In the 1850's, a young boy and his family on their way West become stranded in the Rockies. With the help of a local mountain man, a Sioux medicine man, and a legendary bear known as "Walking Thunder," the boy learns to become a man, and his family's survival is secured.
Acting
John Denver's final film role—gentle, wooden, weirdly moving.
Practical Effects
Actual trained bear performance, no CGI nonsense here.
Director
Craig Clyde
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
John Denver died in a plane crash two years after this film's release, making his gentle mountain man role unintentionally elegiac.
The 'noble savage' and 'magical Native' tropes here exemplify 1990s well-meaning but clumsy attempts at Indigenous representation in family cinema.
US
