Running Free

No, "Running free" ("One Paw") isn't the best movie ever made. I really liked it, however. It's a fine piece of family entertainment. Yes, some of the plot is a bit on the silly side. However, I think that on the balance, the movie works for what it is intended to be.

I think that the film work with the wolverines is great and deserves respect. Outside of it being a feel-good family movie, "Running Free" is also a small work of education on, or at least a cursory introduction to, these often under-understood creatures. This film shows that there is obviously more to the fearsome "Devil Bear" than its general reputation would suggest. Writer/Director Steve Kroschel is known for his personal love and dedication to wolverines. I suspect that a movie of this sort would only be possible through the caring work and knowledge of such a person.

I saw this once when I was in my early teens. My younger brother and I could not finish the movie. We made fun of our father for bringing it home in the first place. The only value "Running Free" provided us with was a reference to judge other bad movies against. "Running Free" or "One Paw" is, in our view, the worst film we'd been exposed to.

The movie has the look of a one-hour Sunday afternoon CBC made for TV movie. The most expensive scene must be when the bad guys attack One Paw and the kid with grenades from a helicopter. Why throw grenades at a wolverine from a helicopter? Why not shoot it or trap it? Poor.

Do not rent this film. Hopefully you are just reading this for idle curiosity and not because you are a fan of "Running Free".