Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar

I recently saw this film on TV for the 1st time in more than 30 years. The memories it brought back are indescribable. It reminded me of a time when Disney made family films that were not just cartoons. For those of us who are parents now, it is becoming harder and harder to find films that we can take our children to, except for cartoons. It is very sad that films such as Swiss Family Robinson, Candleshoe and Freaky Friday are no longer being made. And after seeing this film again made me curious about what happened to the cougar who played Charlie. As far as I know, he never played in another film. Where did he live and when did he die? If anyone knows, I would appreciate any information they can offer.

A brief culture shock. Choosing an old Disney real animal and adventure film, I suddenly felt transported to the Russ Meyer universe. Logically, no boobs, no small town drama, no murder and manslaughter, but the style of storytelling and the aesthetics from the master of artful sleaze. The voiceover, the camera, the use of music, the editing technique, the pace. It is through the use of this technique that a plot framework is created from supposedly dull animal films. It is minimal, but sufficient to fill an entertaining feature film. Wonderful landscapes, a likeable hero and countless interesting shots. Indeed, you constantly wonder how the creative team realised the unusual scenes. This is certainly the other side of the coin, as not everything must have been in the best interests of the animals. Whatever the case, the viewer's fear of a threatening animal is certainly not taken away, but this living creature is brought closer in a holistic way and a possible enemy image is softened. All this in an entertaining and family-friendly 75 minutes.

If you like nature films and stories about animals, this is a must see. Plus, the narration by Rex Allen is great.

The film is beautiful, not only in narrative, but the landscape of Washington state was used extensively. Winston Hibler, the director was an avid choice for such a task, as he had directed and produced Disney nature documentaries (True Life Adventure series) in the 1950s.

The star of the movie, Charlie the cougar was very believable and was obviously coached well. It must have been a hard job to train him.

There are two scenes that he was great in. The first was when he happened upon some barn cats drinking milk, and being just a big house cat, he joined in. The second scene was Charlie riding logs down a waterway through the woods. I'm very surprised they were able to get him to do that.

A great ending, as were most Disney family films of the time.

Just a lot of fun to watch, "Charlie the Lonesome Cougar" proves that story is everything. You don't need great actors or great sets or special effects if the story is good. The wildlife footage is amazing. Watching real animals behave naturally is far more entertaining than nine out of ten CGI movies with their anthropomorphic animals speaking with movie star voices. If you're looking for family entertainment that will expose your kids to real animals in an entertaining story, you simply can't go wrong renting this film. It's one of Disney's all-time best. (Basically, anything narrated by Rex Allen is good.)

This is a really fun movie with great narration. The acting is sub-par generally, but this only seems to add to the effect of a rough logging camp and its workers.

Adults should find this film enjoyable, but it's mainly for young people. This film deals with issues that youth will find prescient: loneliness, alienation, fitting-in, and growing up... all through that scampish yet delightful cougar.

Much better than Disney's silly, flashy, A.D.D. inducing, garish animated movies of recent years; "Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar" should not be overlooked, parents.