novastadler I was hooked into this low budget film after the boat accident. I also have a lab and was impressed with how well trained "Yellow" was. But I gave it a 2 rating based on it completely jumping the shark at the end. Not only will watching a dog fall 127 feet traumatize your kids, the suspension of disbelief that the dog actually survived with only a broken/hurt leg is asking too much. And to end the film begging viewers to believe "Yellow" swam off the island and walked 149 miles back home is pathetic. Quite frankly, I would have given it a higher rating if it had taken the Old Yeller route instead with the same moral of "the dog makes the ultimate sacrifice by trying to protect the boy who would not have survived to that point if not for the dog." But then, children wouldn't watch it a 2nd time in today's world. For the record, I watched Old Yeller at least a few x every year growing up, and understood why it affected people both positively and negatively (which is what good films should inspire to do).

Mike Hart Personally this has many memories for me, as I was friends with the editors son when I lived in Vancouver in 1993 and was lucky enough to see it being edited. I still have a cut from the reel somewhere. It brings back many memories, both from seeing the film 1st hand and also from viewing the fantastic scenery of British Columbia which has great childhood memories.Over all, it's a well shot film with some good long outdoor shots. The story is a little clichéd but what else can you expect from a family film! The dog does an amazingly good job as do the actors. They were only in their early teens when it was shot so I've gotta hand it to them for doing such a good job considering they were the main characters. There are some moments where they the supporting actors lack fluidity in their delivery and let's be honest, the concept isn't ground breaking.If your looking for a good, well filmed family film look no further. One of the lost gems in film history.

vchimpanzee Angus is learning to drive in his father's pickup truck (with comic results), so he must be in his mid-teens. A mysterious dog shows up at his house, and he wants to keep it, but his parents say it must belong to someone. They reluctantly agree to keep the dog at least until its owner is found, if there is one. The dog causes problems and Angus is reminded he must be responsible for the dog. One day the father is making a delivery on the boat CORMORANT, somewhere on the Pacific coast, with Angus and the dog. The weather gets rough unexpectedly, and the boat capsizes. The father is rescued quickly but does not know what happened to his son. Angus and the dog managed to get in a small boat Angus helped build, along with some supplies, and they make it to shore. But the area is very isolated, and even though search planes fly over several times, Angus can't make his presence known. He is there for many days with the dog, but despite his age Angus has learned many survival skills (earlier in the movie Angus and his younger brother camped out in the back yard and we saw the father teach some of these skills; the father also gave Angus a knife that had been given to him by his father) and gets along quite well. After a while the food situation gets so bad Angus even eats some of the cookies his girlfriend Sara made him. The dog helps some, even chasing away wolves and later a bobcat (these were the only scary scenes, but nothing that should bother parents). Angus later starts moving toward civilization. The search team shows signs of giving up, but as in most movies like this, the parents will not let them. This was an okay movie. No standout performances, and nothing to make it better than any other movies like it, but the boy's ability to take care of himself was nothing less than amazing.

jrbynum690 There should be more of this kind of film. This is one that the family could watch and enjoy. I find the best movies need not to have all of the bad language to make them enjoyable. It may be that someday the film industry may get the message.