While I’ve seen many of the classic Disney animated features, there are many out there that I have missed. For some reason, I never saw “Old Yeller” as a kid. So, I’m not coming at the movie with the baggage of love or hate for it. I’ve heard it be a life-changing film for some, and reviled by others by how well and effectively it pulls on your heart strings.

However, finally getting a chance to watch this movie on DVD almost fifty years after it was made, I proudly stand up and say it is a classic.

“Old Yeller” tells the story of a family of settlers in Texas soon after the Civil War. The father (Fess Parker) has gone on a cattle drive to raise money, leaving young Travis (Tommy Kirk) to be the man of the house, watching over his mother (Dorothy McGuire) and brother (Kevin Corcoran). While working the land, a stray dog comes across the family. At first, this wild rascal causes problems, but soon the family brings him into their home, and he bonds with the boys. It doesn’t take long for Travis to become tied to the dog, who becomes the protector of the family.

I won’t spoil the ending for anyone out there who hasn’t seen it – or who doesn’t know it. (After all, “Old Yeller” is such a part of our popular culture that you know the ending even if you haven’t seen the film. Just watch “Stripes,” and you’ll understand.) Suffice to say that you’ll need your Kleenex. No matter how strong you are, it’s hard not to get swept up in the emotion of this movie.

But, for as good as “Old Yeller” is, there’s its counterpart on the disc – the weak sequel “Savage Sam.”

The box cover for the new “Old Yeller”/”Savage Sam” DVD double bill prominently features a quote from film critic and guru Leonard Maltin: “Still one of the best.” I’m assuming he’s talking about “Old Yeller,” ‘cause if he’s talking about “Savage Sam,” someone’s going to have to check his medication.

It’s not that “Savage Sam” was really a bad film. It was about average for a western from the early 1960s. It’s biggest problem is that it was billed as a sequel to “Old Yeller,” and with this new DVD set, it still is. Sure, it was written by the same writer, and many of the human characters are the same. However, Savage Sam the dog looks nothing like Old Yeller (even though he’s supposed to be his son – I’d assume the puppy they got at the end of the first film).

But the real fault is that the movie isn’t about Savage Sam at all. “Old Yeller” was about the relationship between Travis and his dog, which went from adversarial to adoring love. Sam, however, just wanders around the film, occasionally showing up on screen. Otherwise, this film is about Travis and Lisbeth getting kidnapped by some of the most politically incorrect Indians you’ll ever see.

With the dog playing not even a secondary character, other characters are focused on more heavily in the script – namely Arliss, Travis’s little brother. If you thought Arliss was a whiny pain in the butt during the first film, you’re gonna want to kill him in the sequel. It’s too bad that Arliss doesn’t get rabies and need to be put down. That would have made the film a little bit better.

The DVD has both movies on one disc, with a second disc of retrospectives and behind-the-scenes material. The treasures in this extra material are the advertising material found in the production archives. There are examples of press kits, radio commercials, lobby cards, posters and ancillary marketing material. There are even fan letters to Fred Gipson, the author of the original books.

Other decent features include a classic Pluto cartoon called “Bone Trouble,” a retrospective of the film with the actors and filmmakers, an extended conversation with a now bald and chubby Tommy Kirk, an old episode of the Disneyland television show announcing the release of the film and a spotlight on the ranch where “Old Yeller” – and many other films you’d never realized – were shot.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). French subtitles; English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.