White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf

Plot

When Jack Conroy goes to San Francisco, he leaves his wolfdog White Fang with his friend, Henry Casey. The two immediately form a bond, but enter trouble when washed up on shore while sailing to bring their gold into town.

Meanwhile, a local Native American, Moses, has a dream about White Fang and his niece Lilly. He said that Lilly will guide them to find the wolf from this dream, whom he believes will help save the starving tribe. Lilly sails to the river and hears White Fang barking. She runs to find the source, and sees White Fang, but White Fang suddenly disappears, and Henry appears in his place, leading Lilly to believe that the wolf had changed into Henry. She rescues Henry from the river and brings him back to her home. When Moses tells Henry that he is the wolf, Henry said he's not, and that the wolf was his friend, leading to laughter from the crowd. Meanwhile, White Fang was left at the river, but managed to save himself. As he makes his way through the wilderness to find Henry, White Fang finds a wolf pack that he follows for a short time. He ultimately decides not to join them, and continues his journey.

Henry goes back to town. He sees many hungry people, and Reverend Leland Drury explains the poor state the town is in. The same day, White Fang spots Lilly's village, and when Lilly sees him, she calls her uncle to show him that it was the wolf she'd seen by the river the day she found Henry. As Moses tries to get a closer look, White Fang is startled and runs away.

The next day, Henry decides to go back to the village, and gives Lilly a white cloth as a gift. White Fang, hiding in the forest, spots the wolf pack again, and a female wolf decides to come over and play with him. That night, as he is with the tribe, Henry hears White Fang howling. Henry runs into the forest, calling for White Fang. He finds a wolf, and thinking it's White Fang, calls to him, only to nearly be mauled by what turns out to be the wild female. White Fang intervenes, and Henry is happily reunited with his friend. He tries to get White Fang to follow him back to the village, only to find him hesitating because he doesn't want to leave the female. Henry understands, and is going to leave to two wolves, but White Fang decides to join Henry anyway. When he goes to sleep that night, Henry dreams a similar dream to the one Moses had earlier, but this time including Henry himself.

Moses gives Henry a bow and arrows sends him to the forest to practice his hunting skills. His first shot misses, but surprisingly another arrow hits the target perfectly. When he calls for whoever is there to themselves, the mystery archer is revealed to be Lilly. She shows him how to use the bow with extreme accuracy.

Peter, Moses's son, and Henry practice their hunting together. Henry, now romantically interested in Lilly, asks Peter how he can impress her. Peter tells him to whisper in her ears, then reveals he was joking, and that if he tried that, she would probably break his nose.

Moses allows Peter to hunt with Henry. When Lilly's aunt asks her husband what will happen next, he says that one of the men will not come back. Lilly tries to get her uncle to let her join Henry's hunt, but Moses replies that she's a woman, and she can't hunt.

When the time comes, Henry, White Fang and Peter go into the forest, and Lilly grabs her bow and secretly slips into the forest to join them. Henry and Peter find the bodies of the previous hunters who never returned. After Henry is almost wounded by a trap, Peter goes to examine the body of one of the hunters, and is suddenly killed by a bullet. Henry and White Fang escape, being chased by the madman. Henry falls into another trap and is nearly killed by the man. He is saved by the timely arrival of Lilly, who shoots a fiery arrow in the man's direction, causing him to ran away. Afterwards, Lilly gets Henry out of the trap, and they continue on their way rejoined by White Fang. Upon arriving at the hunting grounds, they find the path blocked and they cannot reach the herds.

They make to go back only to find themselves falling into a hole, which turns out to be the entrance to a mine. They discover Reverend Drury is behind the blockade, as he is running an illegal mining operation. They decide to steal some dynamite to clear the path, but along the way Henry spots the Reverend, and in anger over his betrayal tries to shoot him. Lilly stays behind to give Henry time to escape, and she is captured by Leland's men. Henry escapes the mine, and White Fang defends him from the remaining miners while he sets the dynamite. The explosion clears the path and frees the animals.

Henry and White Fang go back to save Lilly. As White Fang holds off Reverend Drury, Henry frees Lilly, and they make to escape. The screw on the carriage comes loose, sending the carriage careening towards a cliff as the horses run off. Henry and Lilly jump clear before they go over, and Reverend Drury catches onto the cliff edge. The Reverend is shocked to find the animals running free. Before he can do any more harm, he is stepped by the very animals he had imprisoned.

Henry and Lilly retrieve White Fang, and return to the village with him. They find Lily's aunt and uncle, who are grateful Lilly is safe, but are also heartbroken at the loss of Peter.

Some time later, Lilly gives Henry back his gold, stating Henry can leave now. As Henry prepares to leave, the village thanks him for saving them from starvation. Just as he's about to leave, Henry spots Lilly wearing the white cloth he gave her. Lily and Henry embrace, while White Fang's mate emerges from the trees. White Fang is seen running towards her, and they welcome each other.

Three months later, White Fang and the female wolf have a litter of pups. Henry and Lilly arrive at the den and are greeted warmly by the small family.

Cast

Reception

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating: "What's best about the film is a kind of fresh-air exuberance, an innocence. The adventures in this movie are fun - not frightening, violent, or depressing. The villains are bad, but not subhuman, and at the end I was positively grateful for a scene where the bad guy tries to get away in a wagon full of gold, with the heroine tied up behind him, and Henry and the dog trying to save her. This was so old-fashioned it was almost daring." Rita Kempley from The Washington Post didn't like the film. She praised the animals' performances, but criticized the human actors. "The animal actors are superb -- you really think White Fang is a goner in a couple of instances -- but the humans have basically reached the level of their own incompetence. Perhaps no one in the cast was able to obey Chief Moses Joseph's injunction to set the inner wolf free. The audience, on the other hand, will surely be howling." Lois Alter Mark from Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B rating, concluding that White Fang 2 would be a better film if the filmmakers gave the "four-legged hero" more screen time. "If only White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf had kept the camera on its four-legged hero and let animal trainer Joe Camp (Homeward Bound) work his magic, it too could have been as effective as jujubes in keeping kids glued to their seats." Robert Faires from The Austin Chronicle gave the film three out of five stars. He also opined that the movie gets better when the animals are on the screen. "It's best when the wolves are moving. Maybe when the third one is made -- the final scene screams White Fang: The Next Generation -- they'll leave the humans out of it and just run with the pack." The Movie Scene also gave the film three out of five stars, stating that White Fang 2 is not a bad film but it is inferior to its predecessor and that the movie is pleasant for the young audiences, but is not a great entertainment for adult people. "What this all boils down to is that "White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf" is solid entertainment for its intended young audience but offers little for any adult watching it with their kids."

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, White Fangs 2 was considered "Fresh", currently holding an aprovation rating of 71%.