King of the Grizzlies
(1970)
Kicking off the 70’s, Disney offers movie goers what at first
seems like another straight True Life Adventure. It has that style of film
making complete with a narrator telling us the ins and outs of the life of Wahb
the Grizzly Bear. The film starts out as many other Disney films with a shot of
a book. It opens and we delve into the pages, into the story it tells. This
tale is based on a true story that happen at the turn of the 20th
Century.
A 3rd person
narrated life is one part of the film, the other half is a straight drama of
Moki the Indian. Moki is from the Cree tribe and works for his former army
commander. Wahb and his family wonder
onto the area where Moki and the Commander are herding cattle. Mom kills a bull
attacking her cubs, after her cubs chase a cow, and then the Commander kills
the bears, or so he thinks. Wahb escapes death, his twin and mother are DEAD,
and because he is a bear of little brain he soon forgets he was a part of a
family and makes his long lonely trek into the world. He is found by Moki, who
wrestles and ties him up and brings him to a location away from the cattle.
Moki’s tribe had a connection to bears and now Moki has a connection to Wahb.
This comes to play a major part later on in the story when Wahb has a chance to
tear apart the man who killed his family.
Wahb grows up from a
whinny little Grizzly to the 1300 pound king of the Grizzlies. Through the film
we see him come into contact and conflict with mountain lions, other bears,
other grizzlies, other animals, a female grizzly and of course the
ranchers. We see the romantic side of
Wahb as he steers his short time girlfriend away from metal traps set up to
hurt the great bear. He chases, he runs away, he fights, he knocks things over.
One of Wahbs favorite hobbies is pushing things over, such as wagons and
fences. Knocking over the fences lets out cattle and horses which doesn’t go
over well with the Cornell. This sets the Cornell on a Captain Ahab quest for
the great Bear, trying to finish off what he should have finished years ago
when he was a helpless cub.
While watching KOTG I rather enjoyed it. I didn’t watch it
all in one setting and when it wasn’t on, I didn’t feel a strong compulsion to
finish it. It’s not the most exciting
film, but is a good film. Nothing stands out, even when Wahb is standing at his
full height, about the film, but it’s good that a simplistic non-blockbuster
film is made as it tries to bring to life an area of life we don’t get to see
that often, the life of Grizzly bear.
Similar and more entertaining is the Disney film, ‘The Bears and I’.
Moki (John Yesno), a Cree Indian, is made foreman of a sprawling
cattle ranch owned by his former army commander. But he carries with him
through life the lore of his own people. When he rescues a bear cub, Wahb, he
feels a mystical connection between himself and the magnificent creature.
Later, Wahb, now a 1,300-pound bear, returns from the wild to wreak havoc on
the cattle ranch, and Moki must face this fearsome grizzly. This spectacular
film depicts a territorial battle over a country of breathtaking beauty.
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