a_chinn Enjoyably silly Disney nature film has a boy forced to put his pet puma in the zoo, who then steals the zoo keeper's key to free all of the animals. So, no, Disney did not exactly make "Day of the Animals" or a nature-gone-wild horror film, but my kids found the silly animal antics pretty hilarious, even if in real-life there would would have been a lot more mauling. My kids also did not notice that a teenage Jay North is still as bad of an actor as he was on TV as Dennis the Menace. In the plus column for the film, the above mentioned zookeeper is played by the great Andy Devine. Nothing classic here, but it mostly held my interest and you could probably do worse.

moonspinner55 Ivan Tors, who brought "Flipper" to movie (and later television) screens, tried his luck again with this animal-based comedy-drama starring Jay North, from TV's "Dennis the Menace". Framed in flashback for no apparent reason (other than to pad the reedy-thin narrative with exposition), story concerns a domesticated Puma mountain lion and his unhappy preteen owner, who is forced to give his pet to the local zoo after his parents relocate them from the sticks to the city. Nothing in this movie feels accurate: the boy's father lost the family homestead because he was apparently hurt, but there seems nothing wrong with sturdy Jim Davis in the part; the zoo appears to be in mountain terrain (away from the town) and is described for us as "shabby" and "pitiful" when, actually, it seems well-staffed and very clean; also, the youngster is taken in quite readily by the friendly zookeepers as an assistant, yet he treats this job indifferently (while scheming to betray everybody and free the Puma). North, a competent child actor, isn't allowed much mischief beyond stealing Andy Devine's cage-keys, and is kept petulant and scowling. The extraneous shots of animals eating or pacing their cages are dropped in sloppily (much of the time, they're not even reacting to anything, so there's no humor in their presence), while the quasi-slapstick finale--with zoo animals finding their way into homes, as well as the local ice cream shop--lays a big egg. *1/2 from ****

Panamint This very lousy movie does have two redeeming features: Martin Milner gives a sincere performance and anchors the whole thing. Without him, the film wouldn't even hold together. Also, any film from those days with the wonderful Andy Devine should be watched by kids and adults alike because he is an adorable delight.However, the ridiculous totally overwhelms the redeeming qualities for me. For example, right at the start you have a mountain lion supposedly liking corn on the cob. It is never shown actually eating any, only playing with it. This is because it cannot and would not eat that, as its body requires red meat to survive.Highly dangerous animals are shown on the streets being treated in a cavalier manner by the public. These animals are frightening and some would kill the public if disturbed or provoked. Only the bad old police seem to take them seriously. Of course, the fact that each policeman has sworn an oath to protect the public never gets any consideration.Jay North's character appears at times just plain crazy. Watch carefully, you will see that this character is as one-dimensional as any ever written for the screen. Just the look on North's face is at times wacko as he commits numerous irrational acts. Its almost as if his character, rather than being the star, is solely there to do certain specific things over and over throughout the movie. He's not allowed to be a kid, never playing or going to school. Just a relentless tool of the script. Certainly children viewing this might bond with the animals, but I don't see how they could possibly bond at all with the non-kid character portrayed by North. Too bad for Jay North, its not his fault.Despite the nice filming in the beautiful California sunshine, this is very badly written and conceived. If you were expecting something like "Flipper" forget it- that kind of entertainment is not what this relentless movie is about.

SanDiego Ivan Tors (creator of TV's "Seahunt," "Flipper," Gentle Ben," and "Daktari") produced and directed this effective family comedy. With a low budget, creative editing, a cast that included "Dennis the Menace's" Jay North and "Adam 12's" Martin Milner, and a Hollywood Animal Farm assortment of animals, Ivan Tors is able to create slap stick and a message out of a story about a boy (Jay North) and his pet cougar. When the boy's family must move to the city, his pet cougar is placed in the city zoo, a run-down out-dated collection of cages maintained by zookeeper Chill Wills and Zoo Vet Martin Milner. Soon North ends up working for the zoo, but unhappy with the way the animals are caged up, releases the animals onto the city. The animals really aren't very dangerous and cause a lot of mischief in people's backyards, houses, and shops. Watch for Marshall Thompson ("Daktari," "Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion") in a cameo.