Anime Bargain Bin Reviews-Hashire! Shiroi Okami aka White Fang or Flight of the White Wolf from Toho

Even these tapes cost something


WHITE FANG Toho\| 1990 \| 84mins

Not only have you learned of a famous piece of literature but, if you watch this cartoon, you will also become very familiar with a piece of classical music. Dvorak's Serenade for Strings makes up the sum total of this movie's soundtrack album. So it may seem like a cheap (should I say royalty free) decision, but it can lead to you seeming more worldly in intellectual conversations. Who ever said anime fans aren't cultured, eh?

The Japanese original and the English "White Fang" dub are very similar and open with the same sequence. Gray (or Fang as the dub re-names him) lies in the autumn sun while an accurately butt-ugly boxer paces up and down in front of him. The Wolf is tethered to the ground by a short chain, something which Bo the Boxer seems to be relying on. Incidentally, we are introduced to Bo with a tilt up the front of the dog, although from the particular way his chest hangs it isn't immediately clear if it is the front or the back, if you follow my gist.

The White Fang dub attempts to justify its title by inserting the following narration over footage of Gray's peaceful rest:

"Many years have passed since White Fang first came to live amidst civilisation in Sierra Vista. Young Weedon Scott has grown from an infant to a 12 year old boy and through those years White Fang has been his constant companion. White Fang loves Weedon Jnr as much as he did his father and shall be forever grateful for his rescue from the evil Beauty Smith. However, White Fang is coming towards the end of his years and longs to run free with the wolves in the Northlands. White Fang is becoming restless. Very restless."

So there you have, rock solid, legally binding proof - if it were needed - that this is indeed Jack London's White Fang. Although, Jack London's novel was set in the 1890's - and the era of this story is at least the 1950's - no wonder that wolf is getting restless, he's over 60 years old!

To make matters worse, the Wolf Sanctuary "Young Weedon Jnr" heads for in the story is shown to be Nicolet National Forest in Tipler Wisconsin... so he's trekking 2000 miles from Sierra Vista, New Mexico to Wisconsin! That's practically one side of the continent to the other - making the actual hike from the book look like a short stroll! They should have called the video "The Incredible Journey" and ripped that film off instead.

Anyway, Bo pisses Gray off and the Wolf lunges at him, pulled back (this time at least) by the chain around his neck. The English language audience then get a cheap, white on black title card proclaiming simply and in a plain font "White Fang". The Japanese title credits its source and is followed by a brief background study that is omitted from the White Fang edit.



Using an outline map of the state of Wisconsin it details the plight of the wild wolf in urban developed regions of the United States and explains the importance of Nicolet National Forest in keeping a natural environment for those remaining in the wild. Finally an introduction to the story and its setting in Kettle Moraine.

As the story begins it is clear that the same actor is dubbing both Weedon Jnr and his father and his voice acting is wooden at best. Outside the family home a group of men, including Weedon's Jnr & Sr and Mr Brock (proud owner of Bo and also possibly a sheriff in the Japanese dialog), are assembled to celebrate the the Boxer's win of Best in Show at a dog obedience contest. Bo has been trained by Weedon Sr to be even tempered but a sudden snap from the animal at its master belies his true aggressive nature. While the male party are distracted by Mrs Scott's pie, Bo wanders off to continue harassing the restrained wolf. He finds Fang minding his own business outside a kennel marked "Gray" and goads the wild animal into lunging for him several times, growing somewhat cocky. But the third time puts him in his place - permanently.

The boxer's final wail brings the party rushing over to see Fang looking to the sky wistfully with a blood soaked muzzle and Bo lying at his feet. Weedon tries to call his pet to him but he simply leaps the fence and heads into the woods. The boy follows.

He briefly spots the wolf but Gray refuses to come to him and disappears again. Weedon heads to a lakeside cabin and rests until night fall when the wolf returns to him although Weedon still can't get within petting distance. "Fang. I'm gonna sleep now. Don't go away." the boy intones, robotically before stating "He's not himself. But maybe tomorrow, eh?". So he's Canadian now? Weedon reflects on Fang and Bo's life together before falling asleep.

The next morning the boy wakes to find Fang is still there, in the same spot. He takes his belt off and tightens it into a noose, not an unusual thing for a lone male to do in a remote wood cabin. He approaches the wolf with the makeshift leash but the animal is far too fast for a mere human. The boy eventually tires of talking robotically to a wolf and heads back for home. "Funny animal!" he remarks in a Michael Caine accent.

From a hillside Weedon spots a redneck posse forming at the family estate. Pickup trucks and trucker caps as far as the eye can see. The crowd are abuzz with excitement. "Do we really get to shoot wolves today then?" one asks, clearly unable to believe his luck. Brock argues with Weedon Sr over how best to handle the situation. There seems to be some belief that the dog trainer's son has gone missing, probably a victim of the wolf too. "Mr Brock, can we shoot at White Fang eh?" requests a hick. "If you find him, you can kill him." is the reply. They are told not to shoot the kid though. But he's a pro-Wolf sympathiser dammit! Filthy nature lover!

It's not long before shots are being fired in the woods. Weedon and Fang hide out between some rocks on a hillside and go unspotted by the clumsy hunters. He overhears their theory of his death and belief that White Fang has reverted to a dangerous, feral state. Night falls and the gun toting mob decide to call it a day planning to return the next day with yet more drunken yahoos. That'll fix 'em!

At five-to-midnight Junior returns home to his worried mother and fairly nonplussed dad. The boy eats while explaining White Fang's state. "Father. Fang needs help. And I, er... I want to help him." "He wants you to stay in the woods with him?" dad enquires possibly referring to a life as a Forest Bride, Junior agrees. "I've always known you liked White Fang, but are you that fond of him?" Weedon reveals his plan to escort the wolf 200 miles to the Northlands Nature Reserve and release him there - "Wouldn't that be a good place for him, eh?" His parents can't decide if they should let him skip school and go sleep in the woods with a wild animal.

"Weedon. Whether you should take a dangerous trip with White Fang or stay at home and follow
the progress of the hunters, I really can't decide right now."

Soon they've made up their mind to allow their twelve year old son to go roam the woods at night. With a backpack stuffed with rations Weedon leaves with his wolf.

The first trial is to cross a busy eight lane freeway, a scene taken directly from the book. Weedon dashes across during a clear point but Fang waits too long and is nearly erased by a eight wheel Miller delivery truck. It's a close shave but the Wolf escapes without harm. I guess it just wasn't his (Miller) time!
Hashire! Shiroi Okami

The fugitive pair awake the next morning to the noise of a Police radio. Parked by the side of the freeway is a squad car marked Wisconsin Police Dept so he's a little far from his jurisdiction. A truck driver reported seeing a large white wolf crossing that area last night and Mr Brock has been alerted.

Weedon and Fang hurry to change course across country rather than following the roads. While running through the trees Fang stops to look up, it seems he can sense something. Suddenly a helicopter descends on them and, while Weedon takes shelter between the trees, the chopper chases Fang, Mr Brock taking shots at him from overhead. The wolf eventually escapes to thick cover and the Sheriff is forced to give up but Weedon and his wolf have become separated.

This sequence is oddly missing from the western version, I can't tell why since there is nothing overtly troubling in it for kids. The edit easily goes unnoticed but it does seem confusing that one moment Fang is right behind Weedon and in the next shot he has completely vanished. The scene isn't taken from the book either although it does combine two events; the helicopter that searches for the two but it never spots them (let alone opens fire), and Gray being wounded by a bullet from a cunningly constructed ambush. This scene, which involved the animal being lured into a clearing by a record playing the sound of wolf howls, was one of the few sequences that did make it into the Disney film.

That night Weedon waits for his Wolf's return, thinking back to their younger days together to pass the time. Fang does return to him, having followed the scent trail the boy left for him on the trees (with his hands, OK, not the other way). He has a slight graze from one of the rifle shots but is otherwise unscathed.

The man/wolf team walk for a further two days, passing a farm on the second. A young puppy runs out to warn Russ off, not realising there is a large wolf traveling with him nearby. The unexpected sight of White Fang sends the pup running, Fang chases but stops at his master's command. By now Russ is feeling the effects of hiking on little food or water and realises that his companion will also have to eat soon.

That night Russ leaves White Fang behind and sneaks into a nearby town. Hiding from patrol cars he manages to slip unnoticed into the local branch of Duanee Reade Drugs and heads for the 'An article of food' aisle. The level of detail in this segment is astonishing - all the products on the shelves have individual designs, names and prices and all the sections of the store are labeled and the English, for the most part, actually makes sense. Except for maybe the bag of dog chow called "Wayne". Behind the cashier there is a poster for Mr Christie's Arrowroot biscuits which, from a quick google search, turns out to be a real brand. How's that for detail?

While the old lady rings up his Junior Strength Tylenol Russ spots a headline peering out of the newsstand. Wisconsin State Journal announces "the search party lost a homicidal wolf". Or it maybe its the opposite column's "34 minutes on the edge" that caught his attention. Inside, to his horror, it describes White Fang as a "Man Killer" but not him as a Lady Killer.

The following day passes without incident. That night, Russ shelters from the rain in a small tent, plotting their progress on a map. By his calculations it is only three days to the Northlands but he notices his wolf chum is low on energy so once more leaves him unattended to head into town for supplies. A caption in the Japanese version (missing from the dub edit) names the town as Wisconsin River. Russ heads into their Shop Well convenience store which claims on its sign to sell "minced-meet, chilced-meet" and 'Savasage". They must be big sellers if it is worth noting them so prominently. On his way out he stops to use the pay phone (remember those?) to call his parents. Walking back through the woods the boy spots a terrible sight - the gory remains of a dead calf. Looks like White Fang has had his dinner already then didn't even bother to drag the corpse behind a bush or into a nearby locker. The calf's parents will surely come looking for their missing child (or the farmer will at least) so Russ and Fang are forced to move immediately to get some distance from the crime scene.

Russ hurries through the wilderness from night through to day and then to night once more without stopping. Or looking round it seems. By night fall the following day he discovers White Fang isn't there. He hasn't been following for a good while - in fact he probably turned back when he got hungry and returned to the calf corpse for seconds. The boy is forced to hurriedly retrace a whole days worth of steps to be reunited with his traveling companion finding him where he predicted but things are far worse than he thought. The calf has been booby-trapped and Fang walked straight into it.

A bear trap, chained to a wooden stake, hangs from the wolf's paw. Russ approaches him in an attempt to remove it but the wolf is in no more a mood to be handled by a filthy human than he was before. His only alternative is to free the trap from its tether so Russ frantically digs at the ground around it with his pen knife. Eventually the wooden stake comes free and the chain is released.

The next morning Mr Brock and some local patrol men have found the calf and note that the trap is missing along with its victim. The bereaved ex-prize-winning-dog-owner calls for a police dog team to track the fleeing animal - his capture should be easy now that he's dragging a chain behind him.

Russ and White Fang hurry as much as possible with the bear trap slowing them down. By sundown the fugitive pair can hear the barking of the bloodhounds in the distance. Hoping to break their scent trail and send the pursuing canines astray, Russ leads the wolf through a lake and spotting a large beaver dam, heads for it as cover. No sooner are they concealed behind the submerged formation than Mr Brock and his trackers appear on the banks. White Fang collapses with exhaustion on a partially floating bough and, once Brock has passed, Russ seizes the opportunity to release the trap that had been hindering their progress.

On the opposite side of the lake Russ treats Fang's wound and force feeds him some tasty offal chunks. Morning comes and the wolf is back up and walking, back to his non-human-trusting old self. Several days later while routinely hiking Fang stops as if he senses something. By the time Russ notices the change, the wolf is already snarling at something unseen. Just as his companion had predicted a bloodhound leaps out of the bushes his frantic barking surely alerting the accompanying posse. As Russ makes futile attempts to ward the dog off with a recovered branch his worst fears are realised... Mr Brock arrives.

The shock is mutual as Brock sees the boy he believed to have been killed by the very wolf he is now protecting. The young boy puts himself between the hunter's rifle and his intended quarry. The confusion of the situation mounts as the bloodhound makes another attack on White Fang. Russ calls for the wolf to escape before things get further out of hand and is fortunate when the wild animal relents having floored the hound.

Mr Brock calls the dog back and once more raises his rifle to kill White Fang. Weedon implores the man not shoot his wolf and on hearing the boy's plan for Fang he begins to reconsider. Weedon goes on to explain his feelings for the wolf and his intention to guide him to the Northlands nature reserve where he will be safe and happy and in his natural habitat where he can't harm anything ever again. After much silent intent and decisive staring with the breeze blowing reverently, Brock gives in and lets the boy and his wolf pass to complete their journey. Stopping for a brief moment, he poignantly throws Bo's medal into the trees and then begins for home.

The next day comes and Weedon's long trek from Sierra Vista to northeast Wisconsin is finally over as he and his freshly pardoned wolf reach the sign announcing Nicolet National Forest. The welcome board is slightly more quaint and rustic than what google images shows as the actual one. I grow even more suspicious of the validity of this welcome sign when I read the text which informs the traveler where the forest can be found and what its major exports are: "timber, water, minerals and fish and wildlife." I'm beginning to suspect that this is a fake forest! Run Weedon, before it steals all your passwords and bank details, then infects your PC with unrelenting porno pop-ups.

Boy and wolf hike into deep into the forest and then set up camp. It soon begins to dawn on Weedon that he and his life-long companion don't have much time left together, although, to be honest, White Fang doesn't seem too bothered. I suppose if you had just been let off a murder rap and been allowed to rejoin your family you wouldn't be too concerned either.

The following night Weedon and White Fang catch the sound of wolf cries clearly in the air. The boy realises that their time is is drawing to a close rapidly. His thoughts turn to their younger days together... get your hankies ready - it's coming!

The ground is thick with snow as White Fang approaches the tent next morning. Weedon wakes to see the Wolf staring in at him and he realises that this is probably it. The boy steps outside and, for the first time since their adventure began, the wolf doesn't back away. Weedon strokes his old chum's maine and then removes his collar before it all becomes too much for him. He falls to his knees and weeps into White Fang's fur, the wolf looking a little awkward as his new pals are almost certainly watching - not the thing you want them to see on your first day in the pack. Having given his human friend an appropriate amount of grieving time the wolf backs away, respectfully.

From deep in the forest comes the sound of a wolf's howl, much closer than it was the night before. White Fang returns their call and it is quickly followed by another retort. Soon the wild wolf pack appears at the edge of the wood and white fang cautiously paces over. His new family dart off into the wilderness but Fang stops for a moment to look back at his former human master and howls back a good bye. Then he disappears too.

Dvorak starts once more, Weedon is left alone in the wilderness as the camera pulls back to reveal the expanding natural world around him. His long perilous journey now over, White Fang is seen running with his new family, safe and sound, as his human friend and savior hikes back through the snow to a pay phone.

He calls home to discover that Mr Brock, unable to cope with his decision to allow White Fang to live, has had a psychotic break down and killed both his parents as well as every living thing on the farm and burned the place to the ground in revenge.

Nah, just kidding, I'm sure they're all fine.

On the surface this seems to be an unlikely production - the adaptation of a little known 70's american novel by a Japanese animation studio - but it turns out to be a very close adaptation in terms of both content and spirit. Certainly much closer than the more timely American adaptation by Disney - incidentally, without whom, in a roundabout sort of way, there would have been no american release of this Japanese tribute - albeit under a misleading title.

Hashire Shiroi Okami is a very faithful rendition of Mel Ellis' novel from the opening to the conclusion, even though it is not scene-for-scene exact the spirit of Ellis' story is adhered to perfectly. It is odd that the running time is fairly short as it could have featured more of the standout sequences of the novel; but you can't really knock the way Toho turned what is a dialog-light-description-heavy source into an enjoyable and swiftly paced feature. The animal's movements are well observed and animated and much effort has gone into recreating the setting faithfully. The landscapes, which have a hand painted quality, are the standout feature of the movie and might have caused a national shortage of green paint.

The English language edit is somewhat of a mixed bag. The production couldn't have been cheaper - with only three voice actors and two bland title cards it is a master class in cost cutting and must feature as the lowest effort in localisation so far in the Bargain Bin. I initially thought that the inclusion of royalty free classical music was part of the undisclosed western company's efforts but it is original. Even so it must have been a draw since it would have made licensing the Japanese original even less costly.

Since there isn't nearly as many lines of dialog in this as your usual anime adapt it seems as though the (quite possibly Canadian) company behind White Fang went for the cheaper end of the roster. Weedon's voice is all over the place and in the two scenes that feature the bulk of the conversation, the dialog is more than a little nonsensical almost pointing to a speedy semi-literal translation.

The White Fang version is taken from the original negatives of the movie meaning there is actually more picture on this quickie-cash-in than seen on the Japanese cinema or VHS releases which were cropped to widescreen. While it doesn't change the viewing experience overly it is interesting to see.

Watching a kid trek 200 animated miles to a nature reserve (a three day feat according to Google Maps) may not be to everyone's tastes, and I can imagine kids raised on He-Man and Real Ghostbusters finding it a snooze-fest, but I found this curiosity engrossing and am glad that by a fluke of fate and not to mention sneaky capitalism, it hasn't been completely overlooked.

... And am I the only one who thinks Mr Brock must have been based on the Sheriff from Disney's earlier effort?


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