Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)

PLOT:

Where the Red Fern Grows is the heartwarming and adventurous tale for all ages about a young boy and his quest for his own red-bone hound hunting dogs. Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with Old Dan and Little Ann. The movie follows the inseparable trio as they romp relentlessly through the Ozarks, trying to tree the elusive Ghost raccoon. Their efforts prove victorious as they win the coveted gold cup in the annual coon-hunt contest, capture wily ghost coons and bravely fight a mountain lion. Through these adventures Billy realizes the meaning of true friendship, loyalty, integrity and heroics, in this timeless and poignant coming of age story.

REVIEW:

 When I was in elementary school…I believe it was about 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade…I rmemeber my teacher reading this to us after lunch. When she finished, we watched the original film. That’s what I thought I was watching when I chose this. Needless to say, I was disappointed that this was another one of those bloody remakes.

As usual, I keep an open mind about these things, but it is exceedingly hard.

The good…this version is a little closer to the book. The scenery is beautiful.

The bad…the main thing that sticks out is how you don’t feel any connection to the characters. I remember watching the original and feeling the hurt when Dan and Ann died. Not so much with this one. It was just another dog dying. Billy and his family didn’t seem to be anything more than generic people they could have bought off the street and spoon fed them these lines. Kris Kristofferson’s narration leaves something to be desired.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not bashing this film simply because it is a remake. As a matter of fact, it was made before remakes seemingly took over cinema, but it just isn’t that good of a film. Everything that made the original a great, endearing part of our childhood was raped by this one, but they did try to make a good picture. It just didn’t happen. In good conscience, I can’t recommend this to anyone, including my worst enemies, but if you must, you must.

2 out of 5 stars