INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

As for the movie, five stars. I echo the sentiments of other reviewers who have already said this is the one to watch- it is true to the story, simple and heartwarming. Beautiful color photography, Rex Allen's narration, and the story are all I need- the cartoonish talking animal personalities of "Homeward Bound- The Incredible Journey" are an annoying distraction in that version of the movie.I feel that this 1963 version is a true classic in the family movie genre.As for Disney's marketing strategy with this property of theirs, ahem. It seems to me that Disney Corporation knows no shame when it comes to extracting the maximum possible profit from everything they do- be it movies or the operation of their theme parks. In the case of movies, the way they release their titles for limited times only, in an effort to make them "collectible" and therefore sell for the highest possible prices, prevents this gem of a movie from being the entertainment bargain it should be. Now I'm all for free enterprise and support Disney's rights to run their business as they wish, but as a customer I am disappointed in Disney's apparent complete lack of regard for making their products affordable for me.I have an old VHS copy of this movie, but the quality was pretty rough and it was not in its original widescreen. How nice it would be to have a DVD available to see it in a higher quality format. If it was available on a DVD at a price point of around $10 or so, I would not hesitate to purchase a copy. But I refuse to pay $30 plus for a used copy, or wait some undefined period until Disney decides it is the right time to reissue it at who knows what price.Enter Amazon. When I found that the $1.99 download was available, I thought it was certainly worth a try. The Amazon Unbox download went smoothly and I had it installed on my laptop without issues. I purchased the $1.99 48-hour rental and let it download to my laptop. We have the bottom of the line DSL service, which then is apportioned through our in-home wireless to the laptop, so the download was slow- took between 10 and 12 hours. After about 9 hours it said the movie was ready to play, but I chose to wait until the download was complete before trying it- I didn't want my viewing to be interrupted if that estimate that it could download the rest in time was off. But at last it was complete and I just had to push play.At first I thought "What is wrong?"- The picture was saturated blobs of color. Then I discovered the brightness and contrast controls on the Unbox player. Slid the brightness to about halfway, and the contrast almost all the way to the left, and I had a very nice image. I'm not much for watching movies on a laptop: I usually hook the dvd player to my 5 year old Epson LCD projector when I really want to watch a movie. So in this case I hooked the S-video connection from the laptop to that of the projector and was quite satisfied with the result. The quality was perhaps a small step below that of a good DVD, but way above my old VHS.So thank you Amazon! Thank you Disney! I really enjoyed it. And to Disney, if you want to put it out as a $10 DVD or a $20 Blueray, I bet you'd sell a ton of 'em, and make a lot of your customers very grateful!

THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY is a delightful and heartwarming movie about three friends. It will appeal to the hearts of any animal lovers. It's truly a joy to watch and the warmth and beauty of this film will stay with you long after it is over.Luath (a young Labrador retriever), Bodge (an aging bull terrier) and a feisty Siamese cat named Tao are the best of friends. They are staying temporarily with a kindly man while their family (mom, dad, sister and brother) are away from home. Despite being well-treated, Luath misses his human family and decides to travel the 200 miles back home. Neither senior Bodge nor Tao care to leave their comfortable new home but they can't leave Luath so all three embark on their incredible journey.The movie is filmed so beautifully with lush colors and gorgeous scenery. The three animals are humanized with the best qualities of mankind--loyalty, love, compassion, patience and respect. Any of us, would be lucky to have a friend like one of these beautiful animals. Throughout the story a man with classic Disney narrator voice explains their journey. It doesn't seem like old Bodge will make it, but his pals stop to let him rest as needed and their journey continues. They survive by hunting a small animal or bird (maybe the only mildly distressing part of this upbeat film) and often it is the kindness of humans that helps them survive. It's especially sweet to see how Bodge and Tao have bonded. Then there are the two bear cubs that come to greet the trio and play but wait till Mama Bear shows up.Here is deliciously delightful classic film that stands the test of time. It was filmed in 1963, so we know the three animal actors live on in this beautiful story. If you love animals, you won't resist the charm of THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. It's beautiful, well-written and full of joy. It's worth watching over and over especially when you need a bit of a "lift" from life's routine.

This is a completely entertaining, engrossing film. It's so wonderful not to have the animals speaking and doing cutesy accents, etc. This is from a time when Disney could make family picture that is genuinely entertaining for the kids and parents--without any stupid or gross jokes, without any phony digital effects, without rushing everything at the madcap pace of a video game. Great look at beautiful Canada and the immigrants and first generation families out on the farms too. My kids and I enjoyed this thoroughly, enjoyed the charm of seeing and focusing on the animals, and I don't feel I wasted my time at all. There are so many unique Disney non-animated films from the 50s-70s. Worth seeking them out.

With the voice from Charlotte's Web soothingly narrating, this is a safe and satisfying family adventure film especially for those fond of pets. If you are sensitive with animals and under 7 you might do well to miss the scene with the cat falling in the river. The cat survives, is duly rescued by a kind family but looks very dead for a several minutes of the film and it was intense for our little ones. Really like that the animals do not talk, a right reserved for God's crowning creation, mankind. Instead the narrator gives voice to their thoughts and emotions and these 3 characters are developed so well. We all really enjoyed this film after reading the book which worked well. The friends protection and help to the bull terrier is intense, comical and full of tender animal love. How they filmed a cat and lab reuniting playfully is remarkable! Yes, it is 60's style and people acting a bit stiff and quirky but overall definitely 5 stars.

Just what I wanted