Old Yeller

• Swiss Family Robinson [1960]
• White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
• Homeward Bound [1993]
• Homeward Bound 2 - Lost In San Francisco [1995]
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs [1937] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

It is, without question, the most heart-tugging Disney movie of them all. The story begins in the Texas desert in 1869, where our fury hero is looking for adventure and, while chasing a rabit, inadvertently befriends a Texas family. The father has just left for a trip to Kansas and so the oldest son, Travis Coates, is the man of the house. At first Travis Coates wants nothing to do with the dog he calls Old Yeller (because his fur is yellow) and even throws rocks at him. After his little brother claims Old Yeller as his dog and his mother agrees, Travis is furious and still wants an excuse to get rid of the dog. But as soon as Old Yeller proves himself to be a brave protector by saving the younger brother's life from a bear, Travis is won over. Travis and Yeller soon become best friends and share adventures from chasing racoons to taming wild pigs. Yeller saves his life on more than one occasion.

Now that I'm an adult, I can see that this movie is primarily for kids and will certainly keep them entertained. But the ending, no matter what your age, will move you. For those British viewers who don't like how American movies always end happily, here is a movie with a genuinely sad ending. Old Yeller, while defending the family from a wolf with hydrophobia, gets the disease himself. After they know for certain that Yeller has the disease they know that they have to kill this dog that saved all of their lives. After his mother offers to do it, Travis says "No, moma, he was my dog. I'll do it." Nothing in all the other Disney movies will elicit more emotions than seeing Travis Coates, tears in his eyes and pistol in his hands, struggling to find the strength to do what he so desperately didn't want to do. It will make you long for those too cutesy endings. The moral of the story, I guess, is that bad stuff in life happens. But don't get consumed by it. There's good stuff as well: Old Yeller lives on in his son, "Young Yeller", and the last seen with Young Yeller chasing a rabit just like his "pappy" did is enough to elicit a smile.

• Categories > Children's Videos
• Categories > Children's Videos > Family Favourites
• Categories > Children's Videos > Disney
• Categories > Classics
• Categories > Children's > Family Favourites
• Categories > Children's
• Categories > Children's > Disney

• Amazon.co.uk : Old Yeller