Phonearl
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Fulke
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
Staci Frederick
Blistering performances.
Wizard-8
"Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar" was one of the first signs things were starting to not go well for the Disney company a few years after Walt Disney's death. Though movies similar to this one were made while Walt was alive, they weren't this juvenile in nature. It's a movie that really spoon-feeds entertainment to its audience instead of letting the audience find their own way to be entertained. There's extremely juvenile slapstick, not much in the way of plot, and a narrator who not only WILL NOT SHUT UP, speaks in a condescending manner to the audience. And the movie's idea of a cougar being sympathetic is kind of silly; I don't know about you, but I find cougars to be grumpy and kind of vicious.To be fair to the movie, it's not completely bad. There are some impressive visuals here and there. Also, the movie does ultimately make the (correct) argument that cougars are WILD animals and deserve to be left alone in the wilderness instead of being domesticated. Apart from that, there's very little to entertain adults or today's modern children. Unless you want to hear a 1960s rap song (!) about a cougar.
qormi
Excellent film. I don't know how they contained a cougar, domesticated or not, as he ran through a town, a lumberyard, etc. How did a cougar run around in the open forest without just taking off? I wouldn't trust my cats or dogs to do this. Must have been a very well-trained cougar. I never knew that log flumes stretched for over ten miles! How did they get the cougar to ride a log? It was obviously happening, since there was no computer generated imagery back then. The part where he chased a raccoon up a tree and they both fell in the river....I don't know if that borders on animal cruelty - what did they do - release a raccoon and let the cougar chase it? How many raccoons did they go through until they got it right?? I actually watched this movie on the big screen TV with my two cats in the room. They were riveted - I think it's their favorite movie. My black cat, Shaft, jumped up on the table in front of the screen and stayed there - watching Charlie's every move. Too funny!
bobthedinosaur2003
I recently saw this film on TV for the 1st time in more than 30 years. The memories it brought back are indescribable. It reminded me of a time when Disney made family films that were not just cartoons. For those of us who are parents now, it is becoming harder and harder to find films that we can take our children to, except for cartoons. It is very sad that films such as Swiss Family Robinson, Candleshoe and Freaky Friday are no longer being made. And after seeing this film again made me curious about what happened to the cougar who played Charlie. As far as I know, he never played in another film. Where did he live and when did he die? If anyone knows, I would appreciate any information they can offer.
Ellen Roemer
A lumberman finds a young cougar in need of help. To young to be on his own the cat soon takes up with the rugged camp workers. Nicknamed "Good Time Charlie' his antics amuse everyone at first. His wild nature eventually begins to cause trouble and reintroducing him into his natural habitat becomes an issue. This film is among those wonderful Disney nature films that were common in the 50's and 60's Lots of action, beautiful scenery and some endearing animal to charm you. These films were not long but included fascinating glimpses into wildlife and the effects of human contact. Unlike Disney's animated talking animals the animals in these films remained true to their own nature. They also make great travel films for seeing the western states.
