolves hunting game are carefully shot to avoid bloodshed (the opening disclaimer takes pains to remind viewers that all such scenes have been simulated), but they may still be too intense for young children. Recommended for 9 and up. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

A must see movie!!!
This is an absolutely incredible story that touches your soul and warms your heart. The development of the relationship between a younger and an older man, compliments and mirrors in many ways the development of the relationship between the young man and the wolf/dog. Compassion, trust, love, pain...all of these abound in this movie. In addition to the touching story is the awesome Alaskan landcape and sceenery. We own this movie and have watched it many times, yet we never tire of it's honesty. A highly recommended movie...You won't be dissapointed!!!

An all-time personal favorite still not properly presented
Disney's White Fang is one of my all-time favorite films. Many don't see it as much of a cut above the average, but few films are as touching or as beautiful to me as this one is. A heart-warming story with good performances and photography that captures all the epic majesty of the Alaskan landscape.

So why does it only get three stars? Well, that's Disney's fault for releasing it only in full-frame format. A film of such awe-inspiring scenery and photographic grandure deserves to be seen in it's original widescreen aspect ratio. And if they can release the inferior and ridiculously useless sequel in anamorphic widescreen, one can only wonder why they wouldn't give this film the same treatment. I realize that sometimes pan-and-scan prints are the only ones available, but this film is not that old, and in any case the German DVD (the title over there is "Wolfsblut") was released in widescreen with an English audio track, so Disney must have a widescreen print in their possession.

Special features could have saved this release another star, but there's nothing here except a Spanish audio track. And with no extra content, Disney could have easily fit both widescreen and fullscreen versions on one disc.

To those who either don't have a widescreen preference or don't like this film enough to care, the subject of this rant will seem a minor quibble. If that is the case, then by all means rent (or buy) this film, as I still fully endorse it on its own merits. But for my own part I won't be touching this one until Disney wakes up and puts out a widescreen reissue.

Excellent movie!
This was such a magical movie, and yet totally realistic! The relationships feel real, the characters seem genuine, everything about it was perfect. This is a great movie for everyone! It teaches about compassion, friendship, perseverence, and kindness in the tale of a boy who heads to the gold rush to make his fortune, and makes some lifelong friends along the way. I also recommend Iron Will if you like this one!