A Comparison of The Movie and Book Version of Never Cry Wolf

In this essay I will cover main differences between the book and the movie giving my opinion of why these changes were necessary in the making of this film. I will discuss the purpose of Mowat writing this book and explain how the movie gets the point across. Mowats feelings and my own on the movie verses the book will be shared at the end of the document.

In the beginning of the movie we dont know where Tyler is coming from, who he is, and why he is going to this place. The film doesnt get as specific with the studies that he did. The radio that Mowat is given reaches a music station not a Spanish man in Peru. Also, he doesnt do as much with his studies; he takes pictures of plants with a camera instead of using the Raunkiaers Circle. This is because if the movie got to into great detail the viewers would lose interest; other changes were made to make the story more interesting and eventful.

In the film Tyler falls into the an Arctic lake not knowing that it wasnt completely frozen solid. Afterwards he warms himself and dries his clothes by the fire. This accident shows how he went into this barren place with unawareness of what he was getting into. It also adds action and adventure to the film.

In the movie Mike tells Mowat how he kills the wolves for money. In the book the Inuits respect and admire the wolves they even share the main food source and listen to the wolves for the location of the caribou. I think that this is because the movie is sending a different message and this is part of showing how man doesnt respect and understand the importance of the wolves.

In the end of the movie the parents of Tylers wolf family, George and Angeline, are slaughtered by the pilot. Tyler gets furious and shoots at the airplane after seeing that the tail was hanging from the plane and seeing the pups alone in the den. After watching the pups for a while the pack came for them as there are no orphans among the wolves. This was put into the movie to add a dramatic ending and leaving the viewer to be influenced by the film and greatly disturbed by this event. As they are disturbed they will remember what happened and go away with the feeling that man had no place there and should not kill these animals.

The message Mowat tries to communicate with the reader is that of how man has stereotyped wolves into this great horrible creature that has no mercy, kills for the taste of blood, and is taking down the population of the deer. This of course we know to be untrue because of this book. We find that we the humans have hunted the caribou to a point of scarcity. By our lack of knowledge we have taken our few encounters with the wolves and based our whole perception of them on our few engagements with rabies infected wolves. I think that the book, Never Cry Wolf, was better than the movie. This is because the book had more detail and I could use my imagination to create a mental picture and understanding of what Mowat was trying to communicate to the reader. Also, I learned more facts about the wolves and their environment. The book had more character development due to this I was able to enjoy the story and was interested in what happened to them. I think that this movie gets the point across fairly well, yet has a different twist to it focusing more on the ignorance of man and how we just go killing things we know nothing about due to our selfish desires. In the book Mowat proves to us that we stereotype wolves into being some horrible creature and that this in not so. Mowat hear many rumors of how this creature is monstrous, yet he interacts with them takes time to learn what they are like by forcing himself to forget what hes heard and see them for what they truly are.

Mowat was most likely grateful that there was a movie to educate many people of his observations, yet he my have not liked that there were so many adaptations made changing the general picture of what happened. The themes were slightly different, yet I believe that they were both significant. I feel that the book, Never Cry Wolf, was better than the movie. This is because the book had more detail and I could use my imagination to create a mental picture and understanding of what Mowat was trying to communicate to the reader. Also, I learned more facts about the wolves and their environment. The book had more character development due to this I was able to enjoy the story and was interested in what happened to them.