We swore we wouldn’t pay any attention when they crammed us into our tiny high school gym for the annual pre-Christmas movie matinee, and word got around they’d pulled a copy of “Old Yeller” from the severely limited school archives. Not that one again! Not the crying boy and the rabid dog and the wild hogs and the endless farm chores!
Eighty minutes later, of course, all the tough high school kids were trying to hide their brimming tears in the artificial twilight of that crowded gym. “Old Yeller,” as others have pointed out, is the greatest boy-and- his-dog movie of all time and has plenty of action spots to keep your children riveted on family night.
At once sad and uplifting, cheesy and relatively nuanced, realistic and melodramatic, “Old Yeller” is a tribute to those inexplicable bonds between humans and their favored animals. On a farm in rural Texas, Pa is going off to a cattle drive to earn some rare cash for his struggling family. Young teenager Travis is to be the man of the family, riding herd on his spunky little brother, Arliss.
A runaway dog, immediately dubbed Yeller, disrupts the farm and then sticks around. Arliss loves him unconditionally, then slowly Yeller wins over Travis.
Throughout the film, there are ominous warnings of “hydrophobia,” or rabies, that come back to dominate the plot during the wrenching climax.
Other elements work to elevate “Old Yeller,” including beautiful farm scenery, and a subplot with a girl next door who tries to pierce Travis’ adolescent self-absorption. Chuck Connors has a rich minor part as a kindly cowboy who comes looking for Yeller.
For boomer fans of the 1950s Disney classics, “Yeller” is also a great chance to see Fess Parker again. The Disney regular died in March, leaving a legacy of many happy movie memories among families the world over.
Rated: G, but (spoiler alert) Yeller’s death will be disturbing to the youngest animal-lovers in your family.
Best suited for: Kids ages 7 to 11, with baby-boomer parents or grandparents who love their old Disney films.
