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Parents' Guide to

The Adventures of the Wilderness Family

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Great family adventure tale has scary animal battles.

Movie G 1975 100 minutes
The Adventures of the Wilderness Family Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 4+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Mama T.
Mama T. Adult
December 5, 2017
age 4+

family film with some bear & wolf encounters

No sex scenes. Parents do kiss on the lips but quick and not sexual. No violence or bloody scenes. Predator danger is limited to animal growls and chasing the kids/adults but their dog ALWAYS comes to the rescue and ALWAYS comes off unharmed somehow. The daughter also tends to scream a bit much. No alcohol/drug-use. Good message about simplifying life away from consumerism and starting anew together as a family. ......................... My kids love this movie and the 2 following movies. The LA family moves to middle of nowhere wilderness for the sake of the sickly daughter. They all learn how to live in their new surrounding. So some foolish decisions (i.e., not bringing a gun along when they're roaming around bear and wolf country) abound but they're able to escape all animal-predator dangers somehow with shouting, their dog's defense, etc. It's not very realistic but I appreciate that it wasn't gory or violent. For the humans or animals. Well, except for the chickens and goats in movies 2 and 3 but they don't show the scenes. We're just told.

This title has:

Great messages
2 people found this helpful.
Alicia S.
Alicia S. Parent
April 18, 2023
age 4+

Great clean movie

Finally a movie for the kids that doesn't have any sort of alternate agenda. The only iffy parts would be for really small kids, maybe 4 and under, if they are scared of wild animals - Some of the wild animal encounters with the wilderness family may frighten young ones a bit. This movie is wonderful and portrays a lot of good character traits.

This title has:

Great messages
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Concerned about his daughter's fragile health and the family's busy, stressful life in Los Angeles, Skip Robinson (Robert Logan) urges wife, Pat (Susan Damante-Shaw) and their two kids to make a drastic lifestyle change in THE ADVENTURES OF THE WILDERNESS FAMILY. What if they trade in their smog-filled, urban world for simplicity, natural beauty, and the challenges of living in Rocky Mountains? It's a scary idea for these city folk, but one they're all willing to try. The family's initial misgivings intensify when they find the wonder and awesome power of their new, isolated environment brings danger as well as joy and serenity. For every playful bear and raccoon that becomes a part of the family, there's an angry or territorial animal trying to protect its environment. And after every exquisite sunlit day, natural disasters common to the mountainous region occur. It's a much more perilous adventure than any of them anticipated. Will their good intentions, newly learned skills, and rich experiences as a family be enough to see them through?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

The Adventures of the Wilderness Family is a warm-hearted, old-fashioned family film, a crowd-pleaser and box office hit when it was released in the mid-1970s. By today's standards, however, the human acting is only passable; the story is predictable and safe; and the action sequences with teeth-baring, clawing animals fighting for their lives may be too intense for young audiences.

The animals are the stars here -- the bear cubs, the raccoons, the lovable old black bear, and the family dog turn in award-winning "performances" -- without relying on computer enhancements or sophisticated special effects. For families with kids mature enough to watch a lovable family dog contend with a pack of wolves or a grizzly bear, or a young mom and her kids seemingly defenseless as the grizzly wreaks havoc on the cabin in which they're hiding, it's an exciting adventure.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about movie themes. Moving from a big city to a small town or to a rural area is a common movie (and television) theme. Why do you think this appeals to audiences? If you were to make such a change, what would you miss? What would be willing to give up?

  • Find out how wild animals are cared for and trained during filming. Standards have changed for work with animals since the 1970s when this movie was made. Do you think it's important to have strict regulations? Why?

  • Movies usually reflect the time in which they were made. If Adventures of the Wilderness Family was made today, how might Pat's and Jenny's character and behavior be different?

Movie Details

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