User reviews

A lumberman finds a young cougar in need of help. To young to be on his own the cat soon takes up with the rugged camp workers. Nicknamed "Good Time Charlie' his antics amuse everyone at first. His wild nature eventually begins to cause trouble and reintroducing him into his natural habitat becomes an issue. This film is among those wonderful Disney nature films that were common in the 50's and 60's Lots of action, beautiful scenery and some endearing animal to charm you. These films were not long but included fascinating glimpses into wildlife and the effects of human contact. Unlike Disney's animated talking animals the animals in these films remained true to their own nature. They also make great travel films for seeing the western states.

Winston Hibler directed this pleasant story from Walt Disney studios about a group of loggers in the Pacific Northwest who adopt an orphaned cougar cub they found in the woods, and make him their unofficial mascot, who entertains them with his playful antics throughout camp. When he gets bigger, it isn't quite so funny, since he tends to raid and wreck their kitchen! When Charlie gets lost, he embarks on a series of adventures that cause him to revert to being wild, so when he finally makes his way back to camp, starts to become destructive, and possibly dangerous, though one man in particular(played by Ron Brown) is determined to save his life, and protect his future(along with a nice lady cougar he met along the way...) Entertaining film is fun for the whole family, and cat lovers in particular.

This is one of those movies you just watch for the pictures. There isn't much of a story and there isn't much acting, aside from the animals, but the scenery is great and it's amazing they can train animals like that.

It's worth watching just to see actual footage of one of the last log drives on the Clearwater river. Not long after the movie was made, the Clearwater was dammed up, and that whole beautiful valley was killed by the muck and slack-water behind Dworshak dam. If they tried to make a movie like this these days, they'd have to do it with CGI, because you just can't pile up 600,000 feet of old-growth logs and dump them in a river any more, even if you could find one that wasn't dammed up. The animal rights people would probably have something to say about having a cougar jump into a pen full of sheep and run over top of a bunch of piglets, too.

There are some hokey parts of the production such as the "moonlight" cougar romp under a bright sunny sky, and the dynamiting of a small pile of driftwood that is supposed to be a "log jam" (after lighting the "wick", no less), but in the genre of "animal pictures" this is one of the best.

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.

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.)

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 slog to sit through, as are most of Disney's many other films of this kind.

'Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar' doesn't have anything to it and is just barely strung together to form a plot. I didn't enjoy it, mainly as the film gave me no reason to. It has the usual questionable animal welfare from this era, while there is hardly any acting involved.

Rex Allen does an OK job with narration, but the likes of Ron Brown and Brian Russell fail to bring anything to the table in terms of the human performances in this. The animals are naturally cute, but the earlier mentioned questions constantly arise when they are onscreen.

As with the Disney films that preceded this in 'The Legend of Lobo' and 'Nikki, Wild Dog of the North' and the ones that followed in 'King of the Grizzlies' and 'A Tale of Two Critters', this is a film that I found tedious to watch. I will say, the only positive is that the logging stuff is interesting.

This film has not been seen by me in quite a few years. It came on the Disney Channel in the wee hours of the morning. I stayed up to watch it, and found it even more entertaining than the first time. The story, the scenery and the characters are as good as they come. I know that if anyone takes the time to view this film, they will find it definitely worth seeing a second time. It's very memorable in more ways than one. I would recommend this film to anyone because it is both entertaining and educational for all concerned.

s

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.

this is one of my favorite movies ever! along with casablanca and cannibal holocaust, this is near perfect cinema. rex allen narrates this wonderful tale of a cougar who just needs a little loving. contains action, adventure, suspense, comedy, and riverbed chaos! SEE THIS MOVIE IF YOU HAVE TO KILL TO DO IT!!! you will not find a better cat picture anywhere, with "cat from outer space" coming in as a not so close second. charlie's performance is magnificent. even includes animal cruelty and intense logging! gotta love disney, for all moral failures!

I saw this movie as a child, probably on The Wonderful World of Disney. Seeing it again for the second time some 45 years later, I was charmed by the adorable cougar, Charlie. His shenanigans provide plenty of action and some comic moments. It was a pleasure to watch this beautiful animal frolic for 90 minutes. I think kids will continue to love this film.

If you have the rare chance to watch this Walt Disney gem, 'Charlie The Lonesome Cougar' you will not be disappointed! The narrators voice is captivating and so expressive, Rex Allen's voice is one you won't forget. The story line mimics no other, action packed, beautiful scenery, and of course that fabulous cat Charlie. Comedy, excitement, drama, and all around fun movie for all. Along with Charlie comes many interesting furry animals with a glimpse into their lives of wonder. Did you know 'a bear likes to prepare'! And lets not forget your proverbial Disney dog Chainsaw who belongs to the lumber camp cook, Potlatch. Oh yes, all the magical Walt Disney theme stars at their fresh and finest. Seen this movie more than 50 years ago and it still remains on my lifetime list of one of the best of all the rest. Thank you Walt!

It isn't billed as one of his true-life series, but it could be. It ranks with Bear Country and Living Desert, two of his True Life Adventure episodes. Charlie is the name loggers of the Northwest give to a cougar who has the habit of visiting their camp at mealtime. Soon, he's as tame as Disney's imagination can make all wild animals. He does revert a couple of times to the wild instinct in him, but nothing too violent for children of all ages. It could be used in the schoolroom, if there weren't so many other good media choices already.

Watching 'Charlie, the lonesome cougar' requires that one must reckon with some sorry truths about the production. Well-meaning as human protagonist Jess may have been in caring for an apparently orphaned cougar cub, wildlife should stay wild, and it's inappropriate for him to do as he does in the story. Much more actively disconcerting is the recognition of how would-be wild animals were exploited and outright imperiled to obtain footage for the film. This is 100% where interactions with humans are concerned, but even in those scenes without a human presence, it's painfully, disgustingly obvious that a nature documentary this is not. True, if not emphasized with all due import, the picture does ultimately communicate the need for wildlife to stay wild, and protected. Still, I can't believe for one moment that the techniques employed to make this movie would pass muster today, nor should they.

Necessarily acknowledging these problems - if one can nonetheless appreciate the feature at its intended face value, then it's certainly charming and even fun, especially for animal lovers. The fauna folded into the film are fantastically cute, if not outright beautiful, and the antics the creatures get up to, by one means or another, are a good bit of amusement, and in some instances serve up a sense of adventure. Moreover, swell cinematography captures great imagery of the vast landscapes, and I appreciate the practiced hand director Winston Hibler demonstrates in bringing the picture together. Honestly, the production design here is solid.

Of course, 'Charlie, the lonesome cougar' also fits neatly among the company of a long list of features Disney produced in the mid-20th century that spotlighted nature, or sometimes also specific human interest stories, with fictionalized framing. Some of those titles bore a very naturalistic presentation - while others, such as this, are pointedly staged and embellished, with flourishes of comedy, drama, and conflict to expand the narrative. As if the brunt of the content weren't illustration enough of that slant, then Franklyn Marks' playful score - and the theme song "Talkin' about Charlie" that accompanies the opening credits - absolutely cement it. Rex Allen, meanwhile, contributes his refreshingly warm timbre as narrator, and that audio is weirdly welcoming, like a taste of home. Factor in the depictions of logging and lifestyles of the industry, the man-made log flow, and interactions between "wildlife" or otherwise animals, and there's no mistaking what type of film this is.

When all is said and done this is well made, and rather enjoyable. That doesn't excuse the issues one can immediately discern with the production, and on an unrelated note, it's worth mentioning the tiresome lack of diversity among the alabaster human cast - and the fact that the only woman to appear on-screen, for a fraction of the runtime, doesn't even have any lines. But I feel like this is an instance where one can both admire the title for the entertainment it offers, and readily understand it to be a teachable moment of how features should not be made. It's a bit of a fine line to tread, but more so than not I'm inclined to lend my favor. Bearing in mind its definite flaws, 'Charlie, the lonesome cougar' nevertheless comes out on top as a worthwhile slice of mid-century cinema that animal enthusiasts above all should check out.

"Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar" was one of the first signs things were starting to not go well for the Disney company a few years after Walt Disney's death. Though movies similar to this one were made while Walt was alive, they weren't this juvenile in nature. It's a movie that really spoon-feeds entertainment to its audience instead of letting the audience find their own way to be entertained. There's extremely juvenile slapstick, not much in the way of plot, and a narrator who not only WILL NOT SHUT UP, speaks in a condescending manner to the audience. And the movie's idea of a cougar being sympathetic is kind of silly; I don't know about you, but I find cougars to be grumpy and kind of vicious.

To be fair to the movie, it's not completely bad. There are some impressive visuals here and there. Also, the movie does ultimately make the (correct) argument that cougars are WILD animals and deserve to be left alone in the wilderness instead of being domesticated. Apart from that, there's very little to entertain adults or today's modern children. Unless you want to hear a 1960s rap song (!) about a cougar.