'Alpha' Trailer: Learn How The First Good Doggo Became Man's Best Friend

Up until last year, Alpha was being billed as a gritty, survivalist tale about a young, lost hunter who befriends an injured wolf. And from the looks of the first trailer, that's all it would be — with a heartwarming tale of the first boy and his dog embedded within, of course. But after the prehistoric drama starring Kodi Smit-McPhee got pushed back to the summer, it seems like Sony has flipped the marketing entirely in the latest trailer.

Gone are the gory fight scenes and the tense chases of the first Alpha trailer — here we have an inspirational tale of how a boy befriended an injured wolf against all odds. We even have a cheesy voiceover narrator who sounds like he's lifted right out of a '90s Disney trailer. It seems like the survival storyline has become periphery to the plot about how mankind domesticated the first dog, in a soaring parable about how friendship overcomes all. And just look how cute the wolf is when he saves McPhee's character from drowning!

It's fascinating that Sony has pivoted so dramatically on the marketing for this film after the film's release date was pushed back in December. But it confirms theories that the studio was looking to rehaul the marketing campaign after entering radio silence following the lukewarm response to the first trailer.

I have to admit, the new family-oriented marketing campaign doesn't endear me any more to the film — especially with the addition of the old-school narrator. It plays more like a Disney direct-to-video release than a feature film starring a promising young actor like McPhee. But then again, maybe they are smart to center the marketing more heavily on the dog. Everyone loves a good doggo.

Here's the official synopsis for Alpha:

An epic adventure set in the last Ice Age, ALPHA tells a fascinating, visually stunning story that shines a light on the origins of man's best friend. While on his first hunt with his tribe's most elite group, a young man is injured and must learn to survive alone in the wilderness. Reluctantly taming a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, the pair learn to rely on each other and become unlikely allies, enduring countless dangers and overwhelming odds in order to find their way home before winter arrives.

Alpha opens in theaters on August 17, 2018.