Nikki, Wild Dog of the North ( 1961 )

During the 1950s and 1960s, Walt Disney Studios produced a number of excellent documentary-story films centered around wildlife, the majority of them being released under James Algar's True-Life Adventure series banner. One film, however, was released as a feature film independently....Nikki, Wild Dog of the North ( 1961 ). While it bore a remarkable resemblance to the True-Life Adventure series, the film was not produced by Algar and was helmed by two different directors - Don Haldane and cinematographer Jack Couffer. 

Based upon James Oliver Curwood's "Nomads of the North" the film tells the story of Nikki, a wolf dog, and the adventures he encounters in the wild north woods of Canada. Nikki is trapper Andre Dupas' ( Jean Coutu ) beloved hunting dog, but when they get separated in the water rapids, Nikki learns to fend for himself while he waits for his master's return. 

Nikki is a highly entertaining blend of true-life documentary sequences ( complete with narration by Jacques Fauteux ) and dialogue scenes with actors. Just like Disney's True-Life Adventure series, the film features impressive scenery and spectacular wildlife footage. Some particularly startling shots are the grizzly bear and black bear fight, the scene of Nikki and Neewa forging the rapids, and Nikki luring a muskrat out of its underground home in the middle of an iced lake. 

Nikki is not the best film to watch with children, however. Since this is true-to-life, the dog encounters a number of hardships throughout his journey. The bear attacks will send a few goosebumps down your back, Nikki gets himself bloodied up when his paw gets caught in a wolf trap, and there is a brutal fight between Dupas and LeBeau ( Emile Genest ) who was cruelly training Nikki to become a fighter-dog. Genest would later appear in Disney's Big Red ( 1962 ) playing a kindly animal trainer, but here he is a hissable villain. 

Critics and audiences warmed to Nikki upon its initial release but over the years it has become obscure - even among Disney audiences. Fortunately, the film has since been beautiful remastered and is now available for viewing on Hoopla and on DVD. 

A True-Life Adventure : Perri ( 1958 )

Perri was the first "True-Life Fantasy" in Walt Disney's immensely popular documentary series - True-Life Adventures. This series, begun in 1949 with the Oscar-winning short Seal Island, brought the vast outdoors into the theatre in brilliant Technicolor, introducing youngsters, and adults alike, to the secret life of animals and the wonders of nature. 

Initially, critics had mixed reviews about the documentaries, but as the series progressed they couldn't deny their appeal. Since these shorts were technically classified as documentaries, Disney's staff had to restrain from cuing the creatures to act in a particular way. No trained pets were allowed in the documentary territory. Tacking the "fantasy" title onto the True-Life Adventure series gave the staff free rein to let the footage of the animals revolve around a story. They could create characters, set-up scenes, and even allow trained animals to perform these parts ( provided they belonged to a union, of course ).

This particular film focuses on the trials and tribulations of a young female squirrel - "Perri" - in the woods of Colorado, from her birth to the day she fell in love and prepared herself to be a creator in the endless stream of life - which just so happens to be the underlying theme of the film. 

Nine cameramen spent nearly two years capturing the footage of squirrels, hawks, owls, bobcats, beavers, and martens throughout four seasons to bring Perri into the theatres. Paul J. Smith penned a marvelous orchestral score setting sunrises, moonlit nights, and the changing seasons to music. This is highlighted by three choral songs written by the talented George Bruns. 

For anyone who has not yet seen a True-Life Adventure film, they are truly dazzling, combining gorgeous filming with lush musical backgrounds. Perri is no exception, and one particular scene of beauty to keep your eyes out for is the midnight winter fantasy of the young squirrel. 

To read more about Disney' True-Life Adventures and James Algar, the man responsible for these great films, read our post : James Algar - Imagineer and Director.

James Algar - Imagineer and Director

James Algar worked 43 years with Walt Disney, was involved in every imaginable type of film production and earned three Academy Awards for his work on film, and yet he remains one of the most unrecognized of Disney’s talented roster of employees. 

Simply put, he was the director extraordinaire behind such memorable documentaries as Grand Canyon, The Living Desert, and the True Life Adventures, but beyond his directorial duties he worked as a producer, writer, animator, and creative consultant for projects in Walt Disney’s vast empire of television, film, and theme park productions, many of which remain just as impressive now as the day he first created them. 

Born on June 11, 1912 in Modesto, California, James Algar got his start down the yellow brick road of creativity when he gained a following as a campus cartoonist at Stanford University. His skill with the pen attracted the attention of the Walt Disney Studio recruiters who hired him upon graduation in 1934 as an animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

                      

Shortly thereafter, he became animation director of the cartoon feature Fantasia and went on to direct sequences in Bambi, Victory Through Air Power, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.  However, by the late 1940s he wanted to expand his range of skills and experiment with live subjects versus painted ones and so he conceived a documentary short entitled Seal Island. Walt liked the idea and gladly let him direct it for the studio. 

After reviewing hundreds of reels of Alaskan seal footage brought back by nature photographers Alfred and Elma Milotte, he cut it to a tight 27 minutes and released in 1948 a documentary so compelling it not only spawned the internationally acclaimed True-Life Adventures series but earned the Academy Award for Best Two-Reel subject. 

                 

Throughout the next decade James Algar focused his skills on writing and directing nature and wildlife shorts such as Beaver Valley, Bear Country, The Vanishing Prairie, and White Wilderness; in total sharing in the winning of nine Academy Awards, culminating with the magnificent Cinemascope production of 1958…Grand Canyon.  This stunningly photographed nature short seamlessly blended image to music ( “Grand Canyon Suite” by composer Ferde Grofe ). 

During the 1960s, he wrote and co-produced several animal-starring dramatic films – The Legend of Lobo, the Incredible Journey, and later Rascal. But not satisfied with mere nature films, he branched out into directing many episodes of The Wonderful World of Color and even tried his hand at comedy – quite successfully too, with The Gnome Mobile ( 1967 ).

In spite of all these directorial achievements, his greatest legacy is for his writing/producing work of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, a 24 minute Animatronics based production which came to life at the Illinois Pavilion of the 1965 New York World’s Fair. The show enjoyed a decades-long run at Disneyland and later inspired The Hall of Presidents attraction at Walt Disney World, which opened in 1971. This patriotic script was also one of Algar’s writing achievements. Many people continue to ponder which of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches they are listening to, when in fact it is four separate speeches the Lincoln fanatic had compiled into one. 

Throughout the end of his career Algar worked on several projects which interestingly enough, spotlighted his own prior successes – The Best of Walt Disney’s True Life Adventures ( 1975 ) and The Bluegrass Special ( 1976 ), a true life story of a racing horse.

James Algar was never a desk-bound producer, but loved being at the forefront of action along with his crew. He was considered one of the best-informed American natural scientists and he put himself right smack in the middle of the habitats of wild animals to bring us insightful motion pictures which entertained and taught us new things about the lives of the creatures he studied and the world around us.  

During the making of The African Lion, he lived among the lions of Kenya, he battled the raging white-water rapids of Colorado river to film Ten Who Dared, and he participated in the filming of the buffalo stampede for The Vanishing Prairie. 

James Algar passed away at the age of 85 in his home in Carmel, California with his wife and four children by his side.  He had a rich and full career throughout his 43 years at Walt Disney Studios and his life was indeed a True-Life Adventure.