HOMEWARD BOUND: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: This is a remake of the 1963 film THE
INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. In this version, however, the animals
talk to each other, often in off-color wisecracks. It is not
a good sign that the producers thought this device was needed
for modern audiences, but it does add its own entertainment
value to the film. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4).
I was twelve years old when I read Sheila Burnford's INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. It must have been a year or so later that I saw the Walt Disney adaptation. I do not actually remember if that film was narrated or not. I suspect it must have been narrated to keep the story understandable. (I think THE BEAR was about the first case I saw of a feature film that shows animal characters completely non-verbally.) In any case, now the film has been remade almost thirty years later and the approach to conveying animal action has taken a step backwards from realism. In Duwayne Dunham's remake the animals talk and even wise-crack to each other. That certainly makes the animals easier to understand, and it opens the way for a lot of humor--a la LOOK WHO'S TALKING--but it regrettably pushes the story into fantasy.
Shadow (played by Ben with Don Ameche's voice), Chance (Rattler/Michael J. Fox), and(Tiki/Sally Field) love their human family, but are left temporarily with a family friend. Through a mix-up, they decide they have been abandoned and determine to strike out on their own to make their way home. Between them and home are some unspecified hundreds of miles (250 miles in the original) of beautiful but treacherous wilderness.
The screenplay is by Linda Wooverton (who worked on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) and Caroline Thompson (who wrote EDWARD SCISSORHANDS). Often the wise-cracking animals get off a good one, but it is somewhat hit or miss. Lines like the referring to a porcupine as having a "bad hair day" just don't work. In spite of that misplaced humor, HOMEWARD BOUND does hit a responsive chord and will have many members of the audience openly crying at the loyalty of these pets for their humans. Not a perfect film, but generally one that should please adults and children. I give the film a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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leeper@mtgzfs3.att.com
Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper
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