Set in remotest British Columbia, this is a shamelessly hackneyed yet classy adventure lifted straight from a vintage Lassie episode, as an adorable, mysteriously stray Labrador adopts the hicksville McCormick family.
Dog and young master McCormick (Bradford) become inseparable chums, a friendship which evolves into total reliance on one another, after they are shipwrecked on a desolate shore during a routine supply run down the coast. Hopes of rescue quickly run as low as the food supplies, forcing the pair to embark on a trek for safety through the wooded wilds. It's here that the film makes an interesting detour off the old chestnut path, with a highly entertaining and informative section detailing a multitude of handy survival hints to be employed in the unlikely event of being shipwrecked off the Canadian coast.
The ever reliable will-they-or-won't-they be rescued scenario comes into play and a heart-rending finalé has the poor mutt lost, presumed dead, when his master is finally plucked from the wild by a rescue team. Thankfully for the tots in the audience, he stumbles back alive and well for his final big scene, just as you always knew he would.