'The Call Of The Wild' Trailer: Harrison Ford And A Dog Named Buck Take On Mother Nature

This year, Harrison Ford became a dog in the animated sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2. Next year, he's teaming up with a dog for an adventure that will see them battling the elements during the middle of the Gold Rush in the 1890s.

The Call of the Wild is based on Jack London's classic novel of the same name and follows a dog named Buck as he is uprooted from a spoiled life as a domestic dog in California and turned into a mail delivery sled dog in the Alaskan Yukon. That's right, the dog is actually the star of this movie, and Harrison Ford comes along to further the story. Watch The Call of the Wild trailer below.

Hollywood has been inundated with movies focusing on dogs, but at least this one doesn't look quite as cheesy as the likes of A Dog's Journey, A Dog's Purpose, and A Dog's Battle with Alcoholism (yes, one of those is fake). Those movies have felt on par with the faith-based dramas that churches go to see by the bus load. This at least feels like a throwback to the kind of man vs. nature dramas that don't get made too often anymore.

In case you didn't notice, the dog star of the movie isn't actually a canine actor at all. It's a digital effect, just like the animals of Disney's remakes of The Lion King and The Jungle Book. I suppose that's easier than training a dog to do some of the scenes and then still replacing him for the more harrowing moments that a dog can't pull off. But it does take you out of the moment at times. Hopefully that issue will be fixed by the time the full movie comes out early next year.

The Call of the Wild also stars Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan, Bradley Whitford and Colin Woodell. The film is directed by Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) from a screenplay by Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049).

Adapted from the beloved literary classic, 20th Century Fox's THE CALL OF THE WILD vividly brings to the screen the story of Buck, a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Alaskan Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail delivery dog sled team–and later its leader–Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his true place in the world and becoming his own master.

The Call of the Wild opens in theaters on February 21, 2020.