Parents need to know that this movie has mature themes, such as the mistreatment of the Native American tribes by the miners, betting on dog fights, and the harshness of life in the mountains. There's a scene where wolves surround a camp and a character (off-screen) is killed while trying to protect his dog pack. A wolf is shot and crawls back to die in front of her young pup. A corpse is ejected from its coffin, characters treat an animal cruelly to make it fight, a bear chases a man but is scared away by a wolf, a character refers to the death of his parents. There's a shoot-out with no deaths but plenty of menace and a mining cave-in that threatens a character.
Positive messages:Reference to social exclusion of Native Americans. Characters are self-reliant and trustworthy, bad guys steal from newcomers and cheat.
Violence:Violence includes dog fights, gun fight, house set on fire, implied death of a character, bear attack, wolf cub's mother is shot.
Sex:Very subtle reference to prostitution, a (unmarried) couple kiss.
White Fang is my all time favorite MOVIE! I've always been fasinated by wolves and animals and i thought the story was great! However, in the beginning it might alittle too scary for kids 9 and under.
A good adventure movie with real characters (people and animals), as well as a bit about the hardships of life for those seeking gold and fortune on the frontiers. There is some information before and after the movie from the Humane Society about wolves, which proved an interesting topic and learning opportunity for my son. It's a great action/adventure story that is more substantive than much of the current fare. Although a bit simplistic, the message about a young man caring about the fate of a wild animal is a nice one.