Heed "The Call of Wild" in SM Cinemas Near You!

Buck is the Bida-Doggie in the Movie The Call of The Wild. Buck is such an adorable doggo, and that will give you an emotional roller coaster ride, so he needed to be completely believable in all circumstances. And to make this happen, Stoff and Sanders early on hired the Acclaimed Visual Effects Producer Ryan Stafford, also an Executive Producer on the film, and visual effects supervisor Erik Nash, a three-time Academy Award Nominee. 


Wait, I thought Buck was a real dog?!


The Call of The Wild is Initially planned as a mostly CGI-driven movie. For me, it's a good thing that the filmmakers decided to make it more of a hybrid approach incorporating more actual photography to blend with digitally-created dogs and other animals. This new approach would require the film’s lead character to be much more authentic.

Creating Buck


For the scenes involving Buck, instead of just using a marker--usually a tennis ball--they put a real person there who they would film and later replace with animation. 

Terry Notary, who began as a Cirque de Soleil performer and has become one of the premier motion specialists and movement choreographers in the movie industry, spent hours and hours studying dogs and learning their mannerisms, practicing their mannerism and movement.

Producer Stoff was not at all convinced that this would work. “It was an odd idea, and I didn’t know how the cast would react to it, because you’ve got a grown man who is on all fours, in a funny grey suit with these prosthetic front legs playing a dog. But it turned out to be a genius move because Terry gives such a committed portrayal that it improved every actor’s performance.”
The Call of The Wild


"Meet Buckley" 


Several weeks into shooting, director Sanders’ wife Jessica happened to be perusing PetFinder and ran across a dog listed as a St. Bernard/Shephard mix. Not only was this the exact mix described by London, but the dog’s name was listed as “Buckley.” The coincidence was too strong not to investigate, and Jess dropped everything and drove to the Emporia, Kansas shelter to meet Buckley. It was love at first sight; Jess paid the $25 adoption fee and made the two days drive back to the movie set. Buckley was an instant hit with the crew, and Erwin suggested that we simply scan Buckley and make him the lead. And that’s exactly what they did.

The Call of The Wild

Buck is only one of a nine-dog sled team traversing the Yukon through snow, sleet, rain or mud. To create the other eight dogs, the production chose to cast real dogs and then scan them. Once scanned, details could be perfected and rigging added. They had a casting call and chose a variety of dogs based on the personalities they wanted for the team.

The Call of The Wild 


 Film Stills Credits: Fox Entertainment Group


My Initial Review



 The Call of the Wild is a good movie. I was at the advance screening that was held at SM Cinema, SM Megamall. I think I was able to munch on 2 bags of Snack Time popcorn while watching this with DaddyO. Also, better to watch this movie with the whole family most especially if you really love dogs. I love every part of it and also the twist and turns. This reminded me of my childhood favorite films involving dogs like 8 Below & Iron Will. The Call of the Wild offers something else. It's not that kind of a heavy drama too, and I love how adorable Buck's doggy gestures, and adventures in it. I can definitely say that it's a must-watch movie.





Heed The Call of Wild and catch in it SM Cinemas near you!

Heed The Call of Wild and watch in it SM Cinemas near you!

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