Review of Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar (1967) by Dave A — 28 Jul 2009

Just look at that face. And then the title of the movie. SALTY TEARS run my face!! Charlie The Lonesome Cougar is a triumph of the heart, but unfortanately by today's family movie stardards, Charlie is a little out of date. You see, beyond a few cougar tricks and comedy, there is very little else to motivate kids to watch a REAL life version of an animal when all of today's movie animals are CGI coke addicts that seem to be both charming, and masters of physical comedy, all the while speaking English!! Still, Charlie is a magnetic character of a cougar, and I still think kids will be drawn to him.

The story and moral principles really drive this movie. Basically Charlie is an orphaned cougar raised by a very caring man in the forestry industry, and quickly a wild cat grows up into a very lovable, albeit big house cat!! The biggest problem with Charlie is the lack of tension and drama. Most of the time there is no doubt of what will happen: things end up alright and safe for the most part. Aside from a section near the end when Charlie becomes rattled and trapped (thus prompted his wild instincts to take over) does the movie get interesting. Otherwise, its a simple parable that's good for showing kids the value of family and friendship.

I can't really recommend this unless you have kids. I solely watched this movie because the title was something so oddly hilarious that it sounded like a movie popular Simpsons character Troy McClure would star in. Overall, its a fun 75 minutes, but definitely only a rental. Unless your kid absolutely adores cougars. Then that makes this a collector's item!!